Licensing a Healthcare Facility in Dubai Through DHA 2026: A Complete Breakdown

Opening a healthcare facility in Dubai requires two parallel, independent licensing tracks: a Facility License for the establishment itself, and a separate Professional License for every practising clinician, both issued by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).

The DHA was established under Dubai Law No. (13) of 2007 and has served as the unified health regulator for the emirate of Dubai since 2021, including its free zones — encompassing Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), whose oversight the DHA assumed from the previously independent Dubai Healthcare City Authority.

Dubai is not the UAE’s only jurisdiction with its own health regulator: Abu Dhabi has the Department of Health (DoH), Sharjah has the Sharjah Health Authority, and the remaining Northern Emirates fall under the federal Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP).

A facility licence and a clinician’s licence are not interchangeable documents: an establishment may hold a valid Facility License while being unable to employ a doctor who lacks their own, separately issued Professional License.

⚠ Every foreign-trained clinician must personally sit a computer-based exam through the Prometric network as part of obtaining a Professional License — holding a valid medical licence elsewhere, including other Gulf countries, does not exempt an applicant from this requirement when moving into practice specifically in Dubai.

1. The Legal Basis and the Evolution of DHA’s Mandate

Date	Event
June 2007	DHA established under Dubai Law No. (13) of 2007
2015	Local Law No. (6) of 2015 Concerning Private Health Facilities enacted
2018	Local Law No. (6) of 2018 concerning DHA enacted
2021	DHA’s mandate substantially expanded — becoming the unified health regulator for the emirate, including free zones (such as DHCC); DHA replaced the Dubai Healthcare City Authority; Local Law No. (14) of 2021 amending Local Law No. (6) of 2018 enacted
2023	Federal Law No. (8) of 2023, amending Federal Law No. (4) of 2015
2024	Decree of the Executive Council No. (49) of 2024 Concerning the Regulation of Practicing Health Professions in the Emirate of Dubai
2025	Law No. (5) of 2025 Concerning Public Health in the Emirate of Dubai

A key structural feature of Dubai’s healthcare regulation is the gradual expansion of the DHA’s mandate from a narrowly focused body into the sector’s unified regulator.

Before 2021, Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) — a free zone focused on healthcare and medtech companies — had its own regulator, the Dubai Healthcare City Authority; since 2021, that authority has passed directly to the DHA.

2. Who Regulates Healthcare in Each UAE Emirate

Emirate/level	Regulator	Founding instrument
Dubai (including free zones since 2021)	Dubai Health Authority (DHA)	Dubai Law No. 13 of 2007
Abu Dhabi	Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH)	Abu Dhabi Law No. 10 of 2018
Sharjah	Sharjah Health Authority	Sharjah Emiri Decree No. 12 of 2010 (as amended by Emiri Decree No. 33 of 2016)
Northern Emirates (excl. Sharjah) and federal level	Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP)	Federal Law No. 4 of 2015 (as amended by Federal Law No. 8 of 2023)

⚠ A licence issued by the DHA is valid only within Dubai (including affiliated free zones) and is not automatically recognised in Abu Dhabi or other emirates — a clinician or facility planning to operate across several emirates must complete a separate licensing procedure in each jurisdiction.

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3. Facility License: Licensing the Establishment Itself

A Facility License is a permit confirming that a physical premises, its equipment, and its staff meet DHA standards, without which an establishment may not provide healthcare services.

Per the official Manual for Licensing Health Facility, a Facility License application is reviewed by the DHA’s Health Regulation Sector (HRS) and must be supported by a document package including proof of ownership of the premises, a detailed facility proposal, an engineering layout, and confirmation of compliance with NABIDH — Dubai’s unified electronic medical record standard.

The DHA issues licences across several facility categories — hospitals, outpatient clinics, diagnostic centres, pharmacies, clinical support services, traditional medicine centres, and specialised units — each with its own set of requirements.

ℹ Per the DHA’s official manual, the six-month transitional period specifically applies to transferring ownership to heirs following an owner’s death, not to an ordinary change of ownership; this period may be extended where a legal dispute exists. For a standard ownership change outside an inheritance context, the primary text does not mention a six-month period at all — it instead states plainly that the licence’s validity is not extended by a change of ownership.

Per the manual’s primary text, the Facility License is issued in two separate stages: a “New Facility License” application first produces an inactive licence valid for 1 year, after which a separate “Activate Facility License” procedure is required, involving appointment of a Medical Director, confirmation of NABIDH connectivity, and a successful DHA inspection. NABIDH compliance is verified at the activation stage, not at the initial application.

4. Professional License: Licensing the Practising Clinician

A Professional License is a personal permit issued to a specific doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional, separate from the licence held by the facility where they work.

The Professional License process runs through the DHA Sheryan portal (services.dha.gov.ae/sheryan) and includes creating a profile, submitting documents, completing Primary Source Verification (PSV) through the DHA’s partner DataFlow, and sitting a computer-based exam through the Prometric network.

Primary Source Verification is the direct authentication of an applicant’s degrees and professional experience with the issuing institutions and employers themselves, rather than a review of submitted copies.

5. Cost and Timeline for Licensing a Clinician

Stage	Indicative cost (2026)
Sheryan — application submission	~AED 200 (plus knowledge/innovation fees at checkout)
DataFlow — Primary Source Verification (PSV), physicians/dentists	~AED 1,235
DataFlow — PSV, nurses and allied health	~AED 935
Prometric exam	~USD 180–300 depending on specialty

ℹ Exact fees vary by specialty and applicant category and are periodically revised by the regulator; the figures above are drawn from several specialised DHA-exam-preparation resources rather than an official regulator fee schedule — confirm current rates directly on the Sheryan portal before applying.

The DataFlow PSV process is estimated to take 15 to 45 working days in a standard case, potentially extending to 12 weeks if issuing institutions respond slowly.

6. The Prometric Exam: What to Know

The Prometric exam is a computer-based multiple-choice test specific to each medical specialty and mandatory for obtaining a DHA Professional License.

⚠ The DHA exam is not the only one of its kind in the UAE: Abu Dhabi (via the DoH, formerly HAAD) and MOHAP run their own separate Prometric exams, not interchangeable with the DHA exam. Passing one regulator’s exam does not grant the right to practise under another’s jurisdiction.

7. Common Mistakes When Licensing

•       Assuming a facility’s licence automatically covers every doctor working there. Each clinician must complete their own Professional License process regardless of the employing facility’s status.

•       Treating a DHA licence as valid outside Dubai. Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the Northern Emirates each have their own regulator with separate licensing requirements.

•       Underestimating the DataFlow PSV timeline when planning a clinic launch. A slow response from the issuing institution can stretch the process to 12 weeks, which is critical against a tight opening schedule.

•       Starting a premises search without first checking NABIDH compliance and DHA engineering standards. A non-compliant premises at the application stage leads to delay or rejection of the Facility License.

8. Who This Fits

•       Investors planning to open a clinic, diagnostic centre, or other healthcare business specifically in Dubai. The DHA is the only regulator whose licence is recognised within the emirate, including affiliated free zones.

•       Foreign-trained doctors with a recognised international degree and practice experience, prepared to complete verification and the exam. The DHA process is open to specialists from any country meeting the qualification requirements.

9. Who This Does Not Fit

•       Clinicians and facilities planning to operate across several emirates simultaneously without accounting for separate licensing in each. A DHA licence is not automatically recognised by other emirates’ regulators.

10. When Professional Verification Is Essential

Self-assessment is worth supplementing with specialist advice when: choosing a Facility License category for a non-standard activity profile; assessing the applicability of specific DHA ministerial decisions and national standards to planned medical services; and coordinating facility licensing across multiple UAE emirates simultaneously.

FAQ

Who regulates healthcare facilities in Dubai?

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA), established under Dubai Law No. 13 of 2007 and serving as the emirate’s unified health regulator, including free zones, since 2021.

Does every doctor at a clinic need their own licence?

Yes, a Professional License is issued personally to each clinician through the DHA Sheryan portal, regardless of the facility’s valid Facility License.

Is a DHA licence recognised in Abu Dhabi?

No, Abu Dhabi has its own regulator — the Department of Health (DoH) — with a separate procedure and its own exam.

How long does the DataFlow PSV process take?

15 to 45 working days in a standard case, potentially extending to 12 weeks if issuing institutions respond slowly.

Key Takeaways

•       The DHA was established under Dubai Law No. 13 of 2007 and has been Dubai’s unified health regulator, including free zones, since 2021.

•       A Facility License (the establishment) and a Professional License (the clinician) are two separate, independent licensing tracks.

•       A DHA licence is valid only within Dubai — Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the Northern Emirates each have their own regulators.

•       Obtaining a Professional License runs through the Sheryan portal, including DataFlow verification and the Prometric exam.

•       A change of facility ownership triggers a six-month transitional period per the DHA’s official manual.

Summary

Licensing a healthcare facility in Dubai is governed by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), established under Dubai Law No. (13) of 2007 and serving as the emirate’s unified health regulator, including free zones such as Dubai Healthcare City, since 2021. The licensing process consists of two independent parts: a Facility License for the healthcare establishment itself, reviewed by the DHA’s Health Regulation Sector against compliance with the NABIDH standard, and a separate Professional License for each practising clinician, processed through the DHA Sheryan portal with mandatory document verification through DataFlow (Primary Source Verification) and a computer-based exam through the Prometric network. A DHA licence is valid only within Dubai; Abu Dhabi has the Department of Health (DoH), Sharjah has the Sharjah Health Authority, and the remaining Northern Emirates fall under the federal Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), each with its own exam and licensing procedure.

Sources

• Dubai Health Authority — Licensing, Regulations & Laws, official list of instruments (dha.gov.ae)

• Dubai Health Authority — Manual for Licensing Health Facility, Version 1.1 (dha.gov.ae)

• Lexology — Spotlight: the regulation of healthcare providers and professionals in United Arab Emirates

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, medical, or consulting advice. Exact fees, processing timelines, and document requirements are updated regularly by the regulator — verify current conditions directly on the DHA Sheryan portal (services.dha.gov.ae) before applying, and consult a qualified legal adviser in the UAE. Information is accurate as of July 2026.