Government approvals
DHA licence for healthcare facilities and professionals in Dubai
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is the licensing body for healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals in Dubai. A clinic, pharmacy, laboratory or medical centre needs a DHA facility licence as well as a trade licence, and every doctor, nurse or pharmacist needs a DHA professional licence. Applications run through DHA's Sheryan portal. Caliph prepares and follows the file.
At a glance Fact sheet
- Authority
- Dubai Health Authority (DHA)
- Portal
- Sheryan, DHA's online licensing system for facilities and professionals
- Who needs it
- Clinics, polyclinics, pharmacies, laboratories, home healthcare agencies and other health facilities in Dubai
- Two licences
- A facility licence for the premises and a professional licence for each practitioner
- Facility licence stages
- New Facility Licence, issued inactive, then Activate Facility Licence after inspection
- Works alongside
- The trade licence from DET or a Dubai free zone authority
Overview
Healthcare is one of the activities in Dubai where the trade licence alone does not let you open. The facility itself has to be licensed by the Dubai Health Authority, and so does every person who treats patients in it. The two files are linked. A professional can only practise once a licensed facility has activated their licence, and a facility is only activated once it has its medical director and staff in place.
DHA publishes a long list of facility categories. It covers hospitals, day surgery centres, general, specialty and dental clinics, polyclinics, diagnostic centres such as laboratories and radiology, pharmacies and drug stores, home healthcare agencies, telehealth centres, physiotherapy and other clinical support centres, and centres for traditional and complementary medicine. Each category has its own requirements, so the first job is to pick the one that matches what you plan to offer.
Caliph handles the company side and the DHA side together. Your consultant reserves the trade name, prepares the facility proposal, coordinates the layout with a design consultant, submits the Sheryan applications and keeps the trade licence, tenancy and DHA file consistent until the facility is active.
What Caliph does on a DHA file
The right facility category first
A polyclinic, a specialty clinic and a clinical support centre are licensed differently. We match your services to the DHA category before any drawing or lease is paid for.
Trade licence and DHA file in step
The trade name, owners and address in Sheryan have to agree with the licence from DET or the free zone. One consultant keeps both files aligned.
Layout reviewed before fit-out
DHA reviews the floor plan at the first stage. We have the drawing prepared and checked before the contractor starts, so you are not rebuilding rooms later.
Professional licences on the same plan
We guide your doctors, nurses and pharmacists through self-assessment, verification and registration so they are ready when the facility is.
Inspection pack prepared
The equipment list, policies, contracts and certificates are collected into one pack before you request activation.
What to have ready
- Passport copies of the owners or partners, and Emirates ID where available
- The trade name reservation, or the trade licence if it is already issued
- A facility proposal describing the facility type, the services and the planned specialties
- Location details: the tenancy contract (Ejari), the Makani number and the plot information
- An engineering layout with room names and areas, prepared by a design consultant that DHA accepts
- For each professional: qualifications, experience certificates, a recent good standing certificate and a passport copy
- For activation: the medical director's details, the equipment list, the Civil Defence certificate, and the waste management and insurance contracts
- A legal translation of any document that is not in Arabic or English
Facilities with radiology equipment also register with the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, and some specialised services need further approvals. Your Caliph consultant confirms what applies to you.
How DHA facility licensing works
Choose the category and reserve the name
Your consultant matches your services to a DHA facility category and reserves the trade name with DET or the free zone.
Apply for the New Facility Licence
The application goes in through Sheryan with the owner documents, the proposal, the location details and the layout. DHA reviews it and may ask for changes.
Receive the inactive licence
Once approved, DHA issues the facility licence in inactive status. You can fit out and recruit, but you cannot treat patients or advertise health services yet.
Finish the trade licence and the fit-out
The trade licence is issued, the premises are built to the approved layout and the remaining certificates are collected.
Register the professionals
Each practitioner completes DHA registration. The facility names its medical director and requests activation of the staff licences.
Request activation and inspection
You apply for the Activate Facility Licence service. DHA inspectors visit and check the premises, the staff, the equipment and the records system.
The licence becomes active
After a successful inspection the facility licence is active, the linked professional licences are activated and you can open.
Good to know
- The inactive facility licence is valid for one year. It can be renewed with DHA approval, and if it lapses you have to apply again.
- Before activation DHA expects an electronic medical record system that meets the requirements of NABIDH, its health data platform.
- A professional's first DHA licence is full-time with one facility. Part-time work at another facility needs approval through Sheryan.
- School clinics and nursery clinics are DHA facility categories too, so education providers often need a DHA licence next to their KHDA permit.
Questions people ask
Who needs a DHA licence in Dubai?
Any facility that provides healthcare in Dubai under DHA's jurisdiction, including clinics, polyclinics, dental clinics, pharmacies, laboratories, home healthcare agencies and telehealth centres. The people who work in them, such as doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and allied health staff, each need their own DHA professional licence.
Do I need the trade licence or the DHA licence first?
The two move together. You can start the New Facility Licence application with a reserved trade name, and DHA issues an inactive licence. A valid trade licence is then required before DHA activates the facility. Caliph runs both files so that the name, the owners and the address match.
What is the Sheryan portal?
Sheryan is DHA's online licensing system. Facility owners use it to apply for, activate, renew and amend facility licences. Healthcare professionals use it for self-assessment, registration and licence activation. The status of each application and DHA's comments appear in the same account.
How does a doctor or nurse get a DHA licence?
The professional checks eligibility with the self-assessment tool in Sheryan, applies for registration, has qualifications and experience confirmed through primary source verification, and passes the assessment required for the title, which is a computer-based test or an oral assessment. A licensed facility then activates the licence so the professional can practise.
Can a pharmacy be opened under a DHA licence?
Yes. Pharmacy is a DHA facility category. It includes community or retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, pharmacies that serve a clinic's own patients, and drug stores for storage and distribution. Each pharmacist also needs a DHA professional licence. Your consultant confirms the requirements for your pharmacy type.
What does DHA check at the final inspection?
Inspectors compare the premises with the approved layout. They check that there are enough licensed professionals, a medical director, the listed medical equipment, approved policies and procedures, a Civil Defence certificate, waste management and insurance contracts, a valid trade licence and a tested medical records connection.
Reviewed by Caliph Business Solutions on . Rules differ by activity and by authority. Your Caliph consultant confirms what applies to you.
Ready to establish your company in the UAE?
Book a free consultation. Tell us what you want to open and we come back with the route, the documents and the cost.
- VisitHapag-Lloyd Building, Port Saeed, Deira, Dubai. P.O. Box 8070
Open in Google Maps