DHA Licensing, Dubai

What does a DHA licence cost?

Every figure below is charged by the authority or a third party and paid by you, in your own name. These are published costs, not our estimate of them.

Sources: DHA and UAE fee breakdown, DHA fee structure and packages, DHA cost in INR, DHA requirements and documents

Who needs a DHA licence?

Anyone practising a regulated healthcare profession at a facility on Dubai mainland. That means the hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and diagnostic centres licensed by DHA, which is most of Dubai but not all of it.

• Doctors and dentists, across every specialty DHA recognises
• Nurses and midwives
• Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
• Physiotherapists and other allied health professionals
• Laboratory technicians and radiographers

What is the DHA licensing process?

DHA runs its licensing through the Sheryan portal. The sequence below is the same for every profession; what changes is the examination and the document set.

1. Step 01

   Self-assess and open a Sheryan account

   Eligibility can be self-assessed free of charge through the Sheryan self-assessment tool before any fee is paid. Each account needs its own email address, so do not reuse a colleague or agent address.

2. Step 02

   Primary source verification

   DataFlow writes to your university, your regulator and each employer you list. Standard verification takes 15-25 working days from the date of payment and submission of a complete set of documents.

3. Step 03

   Assessment or examination

   A Prometric assessment set by profession and specialty. Some qualifications and grades are exempt, which is worth establishing before paying for preparation, because the fee is payable again on each reattempt.

4. Step 04

   Application, licence and renewal

   Submit through Sheryan, obtain the eligibility letter, then the licence itself once you have an employer. Renewal and continuing education credits start from the issue date.

One detail is worth acting on immediately: eligibility can be self-assessed free of charge through the Sheryan self-assessment tool before any fee is paid. If you do nothing else before contacting anyone, do that.

How long does DHA licensing take?

Typically 4-12 weeks. Dependent on how quickly primary source verification clears. Verification is the stage that moves the number, and it is the stage you have the most influence over.

Standard verification runs 15-25 working days from the date of payment and submission of a complete set of documents. Delays come from missing or incomplete documents, inaccurate information at submission, late response from the issuing authority, rather than from the verifier being slow.

Budget for the certificate that expires. A good standing certificate must be under six months old at submission, so obtaining one too early is its own kind of delay.

What documents are required?

The exact set depends on your profession and title. This is the core DHA expects from every applicant, and the items most often wrong are flagged.

• Passport and photographTo the authority's stated specification. A passport-style crop is not always what is asked for.
• Degree certificate and transcriptsAttested in the country that issued them. Attestation is a chain and it has an order.
• Postgraduate qualifications and specialty certificatesThese decide the title you are classified at, which is not a formality.
• Current professional registration or licence
• Good standing certificateMust be less than six months old at the time of submission.
• Experience certificatesSigned by HR or the medical director. A supervisor's signature is a common reason for return.
• Logbook, for surgical specialtiesCovering the last two years, stamped and signed by the medical director.

Every scan must be legible and complete. Illegible or partial scans are a documented reason for rejection, and they are entirely preventable.

Why are DHA applications rejected?

Almost always for documentary reasons rather than a judgement about your competence. These are the recurring ones, which means they are the preventable ones.

1. Good standing certificate older than six months

2. Experience certificates not signed by HR or the medical director

3. Qualification not matching the DHA Professional Qualification Requirements for the applied title

4. Incomplete or illegible document scans

5. Mismatch between passport name and certificate names

A rejection is rarely the end of an application, but it is expensive. Verification costs 50 to 100 percent of the original fee to run again, and an examination fee is payable in full on each reattempt. If you have already been rejected, read how we handle recovery.

What does it cost in total?

Two separate kinds of money, and only one of them is ours.

Regulator and third-party fees

AED 4,400-8,100, approximately 1,00,000-1,55,000 INR

Of which verification

AED 1,150-1,500

Of which examination

USD 180-300

Our advisory fee

Quoted per case, in writing, after a free eligibility consultation

We do not publish an advisory fee because it varies by profession, title, how many credentials need verifying and whether attestation or an examination applies. The costs page explains what moves that number.

What applies to your profession?

The examination, the document set and the classification rules all differ by profession.

What else do people ask about DHA licensing?

Dubai Health Authority is a registered body. We are an independent advisory firm and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting as an agent of any licensing authority.