DOH Licensing - Complete United Arab Emirates Guide

About the authority

Abu Dhabi's healthcare regulator - Tamm and Riayati platforms, Dataflow verification and a Pearson VUE licensing exam.

The Department of Health regulates every healthcare professional practising in the emirate of Abu Dhabi - Cleveland Clinic, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, SEHA hospitals, and every private clinic from the corniche to Al Ain. A DOH licence is distinct from and does not overlap with DHA (Dubai) or MOHAP (Northern Emirates).

Applications route through Tamm (Abu Dhabi's government services portal, for individual candidates) or Riayati (the DOH-specific health system, usually accessed by sponsoring employers). Documents flow into the same underlying evaluation queue either way.

For most cadres, the licensing exam is an MCQ paper set to DOH's blueprint and sat at a Pearson VUE test centre. Consultants - particularly in high-stakes specialties like cardiology, neurosurgery, and interventional radiology - often face an additional in-person interview panel with senior clinicians before final classification.

Established: 2007

Official website

Title tiers

DOH classifies clinicians by seniority. Your tier drives eligibility, exam blueprint and salary bands.

General Practitioner

2 years post-internship

Frontline clinical role - family medicine, urgent care, occupational health. Practises under specialist oversight for complex cases.

Specialist

5 years post-qualification (3 in specialty)

Board-certified in a recognised specialty with demonstrable specialty-only experience. Can practise independently within the specialty scope.

Consultant

7+ years post-specialty, plus interview panel

Senior specialists with sub-specialty training and leadership record. DOH may require an interview with a subject-matter panel before granting Consultant status.

Eligibility

Recognised qualification listed in DOH's approved schedules
Post-qualification experience per title tier (2 yrs GP, 5 yrs Specialist)
Good Standing Certificate no older than 6 months
IELTS/OET for select categories

Document checklist

Get these ready before you open your DOH file - missing or mis-formatted documents are the #1 reason applications stall.

Identity

•Passport (bio page + valid UAE entry stamp or Emirates ID if resident)
•Emirates ID (if resident)
•Passport-size photo on white background

Qualifications

•Primary degree certificate
•Full academic transcripts
•Internship completion certificate
•Specialty board certificate (Specialist / Consultant tiers)
•Sub-specialty fellowship (Consultant tier where applicable)

Experience

•Continuous experience letters - every month since qualification
•Letters must show exact dates, employment type, role and HR contact
•For Consultants: research publications list, teaching record, complex-case summary

Professional standing

•Good Standing Certificate (within 6 months of DOH submission)
•Home-country practice licence - current
•BLS + ACLS / PALS / ATLS as applicable
•For select cadres: IELTS 5.0+ or OET B equivalent

Attestations

•Home MOFA attestation
•UAE Embassy attestation in the issuing country
•MOFA UAE final attestation (post-arrival, if required by employer)

Licensing process

1
Tamm / Riayati registration
Open a professional file on Tamm (individuals) or via a sponsoring facility on Riayati.
2
Dataflow PSV
DOH-specific Dataflow report validates every document with the issuing body.
3
Eligibility & Exam Booking
DOH reviews the file and confirms eligibility; you then book the Pearson VUE exam from your TAMM account.
4
Assessment (exam or interview)
Computer-based MCQ at a Pearson VUE centre for most cadres; consultants may face an in-person interview panel.
5
Facility linking
License is activated once a DOH-registered facility submits your practice permit request.

Detailed timeline

Realistic durations for each milestone. Ranges assume no document issues - add a few weeks if attestation or Dataflow re-verification is needed.

Tamm / Riayati file & document upload

1 – 3 days

DOH preliminary review

5 – 10 working days

Dataflow verification

6 – 10 weeks

Eligibility Letter issuance

3 – 7 working days after Dataflow clears

Pearson VUE exam booking & sitting

Slots typically 2 – 6 weeks out in Abu Dhabi

Consultant interview panel (if applicable)

2 – 4 weeks to schedule after exam pass

Licence issuance & facility activation

5 – 10 working days after final approval

Exam at a glance

Format

100 – 150 MCQs

Duration

2 – 3 hours

Pass score

60% (title-dependent)

Fee (USD)

$180 – $280

DOH exam guides by profession

The figures above apply to every candidate. Each guide below narrows them to one profession: what that paper weights, who is eligible, and the common questions for that role.

DOH exam for nurses
Where the marks sit on the DOH nursing paper, from med-surg to drug calculations.
DOH exam for doctors
How DOH sorts GPs, specialists and consultants, and what each tier is examined on.
DOH exam for dentists
Case-based restorative, endo and perio questions, and the General Dentist or Specialist route at DOH.
DOH exam for pharmacists
Clinical pharmacy, dose adjustment and counselling points that decide the DOH pharmacist exam.
DOH exam for physiotherapists
Musculoskeletal, neuro and cardiopulmonary scenarios as DOH sets them for physical therapists.
DOH exam for lab technicians
Haematology, chemistry and blood-bank topics, plus how DOH separates technologists from technicians.
DOH exam for radiographers
Radiation protection, positioning and CT or MRI anatomy for the DOH imaging licence.
DOH exam for midwives
Labour management, obstetric emergencies and newborn care on the DOH midwifery exam.
DOH exam for anesthesia technicians
Machine checks, airway kit and anesthetic drugs, the core of the DOH anesthesia technician paper.
DOH exam for dietitians
Medical nutrition therapy for diabetes, renal and critical care, as tested for DOH dietitians.

By nationality

Indian nurses & doctors

Pakistani nurses & doctors

Filipino nurses & doctors

Nigerian nurses & doctors

Egyptian nurses & doctors

Bangladeshi nurses & doctors

Nepali nurses & doctors

Sri Lankan nurses & doctors

Kenyan nurses & doctors

Jordanian nurses & doctors

Fee breakdown

Indicative out-of-pocket costs in USD. Actual charges vary slightly by title tier, currency exchange, and any employer reimbursement policy.

Item	Amount (USD)
Tamm / Riayati account creation	Free
Dataflow PSV report DOH-specific package	$240 – $340
DOH licensing exam (Pearson VUE)	$220 – $280
Consultant interview panel Only for Consultant tier and select specialties	$140 – $270
Licence issuance	$270 – $410
Practice permit / facility linking	Employer-paid
Total out-of-pocket (indicative) Higher end for Consultant tier with interview	$730 – $1,300

Let us handle it for you

Prefer to skip the paperwork? Hand your DOH file to our licensing team - one flat fee, one point of contact, one clear timeline.

Prometric Medical Consultancy — DOH licensing service

All-in-one

We handle Dataflow prep, document review, application submission and follow-up until your licence is issued. Flat fee - no per-document surprises.

New LicenseLicense TransferLicense UpgradeAdding Title

1 business day response after payment

Renewal & CME

Validity

1 year

CME per cycle

40 CME hours per cycle (mix of DOH-recognised categories)

Renewal via Tamm or through the sponsoring facility; late fees apply after expiry, and a lapse over 30 days may require re-application.

Common rejection reasons (and how to avoid them)

Patterns we see repeatedly across candidate files. Fixing these before submission saves weeks of back-and-forth.

Experience letter doesn't distinguish specialty vs. general practice years

Fix:For Specialist / Consultant tiers, DOH counts specialty-only years. Ask HR to split letters by role and specifically label the post-specialty period.

Consultant interview panel not passed

Fix:The panel tests clinical reasoning in your sub-specialty. Rehearse recent complex cases, current guidelines and the specialty's key trials. A rejection can be re-attempted after 3 – 6 months.

Dataflow flags the internship certificate as unverifiable

Fix:Some universities issue combined degree-plus-internship letters. Request a standalone internship completion certificate with dates and hospital details.

Missing sub-specialty documentation for a Consultant applying in a niche field

Fix:Provide the fellowship certificate, sub-specialty log-book excerpts and a portfolio letter from your training programme director.

Question banks to revise for DOH

DOH sets its paper through Pearson VUE to its own outline. The clinical ground is the same as the Prometric-based regulators cover, which makes these banks sound revision for it, but check DOH's outline for the weighting. A selection across professions is shown here.

Open the full exam catalogue

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a job offer before applying to DOH?

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Not strictly - you can start the professional file on Tamm proactively. However, the final practice permit only activates once a DOH-registered facility (SEHA, Mubadala Health, PureHealth, etc.) sponsors you.

Is DOH tougher than DHA to get through?

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For GP and most Specialist applications the process is comparable. Consultants often find DOH more rigorous because of the interview panel - you're not just passing an MCQ, you're defending your clinical judgement in front of peers.

Can I sit the DOH exam outside the UAE?

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DOH exams are delivered by Pearson VUE. After DOH confirms your eligibility you book through the link in your TAMM account, and Pearson VUE's scheduler shows which test centres, in the UAE or abroad, are open to you. Check that list before you plan any travel.

Can I hold a DHA and DOH licence at the same time?

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Yes. Some clinicians licence in both to work across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Each authority requires its own file, Dataflow package (partial reuse possible) and licence fee.

What is Riayati and how is it different from Tamm?

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Tamm is the general Abu Dhabi government-services portal that any resident uses; you'd start a professional file there as an individual. Riayati is the health-specific platform employers use to onboard, licence and manage clinical staff. Documents from both feed the same DOH review pipeline.

Do consultants always face an interview panel?

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Not for every specialty. High-risk clinical specialties and any Consultant applying with fewer than 8 years' post-specialty experience are the most likely to be called in. Family medicine and low-risk outpatient specialties often skip it.

What's the realistic timeline from application to first working day?

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GP / Specialist: 3 – 5 months. Consultant with interview panel: 5 – 8 months. Add time if attestation isn't done or the sponsoring employer takes long to submit the practice permit.

Questions that apply to every Gulf regulator

DOH Licensing Guide