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Sunday – Friday 8am to 8pm
End-to-end Department of Health Abu Dhabi licensing handled by a dedicated in-house team. DataFlow, exam exemption, and registration, done for you.
Tell us your specialty and we’ll confirm your eligibility, no obligation.
A DOH license is the registration the Department of Health Abu Dhabi issues before a doctor can practise in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. As a medical licensing consultancy for Abu Dhabi, Allocation Assist’s in-house team manages the full HAAD and DOH licensing process, eligibility check, DataFlow primary source verification, exam or exemption, and registration, for doctors relocating from the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada. Most tier-1 cases complete in around three months.
A DOH license is the legal authorisation to practise medicine in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, issued by the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH). It is required for doctors, dentists, nurses, and allied health professionals working in any DOH-regulated hospital, clinic, or healthcare facility across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Al Dhafra. Dubai uses the DHA license and the northern emirates use MOHAP, so the authority you apply to depends on where the job sits. If your job is based in Dubai, our DHA license consultancy in Dubai can guide you through that emirate’s specific requirements.
The Department of Health Abu Dhabi was formerly known as HAAD (Health Authority Abu Dhabi), and you will still see the term HAAD exam used for the DOH assessment. The licence confirms that your qualifications, training, and experience meet the standards required to practise in Abu Dhabi, and it is issued once a healthcare facility in Abu Dhabi nominates you. A physician’s licence is issued for one or two years. For a look at what practising at a major UAE provider involves, explore our guide to working for NMC in the UAE.
Every applicant is graded against the DOH’s professional qualification requirements, which set the licence title and the experience each title needs. Your specialty, grade, and country of training decide which DOH title you qualify for and whether you need to sit an assessment. Getting this read right at the start is what prevents a rejected application later. For a look at what practising at a major UAE provider involves, explore our guide to working for NMC in the UAE.
Getting a DOH license follows five stages, managed through the DOH’s online licensing system. We handle each one on your behalf and keep you updated at every step.
1
The DOH sets experience and qualification rules by grade and specialty. We run your DOH eligibility check against the Abu Dhabi requirements before you spend anything, so you know where you stand on day one.
2
Applications are submitted through TAMM, Abu Dhabi’s government services platform, with full personal and professional details. We create and manage your case so the application is structured correctly from the first entry.
3
Certificates, transcripts, a valid home-country license, a good standing certificate, and a signed logbook for surgical specialties. We review every document against DOH requirements before submission, because rejected documents are the most common cause of delay.
4
Your credentials are verified directly with the issuing institutions through DataFlow. This typically takes around four to eight weeks, occasionally longer if institutions are slow to respond, You can prepare your exam booking while verification runs.
5
Doctors from recognised countries usually qualify for exemption from the DOH (HAAD) exam. Where an assessment applies, it is a computer-based test delivered by Pearson VUE, booked through TAMM once DOH approves your application for the exam. Once it clears and a facility nominates you, DOH issues the licence.
6
Doctors from recognised countries usually qualify for exemption from the MOH exam. Where an assessment applies, it is a computer-based test booked through Prometric. Once it clears, we submit your MOHAP registration, and the licence issues on employer sponsorship.
Send us your specialty and country of training. We’ll confirm your DOH grade and eligibility free, then start DataFlow straight away if you qualify.
Our in-house licensing team manages the parts of the process that cost doctors the most time and the most rejected applications. We act as your DOH licensing consultancy in Abu Dhabi from eligibility through to your first day at work. For doctors planning to practise in the northern emirates, our MOH licensing help for UAE doctors covers the requirements for those regions as well.
Licensing and recruitment run together. We are contracted with major hospital groups across Abu Dhabi, so as your DOH registration completes we connect you to live vacancies that match your specialty.
Many doctors do not need to sit the DOH exam at all. Doctors trained and board-certified in recognised countries, including the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, and Australia, usually meet the DOH exam exemption criteria and move straight to registration. Where an assessment is required, it is a computer-based exam, still widely called the HAAD exam, delivered by Pearson VUE at test centres worldwide. DOH charges AED 100 for the written exam, and results are posted to your TAMM account.
We confirm whether you are exempt during the eligibility check, so you know upfront. Where an exam is needed, we handle registration and point you to preparation support across common specialties, including General Practice, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Anaesthesia, Cardiology, and Dentistry. You can begin the licensing process while still working in your home country.
You can apply for a DOH license yourself directly through the DOH platform, and many doctors do. The process is public and there is no requirement to use an agency. What a consultancy changes is the time it takes and the number of things that go wrong.
Most self-managed applications stall in the same places: a good standing certificate that has expired, a document that needs attestation or translation, a logbook missing a medical director’s signature, or a grade chosen incorrectly so the wrong title is requested. Each of these triggers a request for additional information and adds weeks. For a busy doctor still working full-time in their home country, those weeks add up fast.
We have managed Gulf licensing daily for years, so we know what the DOH asks for before they ask for it. We prepare the file to clear on the first review, start DataFlow early because it is the longest single step, and handle the back-and-forth with the authority so you are not chasing updates between clinics. The result is a faster, lower-stress route to the same licence, with the added benefit that recruitment runs in parallel.
You need a DOH license if your job is in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, or the Al Dhafra region. A common point of confusion for doctors moving to the UAE is that the emirate of work decides the authority, so a role in Abu Dhabi requires DOH registration even if you plan to live in Dubai and commute. To practice medicine in Singapore, obtaining a DOH license for Singapore doctors is essential.
If your target role is in Dubai instead, you need a DHA license; for Sharjah and the northern emirates, you need MOHAP. DHA, DOH and MOHAP all use DataFlow for primary source verification.
For the Dubai route, see our DHA license consultancy; for Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, RAK, and Umm Al Quwain, see our MOHAP license guide. For a side-by-side comparison of all three authorities, see our Ultimate Guide to UAE Medical Licensing.
Fixed-scope licensing support with a dedicated case manager, from eligibility through to registration and job placement. Tell us your specialty and we’ll recommend the right package and confirm pricing.
A DOH registration is most valuable the moment it is paired with a job offer, because the licence activates on employer sponsorship. As your registration completes, we connect you to suitable roles across our network of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain hospital groups and support you through interviews, contract terms, and salary negotiation.
Because we handle both sides, licensing and placement, you do not finish the licence and then start a separate job search from scratch. Many of our doctors move from a positive DataFlow report into an offer without a gap. You can see current openings on our doctor jobs page, or send us your specialty and we will tell you what is live.
Tier-1 doctors with recognised training typically complete licensing in around three months. Tier-2 and tier-3 doctors can take six months or longer where additional documentation, translations, or an exam are required. DataFlow is the biggest variable, usually around four to eight weeks, so we start it as early as possible and prepare your documents in parallel rather than in sequence.
Fee | Paid to | Amount |
Application fee | DOH | AED 100 |
Primary source verification | DataFlow | Varies by number of documents |
Written exam (if required) | DOH | AED 100 |
Oral exam / OSCE (if required) | DOH | AED 100 |
Physician licence, 1 year | DOH | AED 2,500 |
Physician licence, 2 years | DOH | AED 3,350 |
Pearson VUE’s exam booking fee is paid separately. Our consultancy fee is quoted before you start.
You apply through TAMM, Abu Dhabi’s government services platform. You submit your documents, pay the application fee, complete DataFlow verification and sit the exam if one applies. The licence is issued once a healthcare facility in Abu Dhabi nominates you and the licence fee is paid.
Most tier-1 doctors complete the DOH license process in around three months. The main variable is DataFlow primary source verification, which usually takes around four to eight weeks. Tier-2 and tier-3 applicants can take six months or longer if an exam or extra documentation is required.
Yes. The Department of Health Abu Dhabi was formerly HAAD (Health Authority Abu Dhabi), and the assessment is still widely called the HAAD exam. It is a computer-based test delivered by Pearson VUE, required only where you are not exempt.
Not always. Specialists and consultants with a recognised Tier 1 specialty certificate from one of 22 countries, including the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany and France, are exempt. GPs are exempt with valid PLAB I and II or GMC registration, USMLE Step 3, LMCC, AMC or NZREX. The exemption does not apply if you have been out of clinical practice for more than three years. Where an exam is required, it is a Pearson VUE computer-based test, and DOH charges AED 100 for it.
DOH charges AED 100 to apply and AED 100 for the written exam if one is required. A physician’s licence costs AED 2,500 for one year or AED 3,350 for two years. DataFlow charges by document, and Pearson VUE’s booking fee is separate.
You can apply yourself through the DOH platform; an agency is not mandatory. Most doctors use a consultancy to avoid the document rejections and grading errors that add weeks to a self-managed application, and because licensing and job placement can then run together.
No. The DOH licence covers Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra only. To work in Dubai you need a DHA licence, and in the northern emirates a MOHAP licence. All three authorities use DataFlow for verification. If you already hold a valid licence from one UAE authority, you can apply to another under licensure recognition with a valid good standing certificate and PSV report, and you are not asked to sit the exam again.
You can complete the DOH process before securing a role, but the licence activates once an employer sponsors it. Starting early means you are ready to begin work the moment you accept an offer.
DataFlow is the company that verifies your certificates, experience and good standing directly with the issuing institutions (primary source verification). It typically takes four to eight weeks.
Yes. Our in-house team manages eligibility, document review, DataFlow, exam or exemption, and registration, then connects you to suitable Abu Dhabi hospitals once you are licensed.
The Department of Health Abu Dhabi can be reached on 800555 from within the UAE or +971 2 666 4442 from abroad. Exam enquiries go to [email protected]. DOH working hours are Monday to Thursday 7:00 am to 3:00 pm and Friday 7:00 am to 11:30 am.
A physician’s DOH licence is issued for one year (AED 2,500) or two years (AED 3,350).
A gap of more than three years triggers extra requirements. For physicians, a gap of three to under four years needs 80 CME/CPD credits and six months of supervised training, and a gap of four to under five years needs 120 credits and eight months of training. After that you must pass the licensing exam, even if you would normally be exempt. Non-UAE nationals cannot apply if the gap is more than five years.
Tell us your specialty and country of training and we will run your DOH eligibility check, free and with no obligation. If you are eligible, we start DataFlow straight away so you are ready to practise in Abu Dhabi as fast as possible.
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