DHA Exam Preparation for Nurses

To practise nursing in Dubai you need a licence from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and for most applicants that means passing a computer-based assessment delivered by Prometric. This page sets out what DHA itself publishes about that exam — the format, the pass score, who has to sit it, and who is exempt — alongside a practical way to prepare for it.

Everything marked Official comes from a named DHA or UAE regulatory document and is cited at the bottom. Everything marked Mumtaz recommendation is our preparation advice and carries no official standing. Mumtaz is an independent study app, not affiliated with DHA or Prometric.

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DHA Registered Nurse Exam at a Glance

Official. Every value below is published by DHA for the Registered Nurse title:

Two of those deserve emphasis, because they are the ones candidates most often get wrong.

The three hours are not three hours of questions. DHA states the exam duration "is including the registration, process introduction and exam content", so your actual working time is less than the headline figure. Plan accordingly rather than assuming 150 questions across a full three hours.

The pass score is a percentage, not a scaled score. Unlike some licensure exams, DHA publishes a straightforward 50% threshold. What it does not publish is how many of the 150 questions are scored, or the weighting of the four coverage areas.

What the DHA Exam Is, and Who Runs It

Official. DHA describes computer-based testing as the assessment it conducts "for professional evaluation for healthcare licensure, in certain specialties, to practise in the Emirate of Dubai." The exams are managed and run by DHA's partner Prometric, through a network the guideline describes as around 8,000 test centres in more than 160 countries.

DHA states that all exam content is "developed and validated by subject matter experts" and updated frequently. Specialties not listed in the assessment guideline are assessed through an oral assessment instead — and DHA notes that oral exams are progressively being converted to CBT.

Applications, eligibility, and results all run through Sheryan, DHA's online licensing system. Prometric is used to schedule and pay for the exam itself.

Other Nursing Titles

Official. DHA publishes the same fields for the other nursing titles in its assessment guideline:

Registered Nurse and Assistant Nurse share the same four coverage areas. The midwifery titles are assessed on midwifery-specific content — antenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, gynaecological care, pharmacology in midwifery, counselling and education, and ethics and legal issues.

The Assistant Midwife assessment is listed as in-active in the current guideline. If that is the title you are applying for, check Sheryan for what applies to you now.

Who Has to Sit the DHA Exam?

Official. Under the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR) — the single document shared by MOHAP, DOH, DHA and SHA — healthcare professionals are required to pass the Authority's examination to obtain a professional licence in the UAE.

The qualification requirement for the Registered Nurse title is a Bachelor's degree in nursing, with no experience required, subject to the PQR's discontinuity-of-practice criteria. For Assistant Nurse it is a nursing diploma of not less than eighteen months' course duration, also with no experience required.

The PQR also states that all examinations are conducted in English, and that no translator is permitted in an oral examination.

Who Is Exempt

Official. Several routes to exemption exist, and they are worth checking before you pay for an exam you may not need:

• UAE nationals and Children of Emirati Women are exempted from the Authorities' examinations. Children of Emirati Women must present a copy of their birth certificate and the mother's family book.
• Exam equivalency. Professionals who have completed certain international examinations, or who hold an active registration or licence with certain regulatory bodies, are exempted from the licensure examination — the PQR devotes a chapter to the criteria. The exemption covers the exam requirement only; every other licensure requirement still applies.
• A recent DHA pass for the same title — within five years of obtaining the registration, provided there is no gap in practice.
• An active registration that is being maintained.
• Recent cancellation — applying within five years of a DHA, MOHAP or DOH licence cancellation date, provided there is no gap in practice and the PQR requirements are met.

DHA's Sheryan portal includes a self-assessment tool for checking your eligibility before you apply. Our recommendation: use it first. It costs nothing, and exemption is the cheapest exam strategy available.

Attempts, Retakes, and the Two-Year Block

Official. The attempt rules are stricter than most candidates expect, and they are the strongest argument for preparing properly the first time:

• You get three attempts to pass the assessment — and critically, attempts are counted across all UAE health authorities, not per authority. You must declare how many attempts you have made across the Authorities.
• Failing the third attempt blocks you from reapplying for a DHA licence for two years.
• A fourth attempt may be permitted by submitting an online request with a signed letter declaring your total attempts and failures across UAE health authorities. It is subject to DHA review.
• You can earn a fresh set of three attempts by obtaining an additional recognised certificate or qualification, or by acquiring a minimum of two years of clinical licensed experience after your last attempt.
• There is no waiting period between attempts — you may re-apply subject to assessment availability.
• A cancellation or a no-show does not count as a failed attempt.

The last two points matter together: if you are not ready, not attending costs you money but not an attempt. Sitting unprepared costs you one of three.

How Results Work

Official. Your result appears in your Sheryan account as "Pass" or "Fail". DHA states plainly that the applicant's score will not be shared, and that the results report indicates a pass or fail "without details of the result of the assessment".

There is no score report, no breakdown by subject, and no feedback on which areas were weak. Only an applicant with a pass result obtains the DHA registration certificate.

Our recommendation, not an official instruction: because DHA gives you nothing to learn from after a failure, your own practice data is the only diagnostic you will ever have. Track accuracy by subject as you prepare, so that if you do need to sit again you are not guessing about what went wrong.

What the Exam Covers

Official. For Registered Nurse and Assistant Nurse, DHA lists four coverage areas:

• Unit Management & Leadership
• Fundamentals
• Maternal–Child Nursing
• Adult Nursing

DHA publishes the areas but not their weightings — there is no published percentage split, and no statement of how many questions come from each. Anyone quoting you a percentage breakdown for the DHA exam is not citing DHA.

The guideline also lists recommended reference textbooks for the nursing titles, covering pharmacology, nutrition, ethics, fundamentals, clinical skills, physical assessment, medical-surgical, maternal-newborn, paediatrics, critical care, psychiatric-mental health, and community health nursing.

How to Prepare for the DHA Exam

This section is our recommended approach, not official DHA guidance.

1. Check whether you need to sit it at all. Run the Sheryan self-assessment and read the exam-equivalency criteria before anything else.
2. Cover all four areas, not just your clinical comfort zone. With no published weightings, you cannot safely deprioritise any of them — and Unit Management & Leadership is the one qualified nurses most often neglect.
3. Practise multiple-choice questions specifically. The exam is 150 MCQs; recognising a fact in a textbook and selecting the best option under time pressure are different skills.
4. Read the explanation for every answer, including correct ones. A lucky guess and real knowledge look identical in practice and diverge on exam day.
5. Track accuracy by subject. DHA will never tell you where you were weak, so build that record yourself.
6. Rehearse the pace. 150 questions inside a session that also includes registration and an introduction rewards a steady rhythm over perfectionism on individual items.

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Sources and Verification

Every claim on this page marked Official comes from one of three documents, all published by UAE health regulators:

• Exam format, pass scores, fees, codes, and coverage areas — DHA, Healthcare Professional Licensing Assessment Guideline (Computer Based Testing), the edition marked "Updated – May 2026".
• Attempts, retakes, exemptions, and results reporting — DHA, Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals, version 1.3, effective 18 July 2025.
• Eligibility, qualification requirements, and exam equivalency — Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), third version, issued jointly by MOHAP, DOH, DHA and SHA.

Last verified against those documents on 26 August 2026. We checked for newer editions of each and used the most recent published version in every case.

Deliberately absent, because DHA does not publish them: the weighting of the four coverage areas, how many of the 150 questions are scored, pass rates, and your own score. And as noted at the top of this page, DHA states that it may change the content, format, or pass score without updating the guideline — so treat every figure here as accurate to the current document rather than guaranteed on your exam day.

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