MOHAP License for Healthcare Professionals: Eligibility, Steps and Renewal

Every MOHAP license for healthcare professionals starts with the PQR. All four regulators assess applicants against the same Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements, now in their third version (April 2025). The basics that trip people up:

• Degrees must be from an accredited institution. Honorary, correspondence and distance learning qualifications do not count.
• Doctors and dentists need a one year internship. Without proof of it, two extra years of experience are required.
• Only paid clinical experience counts. Volunteer work, observerships and non-clinical teaching do not. Part time work counts only at 400 hours a year or more.
• Surgical specialties must provide a logbook.

Tier 3 specialists cannot reach the consultant title. These rules apply where there is no gap in practice, which is covered below.

Unless exempt, you sit the authority exam. It is in English and can be written, oral or an OSCE depending on the title, and oral exams have at least five clinical scenarios with no translator allowed. You get three attempts across all the UAE authorities, and then one final attempt with a different authority.

The main exemptions under the PQR:

• UAE nationals and children of Emirati women.
• Tier 1 specialists and consultants certified in one of 21 listed countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Singapore and South Korea.
• GPs with a recognised pass such as USMLE Part III, PLAB 1 and 2 or full GMC registration, AMC, LMCC, PRES, NZREX or EMREE.
• Nurses and midwives with a valid licence and good standing from one of 20 listed countries, provided they qualified in the last two years or have no gap in practice. An NCLEX pass also qualifies.
• Holders of a DHA, DOH or SHA licence for the same title, valid or expired or cancelled for no more than six months, who have not used up their exam attempts.

Exemption proof with no stated validity is accepted for five years from issue. Exemptions do not apply if you have a practice gap of more than two years.

Gaps matter. MOHAP’s evaluation page says there should be no gap in practice of more than three years, while its licensing page still says two. Under the PQR, a gap of three years or more means CME credits, supervised training and the licensure exam, even if you were exempt before (UAE nationals and children of Emirati women excepted):

Non-UAE nationals generally cannot apply with a gap of more than five years, and UAE nationals with more than ten.

The fees for a MOHAP license for healthcare professionals are set by Cabinet Resolution No. 82 of 2025, in force since 22 December 2025. In ranges:

The licence is annual. To renew, keep your CME up to date: the PQR sets 40 credits a year for physicians and dentists, 20 for nurses and pharmacists and 10 for allied health. If you renew more than 30 days after expiry, the resolution adds a fine of 25 percent of the licence issue fee for each month from the expiry date, up to 180 days, and the renewed licence still runs from the original expiry date. For nurses and allied health, Cabinet Resolution No. 176 of 2025 also says you may not practise between expiry and renewal.