GCC health authorities
Ten authorities license healthcare professionals across the six GCC countries, and the one you apply to depends on the emirate or country you will practise in - not on your profession. Compare them all below.
DOH
دائرة الصحة - أبوظبيأبوظبي، العين، الظفرة
تنظم دائرة الصحة (DOH) جميع المهنيين والمرافق الصحية في إمارة أبوظبي. كانت تُعرف سابقاً بهيئة الصحة في أبوظبي (HAAD)، وتشرف DOH على الترخيص والتأمين الصحي وسياسات الصحة العامة في أبوظبي.
DHA
هيئة الصحة بدبيدبي
هيئة الصحة بدبي (DHA) هي الجهة التنظيمية للمهنيين والمرافق الصحية في إمارة دبي. تشرف DHA على الترخيص والتأمين الصحي وقطاعي الصحة العام والخاص.
DCAS
مؤسسة دبي لخدمات الإسعافدبي (خدمات الطوارئ الطبية)
تنظم DCAS وترخص مهنيي الطوارئ الطبية في دبي، بما في ذلك فنيي الطوارئ الطبية والمسعفين والمسعفين المتقدمين ومسعفي الإنقاذ الجوي والبحري ومدربي الإسعافات الأولية ومدربي الإنعاش القلبي المتقدم ومنسقي الطوارئ الطبية. تدير DCAS عملية ترخيص وامتحانات خاصة بها مستقلة عن DHA.
MOHAP
وزارة الصحة ووقاية المجتمعالإمارات الشمالية (الشارقة*، عجمان، أم القيوين، رأس الخيمة، الفجيرة) - *ملاحظة: الشارقة لديها الآن هيئتها الخاصة (SHA)
MOHAP هي الهيئة الصحية الاتحادية التي تغطي الإمارات الشمالية والمؤسسات الصحية الاتحادية. تتولى الترخيص المهني وتنظيم الأدوية والسياسة الصحية الوطنية.
SHA
هيئة الشارقة الصحيةإمارة الشارقة
تنظم هيئة الشارقة الصحية (SHA) المهنيين والمرافق الصحية في إمارة الشارقة. لديها بوابة ترخيص خاصة بها وتصدر التراخيص المهنية بشكل مستقل عن MOHAP. تشرف الهيئة أيضاً على مدينة الشارقة للرعاية الصحية (SHCC).
Which authority should you apply to?
Your licensing authority is decided by where you will work, not by your profession. In the UAE alone there are five: DHA covers Dubai, DOH covers Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra, MOHAP covers the northern emirates, SHA licenses independently in Sharjah, and DCAS handles Dubai emergency medical services.
The other five countries each run a single national regulator: SCFHS in Saudi Arabia, QCHP in Qatar, NHRA in Bahrain, MOH Oman and MOH Kuwait.
A licence is not portable between authorities: moving from Dubai to Abu Dhabi means a fresh DOH application. Every authority requires Dataflow primary source verification first, and most require a licensing exam - check yours with our Prometric exam checker or browse practice question banks.
What every GCC authority requires, and where they differ
| Authority | Covers | Exam route | PSV |
|---|---|---|---|
| DHA | Dubai (excluding DHCC free zone) | Prometric CBT | Dataflow |
| DOH | Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Al Dhafra | Pearson VUE CBT | Dataflow |
| MOHAP | Ajman, Fujairah, RAK, UAQ | Prometric CBT | Dataflow |
| SHA | Sharjah | Prometric CBT | Dataflow |
| DCAS | Dubai emergency medical services | Authority assessment | Dataflow |
| SCFHS | Saudi Arabia (national) | Prometric / Pearson VUE | Dataflow |
| QCHP | Qatar (national) | Prometric CBT | Dataflow |
| NHRA | Bahrain (national) | Prometric CBT | Dataflow |
| MOH Oman / OMSB | Oman (national) | Prometric CBT, then oral viva | Dataflow |
| MOH Kuwait | Kuwait (national) | Authority exam / interview | Dataflow |
Exam route is the general rule for the authority. Whether your specific title requires an exam depends on the title and grade - several senior and consultant grades are assessed by interview or oral panel instead of a written paper. Check yours with the Prometric exam checker.
Questions candidates ask before choosing
Can I hold licences in two emirates at once? Yes. Nothing stops you holding, say, a DHA and a DOH licence simultaneously, and clinicians who cover sites in both emirates routinely do. Each is a separate application with its own fee, and each must be renewed on its own cycle.
Does passing one authority’s exam count for another? Not automatically. What is shared is the attempt limit - the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements cap you at three attempts across all UAE authorities combined, so failing twice at DHA leaves you one attempt at DOH, not three. Some authorities grant exemptions for holders of recognised international qualifications; the exemption rules differ by authority.
Is my Dataflow report reusable? Usually yes within its validity window, and this is the single biggest time saver available. A report issued for one authority can often be shared with another rather than re-verified from scratch - worth confirming before you pay twice. See the Dataflow verification guide and the cost calculator.
Which is fastest? Processing time depends far more on how clean your documents are than on the authority. The slowest step is almost always primary source verification of a degree or a previous employer that is slow to respond - not the regulator’s own review. Our timeline calculator estimates yours from your document set.
Do I need a job offer first? It varies. Some authorities issue an eligibility or assessment outcome that you can obtain before securing employment, while the licence itself is activated against a facility. That distinction matters when you are planning a move, and it is covered per country on the country pages.