Prometric Exam for Occupational Therapists & OT Assistants: DHA, MOHAP, DOH, SCFHS & QCHP Requirements, Official Blueprint, Pass Mark, Fees, Timeline & Salaries (2026)
Occupational therapists are recruited across the Gulf for paediatric development centres, stroke and spinal rehabilitation, hand therapy and mental health. This guide covers the Occupational Therapist and OT Assistant titles, degree and experience rules by regulator, the 150-question paper with its 55% pass mark, the official blueprint areas and what repeats in each, documents, fees, timeline and salaries.
Occupational therapy is a small profession with large demand in the Gulf. Paediatric centres need OTs for sensory, motor and school-readiness work; new rehabilitation hospitals need them for stroke, spinal cord and brain injury; orthopaedic and plastics units need hand therapists. The licensing route is the same assessment–verification–exam sequence as other allied professions, with a blueprint that rewards breadth.
Titles
| Title (code) | Qualification | Experience | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational Therapist (ORA5562) | Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy (four years, WFOT-recognised programmes are the safest) or a master's | Typically 2 years in the UAE and Qatar; Saudi Arabia accepts newer graduates | 150 MCQs, 3 h, pass 55% |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant (ORA5563) | Diploma or associate degree in occupational therapy | 1–2 years | 150 MCQs, 3 h, pass 50% |
Physiotherapists cannot license as OTs and vice versa — regulators treat them as distinct professions (physiotherapist guide). A rehabilitation-science degree that is not specifically occupational therapy is a common cause of rejection; check with the eligibility check.
Regulators
- DHA and MOHAP: bachelor's + experience; DataFlow; Prometric exam.
- DOH: same structure through Pearson VUE; Abu Dhabi's rehabilitation hospitals are major OT employers.
- SCFHS: Specialist classification for bachelor's holders; the biggest market by volume, including large rehabilitation cities and MOH hospitals (SCFHS guide).
- QCHP: bachelor's + 2 years; HMC's rehabilitation institute and Sidra recruit OTs (QCHP guide).
The official blueprint
- Neurological conditions — stroke (motor recovery stages, neglect, apraxia, upper-limb retraining, positioning), traumatic brain injury (cognitive levels and matching intervention), spinal cord injury (functional expectations by level — C5 vs C6 vs C7 is a perennial question), Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis
- Physical disabilities — arthritis and joint protection, amputations and prosthetic training, burns (anti-deformity positioning, splinting, scar management), energy conservation and work simplification, ADL retraining, wheelchair prescription and seating
- Hand dysfunctions — tendon repair protocols, peripheral nerve injuries and their classic deformities and splints (radial, median, ulnar), carpal tunnel, fractures, oedema and scar management, splint design principles
- Paediatric conditions and developmental disabilities — cerebral palsy types, autism, sensory integration and sensory processing, developmental coordination disorder, Down syndrome, reflex integration, fine-motor and handwriting, developmental milestones, feeding, play
- Psychosocial problems and mental health — models of practice (MOHO, CMOP-E, PEO), group process, activity analysis, schizophrenia, depression, dementia (cognitive disability levels), substance use
- Community-based services and assistive technology — home modification, community reintegration, adaptive equipment, environmental control, driver rehabilitation. This area is listed twice in the blueprint; treat it as heavily weighted.
- Occupational health and patient safety — ergonomics, work hardening, functional capacity evaluation, safe patient handling, falls prevention, infection control
- Ethics and professionalism
The reference list is the standard set: Pedretti for physical dysfunction, Case-Smith for paediatrics, a hand therapy fundamentals text, a developmental disabilities handbook and a mental-health OT text.
What repeats
- Spinal cord level → functional outcome and the equipment that enables it (tenodesis grasp at C6, for instance).
- Nerve injury → deformity → splint. Wrist drop, ape hand and claw hand with the matching orthosis.
- Frames of reference. Biomechanical vs rehabilitative vs neurodevelopmental vs sensory integration — choose the one that fits the scenario.
- Developmental sequence. Grasp patterns and scissor skills by age; primitive reflex integration ages.
- Cognitive levels — Rancho Los Amigos for brain injury, Allen levels for dementia — and what intervention is appropriate at each.
- Safety-first answers. Where an option addresses hip precautions, sternal precautions, aspiration risk or fall risk, it is usually the one wanted.
Therapists who have worked only in paediatrics should budget extra time for hand therapy and neurology, and the reverse. Practise with the Occupational Therapist question bank (ORA5562) and organise revision using the 30-day study plan; NBCOT-style review books are a good match for the question style.
Documents
Degree, transcript, internship or fieldwork-hours certificate (regulators look for roughly 1,000 supervised hours, the WFOT minimum), home registration — AIOTA or state council in India, PRC in the Philippines, HCPC in the UK, NBCOT and state licence in the US, HPCSA in South Africa, the relevant council in Jordan, Egypt or Pakistan — experience letters (format) and a good-standing certificate (guide). DataFlow takes four to eight weeks (guide).
Fees and timeline
- DataFlow USD 250–450; exam around USD 240; licence fees by authority (fee guide, calculator)
- Three to five months to eligibility
Salaries (monthly, 2026)
| Country | OT Assistant | Occupational Therapist | Senior / hand therapist / paediatric lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE | AED 5,000–8,000 | AED 9,000–16,000 | AED 16,000–25,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR 5,000–8,000 | SAR 8,000–14,000 | SAR 14,000–22,000 |
| Qatar | QAR 5,500–8,500 | QAR 9,000–15,000 | QAR 15,000–23,000 |
Private paediatric centres in the UAE often pay per session on top of a base, which can lift earnings substantially. Compare offers with the salary calculator, and register in the talent pool.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass mark for the Prometric occupational therapist exam?
55% on the current guideline — 83 correct answers from 150 questions in three hours. The Occupational Therapy Assistant paper requires 50%.
Is WFOT recognition required for a GCC occupational therapy licence?
It is not always written as a strict requirement, but a degree from a WFOT-approved programme with documented fieldwork hours is the most reliably accepted. Degrees in general rehabilitation science are frequently rejected for the OT title.
Can a physiotherapist apply for an occupational therapy licence?
No. Gulf regulators license the two as separate professions, each requiring its own degree.
Which Gulf country is best for occupational therapists?
Saudi Arabia has the most vacancies and accepts newer graduates. The UAE pays well in private paediatric and rehabilitation settings but usually asks for two years of experience. Qatar recruits mainly for its public hospital network.
Practice banks for this exam
Chapter-wise MCQs with written reasoning on every question, and timed mocks at the real pass mark.