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End-to-end DHA 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 DHA license is the registration the Dubai Health Authority issues before a doctor can practise in Dubai. Allocation Assist’s in-house licensing team manages the full 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. How dha licensing affects doctor salaries is an important consideration for many healthcare professionals.
A DHA license is the legal authorisation to practise medicine in the Emirate of Dubai, issued by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). It is also known as DHA certification or DHA credentialing. All three terms refer to the same authorisation to practise. It applies to doctors, nurses, dentists, and allied health professionals working anywhere in Dubai except the Dubai Healthcare City free zone, which is regulated separately. Abu Dhabi uses the DOH license and the other emirates use MOHAP, so the authority you apply to depends on where the job sits.
A DHA registration is valid for one year, and a healthcare facility must activate it into a licence within that time. The licence itself is issued for one, two or three years. Registration can be renewed within three months of its expiry date. If you are considering opportunities in the emirate next door, working with a DOH License Consultancy in Abu Dhabi can help you navigate the equivalent licensing process there.
Every applicant is graded against the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), the document that sets the licence titles and the experience each title needs. Your specialty, grade, and country of training decide which DHA 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 the NMC Healthcare experience.
Getting a DHA license follows five stages, managed through the DHA’s Sheryan portal. We handle each one on your behalf and keep you updated at every step.
1
The PQR sets the experience and qualification rules for your grade and specialty, and the DHA offers a self-assessment tool to check them. We run your DHA eligibility check before you spend anything, so you know where you stand on day one.
2
Every applicant registers on the Sheryan portal and starts a new licence application. We create and manage your Sheryan 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 DHA 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 run DataFlow and any required exam at the same time
5
Doctors from recognized countries usually qualify for exam exemption. Where an assessment applies, it is an oral panel or a computer-based DHA exam. Once it clears, we submit your DHA registration. DHA's average processing time for registration is five working days. For some positions, DHA also asks for an oral assessment.
Send us your specialty and country of training. We’ll confirm your PQR 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 DHA licensing consultancy in Dubai from eligibility through to your first day at work. For doctors looking to practise beyond Dubai and Abu Dhabi, our MOH license consultancy for doctors supports licensing across the other emirates as well.
As a medical licensing and job consultancy, we stay with you from the first eligibility check to your first day at work.
Licensing and recruitment run together. We are contracted with most major hospital groups in Dubai, so as your DHA registration completes we connect you to live vacancies that match your specialty.
Many doctors do not need to sit the DHA exam at all. Doctors trained and board-certified in recognised countries, including the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, and Australia, usually meet the DHA exam exemption criteria and move straight to registration. Where an assessment is required, it is a computer-based DHA exam delivered by Prometric. The GP and specialist exams have 150 multiple-choice questions over three hours, and consultant exams have 100. The fee is USD 280. Pass scores range from 55% to 70% depending on specialty, and you get three attempts across the UAE health authorities. Some consultant titles are assessed through an oral panel instead.
We confirm whether you are exempt during the eligibility check, so you know upfront. Where an exam is needed, we handle DHA exam registration and point you to preparation support across common specialties, including General Practice, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Anaesthesia, and Dentistry. You can begin the licensing process while still working in your home country. The Sheryan application and DataFlow are completed online, and the exam is taken at a Prometric test centre, with centres in more than 160 countries.
You can apply for a DHA license yourself directly through the Sheryan portal, 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 PQR 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 the DHA process daily for years, so we know what the licensing department 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.
The DHA license covers Dubai. If your role is elsewhere in the UAE, a different authority applies, and the table below shows which one.
License | Authority | Covers | Where you apply |
DHA | Dubai Health Authority | Dubai (outside DHCC) | Sheryan portal |
DOH | Department of Health, Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi & Al Ain | TAMM portal |
MOHAP | Ministry of Health & Prevention | Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, RAK, UAQ | MOHAP website |
All three authorities use DataFlow for primary source verification. This page focuses on the DHA license for Dubai. For the full multi-authority breakdown, see our Ultimate Guide to UAE Medical Licensing for Doctors, or the MOHAP license guide for the northern emirates.
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 DHA registration is most valuable the moment it is paired with a job offer, because that is when it activates into a licence to practise. As your registration completes, we connect you to suitable roles across our network of Dubai 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 in Dubai 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 a DHA 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 |
Primary source verification | DataFlow | Varies by number of documents |
Computer-based exam (if required) | Prometric | USD 280 |
Registration (credentialing fee) | DHA | AED 200 |
Full-time licence, physician | DHA, applied for by the hiring facility | AED 3,000 (1 year), AED 5,000 (2 years), AED 7,500 (3 years) |
Registration renewal | DHA | AED 200 |
DHA adds Knowledge and Innovation fees at checkout. Our consultancy fee is quoted separately before you start.
You apply through the DHA’s Sheryan portal by creating an account, starting a new licence application, uploading the required documents, and completing DataFlow verification. We manage this end-to-end, setting up your Sheryan case, preparing documents, and submitting the application so it clears on the first review.
Most tier-1 doctors complete the DHA 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 a DHA exam or extra documentation is required. Once DataFlow and any exam are complete, DHA processes the registration in an average of five working days.
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 Prometric computer-based test costing USD 280.
The DHA self-assessment tool checks your qualifications against the PQR requirements for your grade and specialty. We run this DHA eligibility check for you before any application begins, so you know your standing before spending anything.
DHA charges AED 200 for registration. The hiring facility pays the licence fee, which for a full-time physician is AED 3,000 for one year, AED 5,000 for two years or AED 7,500 for three years. The exam, if required, costs USD 280, and DataFlow charges by document. DHA adds Knowledge and Innovation fees at checkout.
You can apply yourself through the Sheryan portal; an agency is not mandatory. Most doctors use a consultancy to avoid the document rejections and PQR grading errors that add weeks to a self-managed application, and because licensing and job placement can then run together.
The five stages are the same, but document and experience requirements vary by specialty and grade under the PQR. Surgical specialties need a signed two-year logbook, and some roles, for example clinical psychology, have specific license requirements we check during your eligibility assessment.
No. The DHA licence covers Dubai only. To work in Abu Dhabi you need a DOH 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 DHA registration before securing a role, but the registration only activates into a full license once an employer sponsors it. Starting licensing 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. At renewal, DHA asks for your latest experience, licence and good standing certificate to be verified again.
The pass score is 60% for GP and several specialist exams, and between 65% and 70% for most others. Neurosurgery, paediatrics and consultant exams need 70%. You get three attempts across the UAE health authorities, and the result shows as Pass or Fail in your Sheryan account; DHA does not share your score.
Eligibility is set by the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR). Your qualification, years of experience after it and country of training decide the title you can apply for. DHA’s Self-Assessment Tool on Sheryan checks this before you apply.
The Dubai Health Authority call centre is 800342 (800 DHA) toll free within the UAE, or +971 4 599 1200 from abroad. Both lines run 24 hours a day. Licensing enquiries can also be emailed to [email protected].
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 DHA eligibility check, free and with no obligation. If you are eligible, we start DataFlow straight away so you are ready to practise in Dubai as fast as possible.
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