Opening a clinic in Dubai isn’t a matter of finding a space and hanging a sign. It’s a sequence of government approvals, and the order matters. DHA’s initial approval comes first. The fit-out and trade licence come next. Your facility licence only becomes active after DHA inspects the finished clinic. Get the order wrong and you can end up paying for a lease or a fit-out on a unit you’re not allowed to operate from. If you’re planning a medical clinic setup in Dubai in 2026, here’s what the process actually looks like, step by step, with the official DHA fees, timelines, and paperwork you’ll need.
How DHA Facility Licensing Works: The 3 DHA Stages
A medical clinic in Dubai doesn’t get its licence in one step. Through DHA’s Sheryan portal, every new healthcare facility goes through three stages:
- New Facility License (initial approval): You apply with your facility proposal, the engineering layout and the location details for your premises (Makani number, DM plot number certificate and Ejari). If DHA approves, you receive an inactive facility licence, valid for one year. DHA’s stated average processing time for this stage is 5 working days. A trade licence is optional at this point.
- Activate Facility License: You apply for activation once the fit-out is complete, your trade licence is issued, your clinical staff are licensed, and a Medical Director is appointed. DHA’s stated processing time is 1 working day. After that, the DHA inspection team contacts you to schedule a visit.
- Pass the DHA inspection: DHA inspects the finished facility. If it passes, your licence becomes active and you can start seeing patients. If it fails, you have to fix the issues, book a new inspection, and pay the re-inspection fee.
The Full Approval Sequence, in Order
- Reserve your trade name with DET. DET is the Department of Economy and Tourism, formerly DED. DHA doesn’t need the final trade licence yet; at this stage it is optional.
- Secure your premises and get the layout designed. DHA’s application asks for the location details (Makani number, DM plot number certificate and Ejari), plus a layout drawn by a DHA-prequalified health-facility design consultant to DHA’s Health Facility Guidelines. Check the layout works before you commit to a long lease.
- Apply for DHA’s New Facility License on Sheryan. Submit the owners’ passport copies (with Emirates ID where applicable), the facility proposal on DHA’s template, the layout and the location details. DHA’s published average processing time is 5 working days. If approved, you receive an inactive facility licence valid for one year.
- Issue the trade licence and build. Get the DET trade licence. Then complete the fit-out with Dubai Municipality (or Trakhees/DDA, where your site falls under them) and Dubai Civil Defence approvals. If you will install X-ray or other radiology equipment, register with FANR as well.
- Get activation-ready. Appoint a Medical Director, license your clinical staff under the facility, install a NABIDH-compliant EMR and test its connection, and prepare the Civil Defence certificate, your policies and procedures, a third-party insurance contract and a medical waste management contract.
- Activate and pass inspection. Apply for Activate Facility License on Sheryan. DHA’s published processing time is 1 working day, after which DHA schedules the inspection. Once you pass, the licence becomes active and you can open. If you don’t pass, you fix the issues, book a new inspection and pay the re-inspection fee.
Finish every step within the inactive licence’s one-year validity. DHA cancels the licence if the requirements aren’t completed in that time.
The most expensive mistake is committing to premises, or starting fit-out, before a DHA-prequalified designer has confirmed the layout can meet DHA’s Health Facility Guidelines.
Know More About How to Get a DHA License
Sign the Lease Carefully
This is where clinic owners lose the most money. DHA’s New Facility License application asks for the premises’ Ejari, Makani number and DM plot certificate, so you’ll need the premises secured before you apply. The risk is signing a year’s rent on a unit whose layout can’t meet DHA’s Health Facility Guidelines, or whose building can’t take the services you plan.
Before you sign, have a DHA-prequalified health-facility design consultant test-fit your layout against the guidelines for your facility type. Where you can, negotiate a lease clause or rent-free period that covers the licensing window, so you aren’t paying full rent on a unit you can’t yet operate from.
Plan Your Layout Against Current DHA Space Standards
DHA sets minimum room sizes and layout requirements through its Health Facility Guidelines, and these are updated from time to time. Industry reports in 2026 point to higher minimum areas for new GP and specialist clinics, along with stricter dental operatory clearances and dedicated equipment storage for specialist clinics.
Before your architect finalises drawings, have them checked against the latest DHA Health Facility Guidelines and DHA’s self-inspection checklists. A layout drawn to an outdated standard is one of the most common reasons submissions are sent back, and fixing it after fit-out has started is far more expensive than fixing it on paper.
Documents You’ll Need, Stage by Stage
Many applicants bundle every document into one list and then get confused about what DHA wants at each point. The requirements are split by stage.
For the New Facility License (initial approval):
- Owner and partner passport copies, with Emirates ID where applicable
- Facility proposal on DHA’s template (facility type and services)
- Engineering layout designed by a DHA-prequalified health-facility design consultant, with room and bed counts as per DHA’s Health Facility Guidelines
- Location details: Makani number, DM plot number certificate and Ejari
- Trade licence information or the expected trade name (the licence itself is optional at this stage)
- Consent of the facility owners, if someone else is applying
For activating the licence:
- Valid trade licence
- An appointed Medical Director
- FANR registration, if you are installing radiology equipment
- Evidence of a NABIDH-compliant EMR, and the approval email for tested NABIDH connectivity
- Civil Defence certificate
- Your approved policies and procedures
- Third-party insurance contract
- Medical waste management contract
- Enough licensed professionals to deliver your services, with their licences activated under the facility
Other authorities and the inspection process will also ask for items such as Civil Defence approval, a medical waste management contract, and proof that your EMR system is NABIDH-compliant. Keep names, addresses, and facility details consistent across every submission, because mismatched information is one of the biggest reasons applications get bounced back.
One practical tip: DHA clears draft applications that have been inactive for more than three months, and sends a reminder 15 days before. Don’t leave a half-completed application sitting in Sheryan.
Two tracks run in parallel here, and it’s worth understanding both. The facility licence covers the clinic as an entity. Every doctor, nurse, and allied health professional working inside it also needs an individual DHA professional licence. That means DataFlow primary source verification, a Prometric exam or exemption, and a Good Standing Certificate for each person on staff. Your facility licence can’t be activated until these professional licences are in place. First-time clinic owners often focus so heavily on the facility licence that they underestimate how long the staff licensing side takes.
DHA License Eligibility & DHA Requirements
NABIDH and Your EMR System
DHA lists a NABIDH-compliant electronic medical record system as a prerequisite for a new facility licence. Your EMR must meet the NABIDH Minimum Data Set and standards, and DHA publishes a list of connected EMR vendors. In practice, that means an EMR using ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes and CPT procedure codes that can connect to Dubai’s health information exchange. Pick a vendor that isn’t NABIDH-connected and your application will stall, so lock this in early rather than treating it as a fit-out detail.
DHA Fees and Timeline (2026)
DHA charges fees at each stage, and the amounts depend on your facility type. Here’s what DHA’s official Sheryan service pages list for common facility types:
| Facility Type | Initial Approval Fee | Licence Fee (1 / 2 / 3 Years) | Inspection Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Clinic | AED 1,000 | AED 5,000 / 8,750 / 12,500 | AED 2,000 |
| General Dental Clinic | AED 1,000 | AED 5,000 / 8,750 / 12,500 | AED 2,000 |
| Specialty Clinic | AED 1,000 | AED 6,000 / 10,500 / 15,000 | AED 2,000 |
| Polyclinic (Multiple Specialties) | AED 1,000 | AED 15,000 / 26,250 / 37,500 | AED 2,000 |
| Day Surgery Center | AED 2,000 | AED 20,000 / 35,000 / 50,000 | AED 3,000 |
| General Hospital (>100 Beds) | AED 2,000 | AED 40,000 / 70,000 / 100,000 | AED 4,000 |
Knowledge and Innovation fees are added at checkout. If your facility fails inspection, a re-inspection fee applies, which is AED 1,000 for most clinics. These are government fees only. They don’t cover fit-out, medical equipment, your EMR system, or consultancy costs.
Timeline: How long setup takes depends on the project: the facility type, how quickly the layout is finalised, the fit-out, and how fast your staff are licensed. DHA’s own steps are short. The New Facility License averages 5 working days, and activation takes 1 working day before the inspection visit. Just remember that the inactive licence is valid for one year, so every remaining step has to fit inside that window.
Where This Usually Goes Wrong
Most delays trace back to a handful of repeat offenders:
- Starting fit-out before DHA initial approval
- Signing a lease on premises whose layout can’t meet DHA’s Health Facility Guidelines
- Submitting layouts against outdated space standards
- Choosing an EMR vendor that isn’t NABIDH-connected
- Forgetting to appoint a Medical Director before applying for activation
- Underestimating how long individual staff licensing takes compared with the facility licence
None of these are complicated fixes on their own. They’re just easy to miss if you’re managing the process without someone who has been through Sheryan submissions before.
Coordinating several government authorities, a construction timeline, and individual licensing for every hire on your team is a full-time job on top of actually running a clinic. OnTime Healthcare has worked directly with DHA, MOHAP, DOH Abu Dhabi, and DHCR (Dubai Healthcare City) on facility setup, engineering layout approval, equipment sourcing, and staff licensing and recruitment for years. If you’re planning a clinic setup in Dubai, get in touch before you sign anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long does it take to set up a medical clinic in Dubai?
DHA’s own steps are short: about 5 working days for the New Facility License and 1 working day for activation, plus the inspection visit. The total time depends on the project, including the fit-out, the trade licence and staff licensing. Everything has to be completed within the inactive licence’s one-year validity.
2. What is the minimum space required for a clinic in Dubai in 2026?
Minimum areas depend on the clinic type and are set by DHA’s Health Facility Guidelines. Industry reports indicate higher minimums for new GP and specialist clinics in 2026, so have your layout checked against the latest DHA guidelines before you submit.
3. Do I need a lease before applying to DHA?
Yes. DHA’s New Facility License application asks for the premises’ Ejari, Makani number and DM plot certificate. To limit the risk, have a DHA-prequalified designer check the layout before you sign, and negotiate a clause or rent-free period that covers the licensing window.
4. What approvals are needed for a Dubai clinic, and in what order?
Reserve the trade name with DET, secure the premises and layout, then apply for DHA’s New Facility License (inactive licence, valid one year). After that come the DET trade licence, the fit-out with Dubai Municipality and Civil Defence approvals (and FANR for radiology), then staff licensing, the Medical Director and the NABIDH EMR. The last step is DHA activation and inspection.
5. How much does a DHA facility licence cost?
For a general clinic, the initial approval fee is AED 1,000, the 1-year licence fee is AED 5,000, and the inspection fee is AED 2,000. Fees increase with facility type, up to AED 40,000 a year for a hospital with more than 100 beds. Knowledge and Innovation fees are added at checkout.
6. What is NABIDH and why does my clinic need it?
NABIDH is Dubai’s health information exchange platform. DHA requires every new facility to use an EMR system that complies with NABIDH standards and its Minimum Data Set, typically with ICD-10-CM and CPT coding.
7. Do all my staff need separate licences from the clinic’s facility licence?
Yes. The facility licence covers the clinic itself. Every doctor, nurse, and allied health professional needs an individual DHA professional licence, and these must be activated under your facility before DHA will activate the facility licence.
8. What documents are required for the DHA facility licence application?
For the New Facility License: owner passport copies (and Emirates ID if applicable), the facility proposal, an engineering layout from a DHA-prequalified designer, and location details (Makani number, DM plot certificate and Ejari). For activation: a valid trade licence, a Medical Director, activated staff licences, NABIDH EMR evidence, the Civil Defence certificate, policies, third-party insurance and a waste management contract.
9. Can a DHCC clinic treat patients across all of Dubai?
DHCC is a healthcare free zone regulated by the Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory (DHCR), not DHA. The licensing framework and operating scope are different from a DHA mainland clinic, so decide which route fits your patient base before you start.
10. What’s the most common reason clinic licence applications get delayed?
Inconsistent documentation, layouts drawn against outdated standards, EMR systems that aren’t NABIDH-connected, starting fit-out before DHA initial approval, and a missing Medical Director at the activation stage.
11. Do I need a trade licence before applying to DHA?
No. DHA lists a trade licence as optional for the New Facility License application. You will need a valid trade licence before DHA activates your facility licence.
12. What happens if my clinic fails the DHA inspection?
You’ll need to fix the issues DHA raises, schedule a new inspection, and pay the re-inspection fee before your licence can be activated.
13. How long is DHA’s inactive facility licence valid?
One year from the date it’s issued. If activation isn’t completed within that year, DHA cancels the licence.
