DHA licence: how to get licensed in Dubai (Sheryan, DataFlow, exam)

Sheryan is Dubai Health Authority’s online licensing system. Professionals use it to check eligibility, apply for registration, book an oral assessment, see exam results, log CPD points and request a Good Standing Certificate. Facilities use it to activate, renew and cancel the licences of the people they employ. It also hosts the Dubai Medical Registry, the public list of registered professionals and facilities.

Sheryan separates a registration from a licence. A registration confirms you meet the requirements for a title and specialty, and it is valid for one year. A licence lets you practise, and only a DHA-licensed facility that employs you can activate one (Get Registered, Activate Professional License).

The order DHA sets out is: Self-Assessment Tool; DataFlow verification and any computer-based exam, which can run at the same time; Get Registered, plus an oral assessment if DHA asks for one; then licence activation by your employer.

Go to the official portal at services.dha.gov.ae/sheryan and choose Login. You land on DHA’s single sign-on page, where you sign in with a DHA username and password or with UAE PASS. First-time users choose Register New Account, or Sign up with UAE PASS.

• DHA enabled multi-factor authentication on its portal from 14 April 2026 and asks users to keep their email address and mobile number up to date to avoid disruption.
• If a password reset code is refused, Sheryan’s FAQ says to enter your username instead of your email address, because the email may be used on another Sheryan account.
• DHA recommends a laptop or desktop with Chrome or Firefox; dropdowns can fail on other set-ups.
• DHA can reject an application, and keep the fee, if you do not respond for more than 3 months.
• Help: DHA’s contact centre on 800 342, or [email protected].

This page has no login form and never will. Enter your Sheryan credentials only on DHA’s own site, or in UAE PASS.

Dubai applies the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), shared by the four UAE health regulators: MOHAP, DOH, DHA and SHA. The copy Sheryan links to is the third version (file dated April 2025). Everyone needs an accredited qualification. If you have practised before, you also need a valid licence or registration from your home country or country of last employment, and a Good Standing Certificate no older than 6 months. The title-specific rules for the most common applicants are below; the free Self-Assessment Tool gives a decision on your exact title.

UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers, and non-nationals who graduated from a UAE university, need no experience for the GP or General Dentist title if they apply within 3 years of finishing internship (PQR 4.2.1, 9.2.1). If you have been out of clinical practice for 3 years or more, the PQR adds CME/CPD credits and supervised training, and non-UAE nationals generally cannot apply after a gap of more than 5 years (PQR 1.7).

DataFlow Group is DHA’s primary source verification (PSV) provider. It contacts your university, past employers and licensing bodies directly to confirm each document is genuine. You apply on dha.dfgateway.com using the DHA ID from your Sheryan account, give consent in the Letter of Authorization section, choose the package for your profession, upload your documents and pay (DataFlow’s DHA guide).

• A new report takes 15 working days from the payment date; transferring an existing report takes 5 working days (Sheryan FAQ).
• A report issued under another UAE authority transfers for AED 300. DHA reports issued after 2017 transfer free.
• PSV reports do not expire, but a document updated since (for example longer experience) may need verifying again. New documents DHA asks for go into a new case on your DataFlow account.
• You can run DataFlow and the CBT exam at the same time, but Get Registered needs the DataFlow result first (Get Registered).
• Track a case with your case number on DataFlow’s status page.

The fee: DataFlow shows its package price when you pay. Neither DataFlow’s DHA page nor Sheryan’s service pages state the amount, and the DHA fees page that the Sheryan FAQ links to did not load when we checked, so we do not quote a figure. Third-party guides give different numbers.

Unless the PQR exempts you, you pass one assessment for the title you apply for: a computer-based test (CBT) run by Prometric, or an oral assessment by a DHA panel. Sheryan’s Mode of Exam per Specialty page tells you which applies. The CBT is multiple choice and Prometric runs it in its test centres worldwide. DHA’s CBT guideline (updated September 2026) publishes the pass score for every title:

• Specialist physician pass scores run from 55% (Sports Medicine) to 70% (Pediatrics, Neurosurgery). Allied health titles outside pharmacy run from 50% to 65%.
• Results are Pass or Fail only; DHA does not share your score. Prometric results are instant; oral results are published within 5 working days (Sheryan FAQ).
• Specialties the CBT guideline does not list, including certain consultant titles, are assessed orally: 30 to 45 minutes for physicians and dentists, 20 to 30 minutes for others, in Dubai or online. Oral fees are AED 500 (physicians and dentists) or AED 250 (others), or AED 2,000 for an urgent slot (Schedule Oral Assessment).
• You get three attempts per title across all UAE health authorities, with no waiting period between them. All exams are in English, and no translator may attend an oral (PQR 1.5).
• To book a CBT, copy your DHA Unique ID from Sheryan, generate an Eligibility ID, then schedule with Prometric.
• You can appeal a result by writing to [email protected] within one month.

The PQR exempts these groups from the licensing exam. The exemption covers the exam only; eligibility, experience and DataFlow still apply.

• UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers (PQR 1.5.1).
• Holders of a valid licence from another UAE health authority applying for the same title (PQR section 3, licence recognition).
• General practitioners with USMLE Step 3, PLAB 1 and 2, AMC, LMCC, PRES, NZREX or EMREE, or a medical degree accredited in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand or the UK (PQR 21.8).
• Specialists and consultants with a recognised Tier 1 specialty certificate from one of 22 listed countries or boards: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Emirati Board, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA; or a Tier 2 certificate plus a sub-specialty and more than 10 years in the specialty, including 2 in a senior teaching-hospital post (PQR 21.6, 21.7).
• General dentists who passed the Australian Dental Council, NDEB Canada, Irish Dental Council, NZDREX, UK ORE, US National Board Dental or EDEE exams, or who registered after an accredited degree in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand or the UK; dental specialists with a listed fellowship, board or specialist register entry (PQR 21.9 to 21.11).
• Nurses, pharmacists and most allied health titles with a valid licence and Good Standing Certificate from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA, if the qualification is from the last 3 years or there is no gap since the last job. NCLEX also counts for nurses, and EPREE for pharmacists (PQR 21.12 to 21.23).

Two limits: an equivalency exam must still be valid (5 years from issue if it states no validity), and exemptions stop applying after a gap in practice of more than 3 years, except for UAE nationals (PQR 21.3, 21.4). The checklist above shows the full list for your title.

Sheryan adds Knowledge and Innovation fees at checkout on several services and does not publish the amount. DHA’s CBT guideline lists pharmacists under allied healthcare. Sources: Get Registered, Review Registration Eligibility, Schedule Oral Assessment, Activate Professional License, Renew Professional License, Renew Professional Registration, Good Standing Certificate, CBT guideline, Sheryan FAQ.

You are listed in the Dubai Medical Registry and can be hired. Your registration is valid for one year. When a facility hires you, it applies for “Activate Professional License” in its own Sheryan account and selects your registration; you approve the request in yours; the fee is paid and the eLicense is issued, instantly or within 1 working day if your personal records changed.

Before the facility can apply, the service page lists:

• an active facility licence that covers your specialty;
• valid medical malpractice insurance covering you;
• a valid labour card, for non-UAE nationals;
• no unpaid fines.

Do not practise until the licence shows as Active. If the facility’s own licence is inactive, every professional there shows as “Inactive - Awaiting Facility Licence” until it is restored. Visiting professionals need a full-time licence too. If the year runs out before you find a job, renew the registration in the 3 months before it expires (AED 200); an expired registration means starting again from the Self-Assessment Tool. Looking for roles? Browse healthcare jobs in Dubai.

For your DHA application

Ask the regulator in the country where you last worked. The PQR wants it no older than 6 months on the day you apply, covering the experience your title needs; where a country has no regulator, an official letter from your last employer may be accepted (PQR 1.3.3). If you are reapplying for the same position with no new experience outside Dubai, the Sheryan FAQ says you do not need one.

From DHA, when you leave Dubai or apply elsewhere

• Apply on Sheryan for “Request Good Standing Certificate/License Details Verification”: AED 500, 1 working day (5 working days for a licence details verification) (service page).
• Pay any outstanding fines first. Download the certificate from My Applications, Closed Applications tab.
• It shows an issue date but no expiry; the receiving authority decides whether to accept it. Facility names are not shown.
• If you were revoked, suspended, under investigation or received another decision in the past two years, DHA issues a Certificate of Current Status instead.
• The PQR says an authority will not issue one until you have 3 months of clinical experience from the date your licence was issued (PQR 1.3.6).

Your facility renews it through “Renew Professional License” from 90 days before expiry. It needs valid malpractice insurance, your CPD target met, and no unpaid fines. Renewal costs the same as activation (AED 3,000, AED 5,000 or AED 7,500 for 1, 2 or 3 years for physicians and dentists; AED 1,000, AED 1,500 or AED 2,500 for nurses, midwives, allied health and TCAM), and the new term runs on from the old expiry date (service page).

Log points through Update CPD Points (free, 1 working day). Surplus points do not carry over, and a shortfall blocks renewal. A full-time licence can still be renewed up to 6 months after expiry, with penalties; after that the facility must cancel it, pay the penalties and activate it again. Physicians and dentists in surgical specialties also submit a logbook every 2 years (PQR 2.1). For penalties and how clinics plan renewals, read our guide to DHA licence renewal and CME.

Usually not, for the same title. The PQR’s licence recognition rules (section 3) exempt you from the exam if you hold a valid licence from any UAE health authority, present a valid Good Standing Certificate and a full PSV report, and have not used up your exam attempts for that title. An expired or cancelled licence must be no more than 6 months past expiry when you apply. You keep the same title; a higher or lower one means meeting the PQR for it.

You still go through Sheryan: self-assessment, a DataFlow report transfer (AED 300, about 5 working days), Get Registered, and activation by a Dubai employer. A suspension or revocation by one authority applies in all of them (PQR 3.4).

MOHAP has announced a national platform for registering and licensing healthcare professionals across MOHAP, DOH, DHA and SHA, which it expected to go live in the second quarter of 2026 (Gulf News, August 2025). When we checked on 12 October 2026, the Sheryan service pages still described the Dubai process set out here.