UAE GP / Doctor License Exam Guide 2026 - DHA, DoH and MOHAP

A UAE medical degree does not automatically map to whichever title an applicant selects. The first decision is whether the qualification and experience support General Practitioner, Specialist or Consultant. This guide is only about the General Practitioner title. A postgraduate specialty qualification must be checked against the PQR tier tables instead of being folded into the GP route.

Every figure in this guide is checked against the official regulator sources linked below — last verified 8 August 2026.

Choose the authority and title first

Use the authority connected to the intended facility and jurisdiction:

• DHA manages professional registration for DHA-licensed facilities in Dubai.
• DoH licenses healthcare professionals in Abu Dhabi through TAMM.
• MOHAP runs a federal evaluation and licensing route for facilities under its jurisdiction.
• Sharjah Health Authority is also a PQR authority. Do not assume every Sharjah role belongs to MOHAP; confirm the facility's regulator before opening a case.

The unified PQR supplies the baseline qualification rules, but each authority controls its own portal, credential review, assessment step and licensing artefact. A positive self-assessment, evaluation certificate or exam pass is not by itself permission to practise.

Verify the General Practitioner title

For the General Practitioner title, the current unified PQR requires:

• an accredited MBBS, MBChB or equivalent medical qualification;
• a medical programme of at least five years, excluding internship;
• successful completion of a one-year post-graduation internship; and
• two years of clinical experience after internship.

For a non-UAE national who graduated outside the UAE, MOHAP expressly says the two post-internship years must be clinical experience supported by a valid professional licence and a recent Good Standing Certificate. Training is not a substitute for that experience. The PQR lists cardiology, critical care, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics as fields that may support a GP application.

There are separate PQR exceptions for UAE nationals, children of Emirati women and recent graduates of UAE universities. Those exceptions should be claimed only through the relevant authority's review. They are not a general “fresh graduate” exemption for an overseas applicant.

Check licence, good standing and practice gaps

The PQR normally requires a valid professional licence or registration from the home country or country of last employment. Its validity should cover the experience used for the title. The Good Standing Certificate must normally:

• be no more than six months old when the licence application is made;
• come from the health regulator in the country of last employment; and
• cover the professional status attached to the claimed experience.

Where a country has no health regulator, an authority may accept an officially issued certificate from the last employer. That is an authority decision, not an applicant choice.

Practice-gap rules also need two checks. The unified PQR starts remediation when clinical discontinuity exceeds three years and generally prevents a non-UAE national from applying after a gap exceeding five years. DoH's current title workflow separately asks that the last day of GP experience be no more than two years old. MOHAP's evaluation page states that the practice gap must not exceed three years, while its later licensing service has its own training requirements when the gap reaches two years. Follow the stricter rule shown at the stage and authority where the application sits.

Use this authority verification workflow

DHA

1. Run the free Sheryan self-assessment for General Practitioner.
2. If the result is unclear or negative, request a formal Review Registration Eligibility rather than changing facts to force a result.
3. Complete PSV and the required CBT. DHA's current manual permits PSV and CBT to proceed simultaneously.
4. Submit the Get Registered application after the prerequisites are complete.
5. A DHA registration is valid for one year and must be activated into a licence by a DHA-licensed hiring facility before clinical practice begins.

The current DHA CBT guide lists General Practice as a 150-question, three-hour MCQ assessment delivered through Prometric, with a 60% pass score. DHA warns that it may change content, format or pass score; use the live CBT guide when booking.

DoH

1. Create the professional profile through TAMM using UAE PASS.
2. Complete PSV for the documents requested for the GP title.
3. Submit the licensing application for DoH credential review.
4. When the case is approved for assessment, pay through TAMM and use the Pearson VUE redirect to schedule.
5. Complete the remaining security-clearance and facility-linked licensing steps shown in the case.

The current DoH healthcare-professional manual lists the GP CBT as 120 MCQs in 2.5 hours. DoH's assessment step is valid for six months in that manual. Treat the TAMM case and exam ticket as the final instructions because the authority can apply limitations based on documented scope and experience.

MOHAP

1. Check the PQR title and the MOHAP evaluation conditions.
2. Apply for Health Professional Evaluation through the MOHAP portal with UAE PASS.
3. Upload prior DataFlow reports and exam-exemption evidence, if any.
4. After review, follow the system link for verification and, where required, the Prometric assessment.
5. Use the resulting evaluation certificate in the later facility-led professional licensing process.

MOHAP states that the evaluation officer determines whether an assessment is required after reviewing the application. Its published FAQ reports Prometric results as Pass or Fail against a 60% minimum. It does not publish a single GP question count and duration on the service page, so the booking notice is the source for those details.

Prepare the document file

Build one name-consistent file before starting PSV:

• passport and recent photograph;
• final medical degree and complete academic transcript;
• internship completion certificate, with rotations or dates where requested;
• professional licence or registration covering the experience period;
• Good Standing Certificate issued within the accepted window;
• signed and stamped experience letters with title, department, exact dates, hours or employment status, and clinical duties;
• legal translations plus originals for documents not accepted in their issued language;
• previous PSV or DataFlow reports;
• exam-equivalency evidence, if claiming an exemption; and
• authority-specific identity, family-book, offer or nomination documents where applicable.

Make the degree name, registration name, passport name and employment chronology agree. If they do not, prepare the official name-change evidence before verification. A discrepancy or unverifiable employer is not repaired by passing the exam.

Understand PSV and exam exemption

PSV means the authority or its appointed agency verifies documents with their original issuers. The PQR identifies qualifications, experience certificates and professional licences as documents that may require verification. A transferred report can reduce duplicate work, but an authority may request additional verification.

Exam exemption is narrower than licensing exemption. The PQR lists recognised examinations and active registrations that can waive the assessment for eligible applicants, but the applicant must still meet the GP title, experience, good-standing and PSV requirements. Upload the exact evidence and wait for the authority's decision before assuming an exemption.

Prepare from the official GP outline

Start with the current authority outline, not a recalled-question dump. DHA's current GP guide covers:

• internal medicine and common emergencies;
• paediatrics;
• obstetrics and gynaecology;
• surgery;
• psychiatry;
• ophthalmology and ENT;
• dermatology;
• epidemiology and evidence-based medicine;
• family medicine, screening and periodic health examination; and
• patient safety, professionalism and ethics.

Turn each line into a decision syllabus. For every topic, revise the presentation, dangerous differential, first stabilising action, best initial test, definitive management, contraindications, referral threshold and follow-up. This is more useful than reading a specialty textbook from cover to cover.

Use mixed clinical sets after the first content pass. The GP assessment rewards safe prioritisation across systems: an emergency item may test stabilisation before diagnosis, while a primary-care item may test screening or the next appropriate investigation.

Review questions with one template

For every incorrect, guessed or slow question, record:

1. Task: diagnosis, investigation, first action, treatment, prevention or ethics?
2. Clues: which age, timing, vital sign, examination or laboratory detail changed the answer?
3. Safety gate: was immediate stabilisation required before further work-up?
4. Best option: why is it the next step, not merely a true statement?
5. Rejected options: what fact makes each close distractor wrong now?
6. Rule to reuse: one sentence that would solve a similar case.
7. Source and review date: current guideline or official outline used to correct the note.

Tag the error as knowledge, prioritisation, stem-reading or timing. Re-test the rule in a new scenario rather than memorising the old option order.

Sequence the application without assumptions

1. Confirm the facility's regulator.
2. Select General Practitioner, not a specialist title based only on job wording.
3. Compare qualification, internship, experience and gap against the PQR and local manual.
4. Resolve name, date and registration inconsistencies.
5. Obtain fresh good-standing evidence.
6. Start the authority's eligibility or evaluation workflow.
7. Complete PSV and assessment in the order that authority permits.
8. Pay only the amounts displayed in the official case or booking flow.
9. Obtain registration or evaluation, then complete the facility-linked licence activation.
10. Do not start clinical work until the practising licence is active.

There is no reliable universal “total UAE GP fee” or completion time. PSV scope, extra-document verification, assessment, credentialing and licence activation are separate charges and stages.

Quick answers

Is an MBBS enough for the GP title? No. The standard route also requires internship, licensed clinical experience, good standing, PSV and any required authority assessment. PQR exceptions are limited and authority-reviewed.

Can I replace experience with an observership or training certificate? Do not assume so. The PQR defines experience as hands-on clinical work by a licensed professional during salaried or contractual employment, and MOHAP expressly rejects training as a substitute for the overseas-graduate GP experience requirement.

Which company delivers the exam? DHA schedules CBT through Prometric. DoH-approved candidates reach Pearson VUE from TAMM. MOHAP's evaluation FAQ identifies its assessment as Prometric. Always schedule from the authority workflow, not from an unaffiliated booking page.

How many attempts do I have? The unified PQR grants three attempts across the authorities and describes a conditional final attempt. Local implementation matters: MOHAP says a fourth attempt is not available through MOHAP, while DHA requires disclosure and review for a possible fourth attempt. Attempts do not reset simply by changing authority.

Does passing the exam let me practise? No. DHA requires registration activation by a hiring facility; DoH requires completion of its licence workflow; MOHAP evaluation precedes the facility-led licensing step.

How long is the approval valid? Name the artefact. DHA registration is currently one year. DoH's issued professional licence is currently two years, while its assessment step has a six-month case window. MOHAP separately describes evaluation-certificate validity and conditions. Read the date on the actual certificate or case.

Should I rely on an advertised package fee or timeline? No. Use the live authority checkout and verification-agency quote. Additional documents, retakes and facility activation can change both.