DHA Exam 2026: Fees, Pass Score and License Steps
Sheryan registration, DataFlow, the DHA Prometric format, fees, pass scores and timelines for doctors, nurses and allied health working in Dubai.
Dubai is the healthcare job market most Gulf candidates aim at first, and the Dubai Health Authority licence is what stands between an offer and a start date. The process itself is not complicated. It is long, and it fails on paperwork far more often than it fails on the exam.
This guide walks the whole route: who DHA licenses, what the file needs, how long each stage really takes, what the exam looks like, and where files stall.
Who DHA licenses, and who it does not
The Dubai Health Authority licenses every doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist and allied health professional practising inside the emirate of Dubai. Mainland clinic, Dubai Healthcare City hospital or a JAFZA free zone facility, the practice permit comes through DHA either way.
What it does not do is cover the rest of the country. Abu Dhabi licenses through DOH, Sharjah through SHA, and the five Northern Emirates through the federal MOHAP. A DHA licence is a Dubai licence and nothing more. The saving grace is that most of your DataFlow report travels with you if you later move to another emirate, so the second licence is cheaper and faster than the first. Our comparison of the three UAE authorities covers which one to start with.
Everything runs through Sheryan
DHA has one portal, Sheryan, and there is no offline alternative. Your professional file, document uploads, DataFlow status, eligibility ID and the live licence itself all sit in the same account. Even when an employer sponsors you, the submission still goes through Sheryan.
This matters more than it sounds. Because everything is in one place, an error in one field, a mismatched name spelling, a wrong graduation date, propagates through the whole file and has to be corrected at source. Getting the first upload right saves weeks later.
Title tiers decide almost everything
Your tier sets your eligibility, the blueprint of the paper you sit, and the salary band you can negotiate. DHA recognises three.
| Tier | Requirement | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| General Practitioner | 2 years post-internship | Full clinical practice under specialist supervision, for candidates without a formal specialty board |
| Specialist | 3 years in the specialty after board certification | Requires a recognised board such as Arab Board, MRCP, FRCS or American Board, plus documented specialty practice |
| Consultant | 5 or more years post-specialty | Sub-specialty training with evidence of teaching, research or complex case management |
Applying at the wrong tier is one of the most expensive mistakes on this route, because the file is assessed against the tier you claimed. If you are unsure which your qualifications support, the eligibility check settles it before you pay for anything.
What the file needs
- Identity. Passport bio page, your UAE visa or entry stamp if you are already in the country, Emirates ID if resident, and a recent photograph on a white background.
- Qualifications. Primary degree certificate, full transcripts covering every academic year, internship completion certificate, and the specialty board certificate at Specialist and Consultant tiers.
- Experience. Letters covering every year since qualification, stating your role, exact dates, whether the post was full time or part time, and a contactable HR office. Consultant applicants add evidence of leadership, teaching or research.
- Professional standing. A good standing certificate no older than six months at the point DHA reviews it, your current home country licence, and BLS with ACLS or PALS where the specialty requires it.
- Attestations. Home country foreign ministry attestation of the degree, or an apostille if your country is in the Hague Convention, then UAE embassy attestation in the issuing country.
The good standing certificate is the item that expires mid process more than any other, because candidates order it early and then lose weeks to DataFlow. Our good standing certificate guide explains when to order it so it is still valid when it is read.
The five stages
Create the Sheryan file. Register with your passport or Emirates ID, complete the self assessment, and upload the document set above. You or the employer's HR can do this.
DataFlow verification. Your degree, transcripts, licence, experience letters and good standing go for primary source verification. This is the longest stage and the one you control least, because it waits on your old university and former employers replying. Our DataFlow guide explains what it asks for and why files stall in it.
Eligibility ID. Once DataFlow clears, DHA reviews the file and issues an eligibility ID. That is your permission to book the exam.
The Prometric exam. Book a slot in Dubai, in your home country, or at any international Prometric centre. The result appears on screen the moment you finish.
Employer activation. A DHA licensed facility submits the activation request and the licence is issued. Until a facility does this, a passed exam is an eligibility letter and not a licence, which is why the job search should run in parallel rather than after. Our talent pool puts your file in front of Dubai hospitals while the licensing runs.
How long it really takes
| Stage | Realistic duration |
|---|---|
| Sheryan file created and documents uploaded | 1 to 3 days |
| DataFlow package submitted and payment cleared | 1 day |
| DataFlow primary source verification | 4 to 8 weeks |
| DHA review and eligibility ID issued | 3 to 7 working days |
| Booking and sitting the exam | Dubai centres open about 4 weeks out, overseas centres often sooner |
| Licence issuance after passing | 2 to 5 working days |
| Employer activation | 3 to 7 working days after the facility submits |
| End to end | 8 to 16 weeks |
Those ranges assume clean documents. Add several weeks if an attestation is missing or DataFlow has to re-verify a source.
The exam
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 150 MCQs, single best answer |
| Duration | 3 hours |
| Pass score | 60 percent, varying by title tier |
| Delivery | Prometric, result on screen |
| Fee | USD 240 to 280, higher at Consultant tier |
There is no negative marking, so leaving a question blank costs you the same as guessing it wrong and gains you nothing. The blueprint is written per profession and per tier, which is why preparing against a general Gulf question bank is the most common preparation mistake. Work through chapter-wise DHA pattern question banks for your own profession, and read how to pass the DHA exam first time before you book.
What the whole thing costs
| Item | Amount, USD |
|---|---|
| Sheryan account creation | No charge |
| DataFlow verification report | 220 to 320, depending on documents and source countries |
| DHA Prometric exam | 240 to 280 |
| Eligibility and licence issuance | 270 to 410, depending on tier |
| Facility linking | Normally paid by the employer |
| Indicative out of pocket | 730 to 1,010 |
Translation, courier and attestation costs sit on top and vary by country. Settle in writing which of these lines your employer reimburses before you sign, because practice varies widely between facilities.
Where files actually stall
Almost never at the exam. The three recurring causes are experience letters that do not state exact dates or give a contactable HR reference, a good standing certificate that has aged past six months while DataFlow ran, and a name spelled differently across passport, degree and licence. All three are fixable in advance and all three cost weeks once the file is open.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start the DHA process without a job offer
Yes. DHA is the only UAE authority where you can open your own file, sit the exam and hold an eligibility letter before an employer is involved. The licence itself still needs a facility to activate it, but the long part of the route is yours to start.
Does a DHA licence let me work anywhere in the UAE
No. It covers Dubai only. Abu Dhabi requires DOH, Sharjah requires SHA, and the Northern Emirates require MOHAP. Most of your DataFlow report can be reused when you cross over, so the second licence is faster than the first.
How long is the DataFlow report valid
Long enough to be reused for another Gulf authority in most cases, which is why candidates who plan to move between emirates should keep the report and the receipts rather than starting over.
Where to start
Confirm the tier your qualifications support with the eligibility check, get the documents and attestations in order before you open the Sheryan file, and begin question practice while DataFlow runs rather than after it clears. For the wider picture across the country, read our UAE licensing overview and the Prometric exam guide.