DHA Nursing

To work in Dubai as a Nurse, one needs to pass the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) exam. Passing the exam qualifies you to look and apply for work in Dubai ONLY and not anywhere else in the UAE.

DHA Exam Eligibility for Nurses

Registering as a nurse in Dubai (DHA) is open to all nurses who have the following:

• Completed Bachelor’s degree in Nursing with a minimum of 3-year course duration.
• A valid license/registration to practice in their home country/and or country of last employment.
• A minimum of current Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification or others according to scope of practice.

DHA accepts registration application from the following:

• Registered nurses
• Registered midwives

Assistant Nurses can apply for DHA who holds a Diploma of Nursing not less than 18 months course duration. Nurses qualified with a Bachelor's Degree in nursing but are registered as ‘Assistant Nurse’ may apply for title upgrade provided that their experience as an assistant nurse has not exceeded 5 years.

UAE National nurses are exempted from examinations, but requires the program and university be accredited by the Ministry of Education (MOE/NQA).

DHA Specialty Nurses Eligibility

All nurses who are qualified as registered nurse and hold post graduate certificate in one of the nursing specialties with minimum one-year fulltime course duration can apply as specialty nurse. They must also have completed a minimum of one year's experience post qualification in the related specialty field.

DHA Recognized Specialty Titles for Nursing

What are the specialty titles recognized by DHA for Nurses?

The following specialty titles for nurses are recognized by DHA

• Certified Anesthesia Nurse
• Community Nurse
• Pediatric Nurse
• Mental Health Nurse
• Critical Care Nurse
• Neonatal Care Nurse
• Home Care Nurse
• Infection Control Nurse
• Emergency Nurse
• Oncology Nurse
• Dialysis Nurse

DHA Prometric CBT Exam

CBTs (Computer Based Testing) are managed and run by our partner “Prometric” company through their worldwide network of 8,000 test centers in more than 160 countries.

DHA Nursing RN Exam

As of 2024, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) consists of 150 multiple-choice questions.

The duration of DHA Prometric exam is 165 minutes.

The exam is in English language and there will be no negative marking.

DHA Exam Results

Results are usually released within 2 working days.

The pass score is 50% for registered nurses and 45% for assistant nurses to pass through the exams.

Pass or Fail only which can be accessed from applicant’s account in Sheryan. The applicant score will not be shared.

DHA Exam Attempts

A maximum of 3 attempts are allowed to pass this exam.

Three failed attempts require evidences additional qualification to be eligible for a fourth DHA attempt.

DHA Nursing MCQ exam pattern and Syllabus

Start solving DHA exam question for nurses by clicking here

Exemptions from DHA CBT Prometric exam

Applicants who hold a valid license and Good standing certificate from the countries listed below will be exempted from the Registered Nurse or Registered Midwife DHA’s competency-based assessment (Examination).

The equivalent exams listed in the tables below must be valid at the time of applying. If the document does not state a validity, it shall be accepted within 5 years from the date of issuance.

Examination exemption criteria does not apply to Nurses exceeding 2 years of Gap of Practice.

Note : If the nurse did not complete the university studies in English or if his/her license belongs to a non-English speaking country from the above list, one of the below evidences of English language proficiency must be provided.

• TOEFL score of not less than 500
• IELTS score of not less than 5.0
• Occupational English Test (OET) score of not less than C
• Cambridge Assessment English score of not less than 169

Nursing DHA Prometric DHA References Books

There is a long list of books recommended by DHA for preparation of DHA Licensure Exams. These are provided below. However, the best way to begin your learning is by practicing past DHA exam questions. To begin learning the latest DHA exam questions for nurses for free, click here and choose DHA from the list of exams.

• Leda M. McKenry, Tessier, and Mary Ann Hogan. Mosby's Pharmacology in Nursing, Mosby Publishers, Latest Edition.
• Dudek, SG, Nutrition Essentials for Nursing Practice; Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Latest Edition.
• ANA Code of Ethics, Latest Edition.
• Berman, A and Snyder, S. Kozier and Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing Concepts, Process and Practice, USA: Pearson International, Latest Edition.
• Pamela Lynn and, Marilee LeBon, Skill Checklists for Taylor's Clinical Nursing Skills: A Nursing Process Approach, Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Latest Edition.
• Jarvis, C. Physical Examination and Health Assessment, St. Louis, Missouri, Saunders Elsevier, Latest Edition.
• Day, R. A., Paul, P., Williams, B., Smeltzer, S. C., and Bare, Brunner and Suddarth’s Canadian textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Murray, S., McKinney, E. Foundation of Maternal- Newborn Nursing, Missouri: Saunders Elsevier, Latest Edition.
• Wong, D.L., and Hockenberry, M.J, Wong’s Nursing Care of Infants and Children, Philadelphia: Mosby, Latest Edition.
• Sole, ML. Klein, DG. Moseley, MJ, Introduction to Critical Care Nursing, St. Louis, Saunders (Elsevier), Latest Edition.
• Townsend, C.M., Essentials of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, F. A. Davis Company, United States of America, Latest Edition.
• Nursing Fundamentals-Allender, Judith A. and Rector, Cherie ,Community Health Nursing Promoting and Protecting The Public Health, Lippincott: NewYork, Latest Edition.

DHA License Application and Registration

Step – 1 – Create a DHA Unique ID

• Visit the DHA website
• Register a new account, and create a login ID and password.
• Click on create a sheryan account, then on Health Professionals, respond to the required information and submit.
• As per the information provided the website will classify you as eligible or ineligible.

If you are eligible, then you can proceed for your Primary Source Verification (PSV) and sit your exams.

If not, you can opt for a Manual Review of your profile. For the Manual Review you need to:

• Submit an online application with the required details and documents
• Pay the fees (AED 220)
• Await for DHA review, which may take up to 10 days

Step – 2 - Primary Source verification (PSV)

The DHA has partnered with DataFlow Group to screen professional applicants for the Dubai healthcare sector. The PSV runs thorough checks on the educational backgrounds and credentials of all professionals who submit a DHA license application. These checks ensure that only the most genuine profiles make it to the Dubai Medical Registry.

• Visit the Dataflow website to complete the Dataflow process.
• Register as a new user (found at the bottom of the page) for PSV (Primary source verification).
• Complete the form by filling up the personal details, giving consent for LOA, selecting a case type. Based on the Case type fill your education details, License details, experience details etc. and submit PSV Fee. It will take about 3 weeks for verification. Once verification is completed, you will receive DataFlow report by email.

Step – 3 Apply for DHA Nursing exam

The DHA license exam is conducted by Prometric – an independent examination board to assess the knowledge and skill levels of the applicants. You can book your exams on the prometric website.

Once you pass your Prometric CBT assessment and the PSV review, you can register yourself for the DHA license in Dubai if you have already found a job. 

Step – 4 Apply for Eligibility letter

• Click on the “Register a Professional”
• Provide the relevant information
• Upload the necessary documents 
• Pay the DHA registration fees (AED 200) and submit

The DHA will review your application in light of your CBT and PSV results and then either approve, reject or return your application for more information. 

If your application is approved, you will get the eligibility letter, which can be converted to license.

Step – 5 Activate your License

• Submit offer letter and malpractice insurance certificate
• Pay license activation fees (AED 1000 – AED 3000)

After activation, the DHA will issue an interim license till the time the original one is delivered to you. 

Break or Gap in practice

Nurses who have taken a break in clinical practice for more than 2 years, now looking to be licensed in the UAE must follow requirements below.

All nurses (Apart from UAE nationals) after completion of CME/CPD credits and clinical training program are required to pass the Authorities licensure exam to obtain the license to begin practicing again.

Renewal of DHA Nursing Licenses

At least 20 CME/CPD credits are required annually for renewal of DHA License. CME/CPD must be relevant to the field of the specialty.