Abu Dhabi is a premier healthcare destination within the UAE for doctors seeking world-class career prospects, access to cutting-edge medical technology and internationally recognised hospitals. To work as a doctor in Abu Dhabi, all medical professionals require a valid license issued by the Department of Health (DOH), formerly the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD).
To help you secure a smooth and efficient transfer into the UAE medical industry to practice in Abu Dhabi, familiarize yourself with the following information about the DOH licensing process when working as a doctor in Abu Dhabi in 2026.
What is the DOH License?
The Department of Health is the governing authority tasked with governing health care providers and ensuring the superior quality of patient safety and care in the UAE’s capital region.
The health care authority, many still calling it HAAD, was rebranded in recent years to the Department of Health, and presently all licensing, credential verification, and health professional registration takes place under the umbrella of DOH digitally through their platform.
Anyone seeking to practice as a doctor in either public and/or privately owned Abu Dhabi healthcare organizations such as clinics, medical centres, and hospitals requires a legitimate DOH License.
Eligibility Criteria
To apply for a DOH license, physicians must fulfill the requirements for Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), which include educational background, years of experience, and clinical competence. The general requirements include the possession of a valid medical degree from an institution recognized by the relevant education authority, completion of compulsory internship, work experience post the medical qualification, a valid professional license from their country of origin, and a recent Good Standing Certificate. Further documentation or specific years of experience might be required for the specific specialty and for sub-specialties.
Understand Licensing Process
The licensing procedure starts by creating a professional profile for the physicians on the DOH online portal. Thereafter, the process involves Primary Source Verification (PSV), carried out, most commonly, through DataFlow. DataFlow authenticates educational transcripts, work experience reports, valid licenses, and other attested documents of applicants.
Upon success in PSV, eligible candidates are often subjected to the DOH licensing assessment. Depending on the level of qualification and specialization, these may take the form of computer-based testing under the administration of Pearson VUE or another designated testing centre, or other accepted assessment methods. The Ministry’s policy on assessment exemption currently accepts some internationally renowned academic credentials to be eligible for assessment waiver.
Upon meeting all of the mentioned prerequisites, an applicant is granted a professional eligibility number by the Department of Health, which can be used by a licensed healthcare institution in Abu Dhabi for activating their professional license when they join them.
Documents you will need
There are multiple supporting documents needed for licensing, including passport, passport-size photo, medical degree certificates, internship completion certificate, professional licenses, employment experience certificates, a Good Standing Certificate, and Primary Source Verification reports. In the case of certain specialities, in particular surgical specialities, procedural logs or other competency evidence might also be required. Making sure that documents are correct, current, and correlate correctly can aid in speeding up the process.
Common Problems During The Process
Many applicants for foreign-based careers face delays in their applications as a result of missing documents, discrepancies in employment, an expired Good Standing certificate, or time taken for credentials to be verified.
Reviewing each document with extreme care prior to submitting, and a basic check that the required standards as far as the DOH is concerned will ensure that there are no delays for the physician. Why Our Recruitment Experts can assist DOH licensing is only part of the story of building a successful medical career in Abu Dhabi; obtaining and keeping the right role and preparing effectively for an interview to meet the employer, or employing institutions, needs is also crucial. At Robbert Murray & Associates, we help highly skilled and experienced healthcare professionals connect with top hospitals, medical groups, private clinics and healthcare providers across the UAE. We offer a bespoke service that allows our consultants to effectively match doctors with the right organisations and roles as they advance their careers, providing advice during both the licensing and recruitment stages.