Exam guide
The DHA exam, explained
The DHA exam is the Dubai Health Authority's licensing assessment for doctors who want to practise in Dubai. For general practitioners it is a computer based exam of 150 multiple choice questions taken in 3 hours at Prometric test centres, in English, with a pass mark of 60%.
Last checked 14 August 2026. The figures above come from the DHA Healthcare Professional Licensing Assessment Guideline on the DHA's Sheryan licensing portal. The DHA reserves the right to change the format or pass score, so confirm the current detail on Sheryan before you book.
How licensing in Dubai works
Dubai licenses its own healthcare workforce, separately from Abu Dhabi and the other emirates. The process runs through Sheryan, the DHA's professional licensing portal: you apply, your qualifications and experience are assessed against the DHA's Professional Qualification Requirements for your title, and once your application is approved you are directed to book the licensing assessment. The exam is one gate in that process, not the whole of it.
Eligibility — which degrees count, how much experience is required, and which titles you can apply under — is defined by the Professional Qualification Requirements document, and it is worth reading your title's section before anything else, because applying under the wrong title costs weeks.
How the exam is structured
The DHA's assessment guideline confirms the shape for General Practice: 150 multiple choice questions in a single 3 hour sitting, delivered on a computer at Prometric test centres, passing at 60%. The questions are clinical vignettes: a patient presentation with history and findings, asking for the most likely diagnosis, the next investigation, or the next step in management.
| Questions | 150 multiple choice questions |
|---|---|
| Time | 3 hours, in one sitting |
| Question type | Clinical vignettes asking for the single best answer |
| Options per question | Not published by the DHA — its guideline says only “multiple choice questions” |
| Language | English |
| Delivery | Computer based, at Prometric test centres |
| Exam code | GEN5331 (General Practice) |
| Fee | USD 280 |
| Pass mark | 60% |
One detail worth flagging because most preparation advice gets it wrong: the DHA does not publish how many options each question carries. Its own guideline says only "multiple choice questions". Sites that state four or five options as fact are guessing. At 150 questions in 180 minutes you have a little over a minute per question, which is the number that should shape your practice.
What the exam covers
The DHA publishes no syllabus and no percentage breakdown for General Practice — the exam coverage section of its guideline is filled in for several specialties and left empty for GP. What can be said is how the paper is universally described by those who sit it: the four core clinical domains of internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology, tested through patient scenarios rather than recall of isolated facts.
Expect the case mix to read like practice in Dubai. Screening detected disease matters more than in Western banks, because visa and pre-employment medical fitness screening is a routine route into care; cardiometabolic disease — type 2 diabetes, obesity, early ischaemic heart disease — carries a heavy local weight; and questions reward knowing the current guideline rather than the answer a ten year old question bank memorised.
How to prepare for the DHA exam
- Practise vignettes, not summaries. Every question is a patient. Reading notes builds recognition; working through cases builds the decision making the exam actually measures.
- Rehearse the pace. A little over a minute per question, for three hours. That pace has to be trained before exam day, not discovered on it.
- Cover all four domains. With no published weighting, the only safe plan is genuine coverage of medicine, surgery, paediatrics and obstetrics — with your revision tilted toward whichever is currently costing you marks.
- Revise against current guidelines. The correct answer is what the cited guideline supports today. Material that cannot name its source cannot tell you when it has gone stale.
- Space the work and return to your mistakes. Missed questions are the highest yield material you own, and they are worth nothing unless something brings them back.
Questions about the DHA exam
What is the DHA exam?
The DHA exam is the Dubai Health Authority's licensing assessment for healthcare professionals who want to practise in Dubai. For general practitioners it is a computer based exam of 150 multiple choice questions taken in 3 hours at Prometric test centres, with a pass mark of 60%.
How many questions are on the DHA exam for general practitioners?
150 multiple choice questions in a single 3 hour sitting, according to the DHA's own licensing assessment guideline. The questions are clinical vignettes asking for the single best answer: the most likely diagnosis, the next investigation, or the next step in management.
What is the passing score for the DHA exam?
60% for General Practice, per the DHA licensing assessment guideline. The DHA reserves the right to change the format or pass score, so confirm the current figure on the Sheryan portal before you book.
Does the DHA publish a syllabus for the General Practice exam?
No. The DHA's assessment guideline lists exam coverage for several specialties but leaves it empty for General Practice, and it publishes no percentage breakdown by subject. Candidates universally describe the paper as covering internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology.
How is the DHA exam different from the DOH exam?
The DHA exam licenses you for Dubai and is delivered through Prometric with a published 60% pass mark. The DOH exam, formerly called the HAAD exam, licenses you for Abu Dhabi and is delivered through Pearson VUE, and its pass mark is not published. Each emirate licenses separately.
How much does the DHA exam cost?
USD 280 for the General Practice assessment, per the DHA licensing assessment guideline. Application and licensing steps on the Sheryan portal carry their own fees, so budget for more than the exam fee alone.
Where PassCurve fits
PassCurve's DHA bank is built from single best answer vignettes set in UAE practice. Sessions balance the four clinical domains, then tilt toward whichever subject is currently costing you marks. Anything you miss returns on a spacing curve until it sticks, and every answer names the guideline it rests on and the date that source was last read.
Five questions a day are free, with no card required, and the review deck is free for good.
Sitting a different exam? PassCurve also covers the SMLE in Saudi Arabia, the DOH exam in Abu Dhabi, the QCHP exam in Qatar, and the MOHAP exam in the UAE's northern emirates, each with its own guide.
PassCurve is an independent revision tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the Dubai Health Authority, Prometric, or any exam authority. This page summarises the DHA's published assessment guideline for candidates and is not a substitute for it. Always confirm current exam rules, fees and dates on the DHA's Sheryan portal before applying.