DHA Facility License Dubai: Process, Documents and Fees
Short answer: To open a clinic on the Dubai mainland you need a DHA facility license, and you get it in two separate Sheryan services. First you apply for a New Facility License, which gives you an inactive license valid for one year. Then, once the clinic is built, staffed and ready, you apply to Activate Facility License, pass a DHA inspection and receive the active license that lets you treat patients.
Last verified: October 2026 against the DHA Manual for Licensing Health Facility (version 1.1, effective 20 November 2024) and the DHA Sheryan service pages. Fees and rules change, so confirm on Sheryan before you file.
Key Takeaways
- A DHA facility license covers the premises and the service. Every doctor, nurse and technician also needs a separate DHA professional license under the facility.
- All applications go through the Sheryan system. DHA does not accept manual or emailed applications.
- The inactive license does not let you see patients, receive patients or advertise. Only activation does.
- Activation needs a trade license, a medical director, evidence of a NABIDH compliant EMR, and a passed inspection.
- Clinics inside Dubai Healthcare City also need the DHA facility license. The DHCC authority issues only the commercial license; DHA issues the operating permit.
Who Needs a DHA Facility License?
Any health facility operating in Dubai under DHA jurisdiction must hold a DHA facility license before providing health services. That includes private clinics, polyclinics, dental clinics, day surgery centers, pharmacies, laboratories, hospitals and add-on services such as home healthcare and telehealth. Clinics in Dubai Healthcare City also need it: the DHCC authority issues the commercial license, and DHA issues the operating permit.
Your trade license and your DHA license are two different approvals. The trade license comes from Dubai Economic and Tourism (DET) or a free zone authority and makes the business legal. The DHA license makes the clinic clinically legal.
The Two Stages at a Glance
| Stage | Sheryan Service | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Initial approval | New Facility License | Inactive license, valid one year |
| 2. Activation | Activate Facility License | Active license for 1, 2 or 3 years |
Stage 1: New Facility License (Initial Approval)
The owner or an authorized person registers on Sheryan through the DHA website or the Invest in Dubai platform, waits for the account activation email, then submits the application for the correct facility type and category.
Documents DHA Requires
- Trade license details, or the expected trade name and ownership information.
- A facility proposal covering the facility type, services, value proposition, specialties of the professionals and the clinical program.
- Location details: Makani number, plot number certificate and Ejari.
- A floor plan designed and approved by a DHA prequalified facility design consultant, with room and bed counts as per the DHA Health Facility Guidelines.
- Agreement to DHA terms and conditions.
The facility licensing team reviews the application and posts feedback inside it. You pay the application fee online. DHA states that licensing fees are non-refundable unless there is an exceptional approval.
What the Inactive License Allows
- You can apply for professional licenses, but they stay inactive until the facility is activated, then switch on automatically.
- You can amend the license, for example to add a specialty or change the layout.
- You cannot provide healthcare services, receive or treat any patient, or promote or advertise health services.
- If you do not complete the requirements within one year, DHA cancels the process and you must re-apply.
Stage 2: Activate Facility License
When the clinic is fitted out, equipped and staffed, the delegated facility representative submits the Activate Facility License service on Sheryan.
Requirements to Activate
- A valid trade license.
- A medical director appointed from the facility’s licensed professionals.
- Professional licenses added under the facility.
- FANR registration if you install radiology equipment, followed by DHA’s radiation safety assessment.
- Evidence of an EMR system that complies with the NABIDH Minimum Data Set and connectivity standards.
- A passed DHA inspection.
What to Have Ready on Inspection Day
- Copy of the approved engineering layout.
- Enough licensed professionals to deliver the approved services.
- The assigned medical director.
- List of all medical equipment.
- Civil Defence certificate.
- Approved facility policies and procedures.
- Third party insurance contract and waste management contract.
- Trade license copy.
- The approval email confirming tested NABIDH connectivity.
DHA lists an average processing time of one working day for the activation application itself. The inspection team then contacts you to set the date. If you fail, you must reschedule and pay the re-inspection fee. DHA can also deny activation where compliance is not shown, and offer re-inspection or approval with conditions.
DHA Facility License Fees by Facility Type
DHA publishes a fee schedule per facility type on the Sheryan Activate Facility License page. To keep this guide useful as fees change, the table groups them into ranges per year of license. Always confirm the exact amount for your facility type on Sheryan. Knowledge and Innovation fees are added at checkout and are not published on that page.
| Facility Group | License Fee, 1 Year (AED) | Inspection (AED) | Re-inspection (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General, dental and specialty clinics, home healthcare | 5,000 to 6,000 | About 2,000 | About 1,000 |
| Laboratories, radiology and diagnostic centers, pharmacies, telehealth | 6,000 to 12,000 | About 2,000 | About 1,000 |
| Polyclinics and multi-specialty centers | 10,000 to 15,000 | About 2,000 | About 1,000 |
| Day surgery, fertility, endoscopy, dialysis and similar centers | About 20,000 | About 3,000 | About 1,500 |
| Hospitals (by bed count) | 20,000 to 40,000 | About 4,000 | About 2,000 |
Two and three year terms are priced at roughly 1.75 and 2.5 times the one year fee for most facility types, so a longer term lowers the yearly cost. A single clinic taking a one year license should therefore budget roughly AED 7,000 to 8,000 in DHA license and inspection fees, before application fees, Knowledge and Innovation fees, professional licenses, fit-out and equipment.
Renewal, Amendments and Penalties
- Renewal window: you can start renewing three months before expiry.
- Active licenses: renew for one, two or three years. You need the renewed trade license, all professional licenses active and all fines cleared.
- Late renewal: delay fines apply, and if you have not renewed within six months of expiry the license is considered cancelled. Operating on an expired license is a violation for both facility and professionals.
- Amendments: adding or removing a specialty, changing category, ownership or name, expanding the building, changing the layout or adding add-ons such as telehealth or home healthcare all go through the Amend Facility License service. You can keep operating on the current license while the amendment is processed.
- Change of location: needs a valid active license, an updated layout and trade license, and a field inspection before approval.
- Temporary closure: up to six months, once during an active license. It does not stop renewal duties.
Common Reasons Applications Slow Down
- The floor plan was not prepared by a DHA prequalified design consultant, or room counts do not match the Health Facility Guidelines.
- The trade activity does not match the facility category being applied for.
- EMR vendor is not yet connected and tested with NABIDH, so the approval email is missing on inspection day.
- No medical director selected, or the selected person is already medical director of another facility outside the group.
- Unpaid fines on the facility account, which block activation, renewal and amendment.
Frequently Asked Questions.
How long does a DHA facility license take?
DHA publishes an average of one working day to process the activation application and does not publish a fixed timeline for the whole journey. In practice the build, fit-out, staffing and inspection scheduling decide the real timeline, so plan in months, not days.
Can I start seeing patients with the inactive license?
No. Until the facility license is active you must not provide health services, receive or treat patients, or promote or advertise health services.
Do I need a DHA license if I am in Dubai Healthcare City?
Yes. In Dubai Healthcare City the free zone authority issues the commercial license, while the operating permit, the health facility license, is issued by DHA through Sheryan. See our DHCC clinic license guide.
Is the facility license the same as a doctor’s license?
No. The facility license covers the premises and services. Each doctor, nurse and technician needs their own DHA professional license issued under the facility.
How much does a DHA license cost?
It depends on facility type and term. DHA lists roughly AED 5,000 to 6,000 a year for a general or specialty clinic, AED 10,000 to 15,000 for a polyclinic and around AED 20,000 for a day surgery center, plus inspection fees and Knowledge and Innovation fees. See the table above.
What happens if I let the license expire?
Delay fines apply and, after six months without renewal, the license is considered cancelled. You would then have to apply again as a new facility.
How OzaniX Partners Can Help.
OzaniX Partners prepares and files facility and professional license applications, coordinates the layout, trade license and inspection readiness, and then sets up the finance side of the clinic from day one: insurance empanelment, bookkeeping and cash planning. If you are planning a Dubai clinic, start with our licensing and regulatory advisory, compare structures in our UAE clinic setup guide, or book a discovery call.
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