Guide

DHA clinic licence requirements, explained.

Updated October 20268 minute readHealthcareSetup, a Pharmareg UAE company

Every clinic in mainland Dubai operates under a Dubai Health Authority facility licence, and every application is judged against the same checklist: entity, scope, premises, medical director, credentialed team, equipment, policies, inspection. This guide walks the checklist the way the authority reads it.

Consultation room of a licensed clinic in Dubai

Who needs a DHA facility licence

Any facility delivering healthcare in mainland Dubai: clinics and polyclinics, specialty centres, aesthetic and wellness clinics delivering clinical services, telehealth providers and home care operators. If a licensed clinician treats a patient under your brand, the facility behind it must hold a DHA licence, and the application runs through the authority's Sheryan portal.

Free zone facilities, such as those in Dubai Healthcare City, answer to the free zone regulator instead, and the Northern Emirates sit with MOHAP. Same logic, different rulebook: the location decides the regulator.

The requirements, as the authority reads them

  1. A legal entity with the right activity

    The trade licence must carry the correct healthcare activity for what the clinic will actually do. An entity with the wrong activity fails before the clinical review starts.

  2. Initial approval for the facility type and scope

    The authority approves what you propose to operate, a clinic, a specialty centre, a telehealth provider, before you build it. Scope declared here drives every requirement that follows.

  3. Premises that pass layout review

    Room dimensions, clinical flows, hygiene and waste arrangements, accessibility. The drawings are reviewed against published requirements, and the fit out must match the approved drawings exactly.

  4. A licensed medical director

    A DHA licensed physician who anchors the facility licence and carries clinical accountability. Without this appointment there is no application to review.

  5. Individually credentialed clinicians

    Every doctor, nurse and technician is licensed in their own name under your facility, with qualifications verified through the authority process. Credentialing has its own timeline and runs in parallel in a well managed build.

  6. Equipment and policies matching the scope

    The equipment list, the clinical protocols, consent forms, record keeping and emergency procedures all have to match the declared scope. Inspectors check the paper and the rooms against each other.

  7. The facility inspection

    The final gate. The facility is inspected against the approved drawings, the declared scope and the policy file. Pass, and the licence is issued; fail, and the loop costs weeks.

Why applications stall: almost never because the rules are unclear, and almost always because something was committed before it was checked: a lease before layout review, a scope that changed after initial approval, a team hired before credentialing. The checklist is sequential on paper and parallel in practice, and knowing which parts can overlap is most of the craft.

DHA, MOHAP or free zone: a 30 second check

We hold the whole checklist as one programme: entity, approvals, premises, medical director, credentialing, policies and inspection, run in parallel under one partner. That is what a turnkey clinic build means in practice.

DHA licence questions, answered.

What are the main requirements for a DHA clinic licence?+
A legal entity with the correct healthcare activity, DHA initial approval for the facility type and scope, premises whose layout passes authority review, a licensed medical director, individually credentialed clinicians, equipment matching the declared scope, written clinical policies, and a passed facility inspection.
How does the application work?+
Through the Sheryan portal: initial approval first, then the facility application with premises drawings and the medical director, then staff credentialing, then inspection and issue. Each stage has its own document checklist.
Does my premises need approval before I sign the lease?+
Approval comes after application, but the layout rules exist before it. The only safe sequence is to assess a property against the clinical layout requirements before signing, because a lease on premises that cannot pass review is the most expensive mistake in the industry.
Who can be a medical director in Dubai?+
A DHA licensed physician who meets the authority requirements for the role. The medical director anchors the facility licence and carries clinical accountability. In a turnkey build this role is engaged on a contracted basis rather than salaried.
How long does DHA facility licensing take?+
It depends on the facility type, the premises and the authority queue. Initial approval is the fast part; layout review, fit out and inspection set the pace. A well prepared application with compliant drawings avoids the rejection loops that add months.

Keep reading

How to open a clinic in Dubai, step by stepRead Telehealth first or clinic first: how founders chooseRead The medical director requirement, explainedRead How to open a dental clinic in DubaiRead How to open a clinic in Abu DhabiRead

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