Can you get a DHA licence without work experience? It depends on your title. A registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree or an assistant nurse can apply straight after graduating. A general practitioner or general dentist needs a one-year internship plus two years of clinical experience. If you’re a fresh graduate planning to work in Dubai, this guide shows exactly where you stand, which route to take, what it costs you and how to avoid the mistakes that cost freshers months.
Every rule below comes from DHA’s own Sheryan service pages, DHA’s Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals and the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR). OnTime Healthcare has supported DHA licensing for professionals and facilities since 2003.
Quick answer: can a fresher apply for your title?
| Your title | Experience DHA asks for (Unified PQR) | Can a fresher apply? |
|---|---|---|
| Registered nurse (bachelor’s) | No experience required | Yes |
| Assistant nurse | No experience required (practises under supervision) | Yes |
| General practitioner | One-year internship, plus two years of clinical experience | Not for a full licence |
| General dentist | One-year internship, plus two years of clinical experience | Not for a full licence |
| Registered midwife | Two years after qualifying as a midwife | No |
| Assistant midwife | One year after qualifying | No |
| Specialist / consultant | Depends on the tier of your specialty qualification | Depends on tier |
| Pharmacy and allied health | Varies by title | Check your title on the Self-Assessment Tool |
Two details worth knowing. Non-UAE nationals who graduated as registered nurses from a UAE university must complete six months of clinical training after graduation. And UAE nationals have some different experience rules, so the Self-Assessment Tool is the final word for your exact profile. DHA’s portal now links the April 2025 edition of the PQR, so always confirm your title there before you pay for anything.
Which route fits you?
Everything starts with DHA’s free Self-Assessment Tool on the Sheryan portal. It gives an instant result, and that result decides your route:
- “Eligible”: you go through Get Registered, the normal route (steps below).
- “Not eligible”, but you think the tool got it wrong: request a manual Review Registration Eligibility. It costs AED 200 and takes about 10 working days.
- You don’t meet the PQR experience rules yet: the trainee licence is your route. You’ll need an acceptance letter from one of DHA’s approved practice settings (DHA publishes the list on its website). The licence is activated in a facility approved for clinical training, and you work under an assigned clinical supervisor.
Trainee licence vs full DHA licence
| Trainee licence | Full (standard) licence | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Professionals who don’t yet meet the PQR experience rules | Professionals who meet the PQR for their title |
| Where you can work | Only at a DHA-approved practice setting that accepts you | Any DHA-licensed facility that hires you |
| Supervision | Under an assigned clinical supervisor | Independent, within your title |
| Licence fee (paid by the facility) | AED 3,000 physicians and dentists / AED 1,000 nurses, midwives and allied health | Same, for a 1-year full-time licence |
| After training | The trainee licence is cancelled; you apply again for your new title and pass its assessment | Renewed for 1, 2 or 3 years |
How the DHA licensing process works
- Check your eligibility. Use DHA’s free Self-Assessment Tool on the Sheryan portal. The result is instant. If it says “not eligible”, you can still request a manual Review Registration Eligibility (AED 200, about 10 working days).
- Verify your documents. DataFlow, DHA’s verification partner, checks your degree, experience, licence and good standing directly with the issuing bodies (Primary Source Verification, or PSV).
- Pass the DHA assessment, if your title needs one. Most titles sit a computer-based test (CBT) at a Prometric centre. You can run PSV and the CBT at the same time.
- Get Registered. Submit the Get Registered application on Sheryan and pay the AED 200 credentialing fee. DHA’s published average processing time is 5 working days. For some titles, DHA also asks for an oral assessment.
- Receive your DHA registration. This is often called the eligibility letter. It is valid for one year and lists you on the Dubai Medical Registry.
- Your employer activates your licence. A DHA-licensed facility applies for Activate Professional License on Sheryan. Once its application is complete, DHA activates the licence instantly (or in 1 working day if your personal records changed).
You don’t need a job offer to start. You can complete registration first and look for work while it’s valid. The medical test you take for your UAE residence visa is an immigration step, not a DHA step; DHA itself asks for a medical fitness report only when a professional aged 65 or above is activated or renewed.
What you’ll actually pay as a fresher
Good news for freshers: the biggest fee, the licence itself, is paid by the facility that hires you, not by you.
| Fee | Nurses, midwives, allied health and TCAM | Physicians and dentists | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Assessment Tool | Free | Free | – |
| Credentialing (Get Registered) | AED 200 | AED 200 | You |
| Review Registration Eligibility (manual review, optional) | AED 200 | AED 200 | You |
| Prometric exam (CBT) | USD 240 (nurses) | USD 280 | You |
| DataFlow verification | Set by DataFlow | Set by DataFlow | You |
| Oral assessment, if required (normal / urgent) | AED 250 / AED 2,000 | AED 500 / AED 2,000 | You |
| Full-time licence – 1 / 2 / 3 years | AED 1,000 / 1,500 / 2,500 | AED 3,000 / 5,000 / 7,500 | Your employer |
| Trainee licence | AED 1,000 | AED 3,000 | Your employer |
DHA adds Knowledge and Innovation fees at checkout. Some allied health exams cost less than USD 240; DHA’s CBT guideline lists the fee for each title. DataFlow’s charge depends on how many documents you verify, so check the current price on DataFlow’s DHA page before you apply.
The DHA exam: what freshers should know
- The exam is a computer-based multiple-choice test run by Prometric at test centres worldwide, so you can sit it from your home country.
- Most titles get 150 questions in 3 hours.
- Pass marks from DHA’s CBT guideline: general practitioner 60%, general dentist 60%, registered nurse 50%, assistant nurse 50%, registered midwife 50%.
- Your result appears in your Sheryan account as Pass or Fail. DHA does not share your score.
- You get three attempts across all UAE health authorities. If you fail the third, you cannot reapply for a DHA licence for two years. You earn three new attempts only by gaining an additional recognised qualification, or at least two years of licensed clinical experience after your last attempt.
That three-attempt limit is why preparation matters more for freshers than anyone. Treat your first attempt as the one that counts. Read our complete DHA exam guide before you book.
Documents checklist
- Valid passport copy and a recent passport-size photograph
- Your degree or diploma certificate
- Your licence or registration from your home country, or from the country where you practise
- Internship and experience certificates, where your title needs them
- A Good Standing Certificate from your licensing authority, no older than six months when you apply
- A logbook, for surgical specialties
- For the trainee route: an acceptance letter from a DHA-approved practice setting
How long does it take?
How long the whole process takes depends on your case: how quickly DataFlow can verify your documents with the issuing bodies, when you sit and pass the exam, and when an employer activates your licence. DHA’s own processing is short. Get Registered averages 5 working days, and activation is usually instant, so most of the wait sits in verification and the job search.
Plan your job search early. Your registration is valid for one year, and if it expires before a facility activates your licence, you’ll have to renew it (AED 200) or start again.
Fresher mistakes that cost months
- Paying before checking your title. The Self-Assessment Tool is free. Run it before you pay DataFlow or book the exam.
- An old Good Standing Certificate. It must be no older than six months on the day you apply, not the day you started your file.
- Rushing the exam. Three attempts across all UAE authorities, then a two-year block.
- Letting the registration lapse. It’s valid for one year. Start job-hunting as soon as you’re registered.
- Staying out of practice too long. A break of more than two years adds CPD and training requirements (see below).
- Applying to the wrong authority. A DHA licence covers Dubai only. Abu Dhabi licenses through the Department of Health (DOH), and the other emirates through the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP).
Graduated a while ago? The gap-in-practice rule
A break from clinical practice of more than two years triggers extra requirements under the PQR. For example, a gap of 2 to under 3 years means 40 CME/CPD credits plus 4 months of training for physicians and dentists, and 20 credits plus 4 months for nurses. Non-UAE nationals cannot apply if the gap is more than five years. Our guide to the gap-of-practice rule has the full table.
Once you’re licensed
- Your licence is activated for one, two or three years, and your employer renews it through Sheryan.
- Earn CPD points every year: physicians and dentists 40, nurses and pharmacists 20, allied health and TCAM 10.
- Keep practising. If you don’t practise for six consecutive months while the licence is valid, without an excuse DHA accepts, the licence is cancelled and you’ll need a new one.
- Your first DHA licence is always full-time. Part-time licences at other facilities come later, with your medical director’s approval.
Learn more: How to Activate Your DHA Licence
Planning your own clinic later?
Your professional licence covers you as an individual. Opening a practice needs a separate DHA facility licence for the premises. OnTime Healthcare has helped set up more than 350 healthcare facilities, and our architectural and interior design team designs DHA-compliant clinics. If you’re job-hunting instead, our medical recruitment agency in Dubai connects licensed professionals with hospitals and clinics.
How OnTime Healthcare helps freshers
- Eligibility check first: we confirm your title and route before you spend on DataFlow or the exam.
- Document support: we make sure your DataFlow file is complete, so verification isn’t held up.
- Exam preparation: practice tests and guidance, so your first attempt counts.
- Job and activation support: we help you find a facility that can activate your licence while your registration is valid.
Not sure where you stand? Contact OnTime Healthcare for an eligibility check before you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a BSc nursing fresher get a DHA licence?
Yes. Under the PQR, a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree needs no experience. You still need DataFlow verification, the DHA nursing exam (50% pass mark, USD 240) and a Good Standing Certificate from your nursing council. Non-UAE nationals who graduated from a UAE university must first complete six months of clinical training.
Can an MBBS graduate get a DHA licence right after internship?
Not a full general practitioner licence. The PQR asks for a one-year internship plus two years of clinical experience. If you don’t meet that yet, the trainee licence at a DHA-approved practice setting is the route to explore.
What is a DHA trainee licence?
It’s a licence for professionals who don’t yet meet the PQR experience rules. You need an acceptance letter from a DHA-approved practice setting, and you work under an assigned clinical supervisor. When the training ends, the trainee licence is cancelled and you apply again for your new title.
Do I need a job offer before applying?
No. You can get registered first. You need an employer only for the final activation step, and the registration stays valid for one year.
How much does a DHA licence cost a fresher?
You pay the AED 200 credentialing fee, the Prometric exam (USD 240 for nurses, USD 280 for doctors) and DataFlow’s verification charge. The facility that hires you pays the licence fee: AED 1,000 a year for nurses and allied health, AED 3,000 for physicians and dentists.
What if I fail the DHA exam?
You can try again, but you get three attempts across all UAE health authorities. After a third failure, you can’t reapply for a DHA licence for two years unless you gain an additional recognised qualification or two years of licensed experience.
Are UAE nationals exempt from the DHA exam?
There’s no blanket exemption. DHA exempts applicants based on set criteria; for example, if you passed a DHA assessment for the same title within the last five years with no gap in practice, you don’t sit it again. The Self-Assessment Tool shows whether an exemption applies to you.
Is a DHA licence valid in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah?
No. A DHA licence covers Dubai. Abu Dhabi licenses through DOH, and Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah through MOHAP.
Official sources: DHA Sheryan service pages (Get Registered, Activate Professional License, Review Registration Eligibility), DHA Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals, DHA CBT Assessment Guideline (updated September 2026) and the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements hosted on dha.gov.ae.
Read next: Complete DHA Licence Guide · DHA Nursing Licence Guide · DHA Eligibility Requirements
