Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory (DHCR): CPD, renewal and the move to DHA licensing

For more than a decade Dubai Healthcare City ran its own regulatory system. Law No. 9 of 2011 set up the framework, and DHCR, the regulatory arm of the Dubai Healthcare City Authority, licensed professionals under the DHCC Healthcare Professionals Regulation No. 2 of 2013 with its own CPD, renewal and conduct rules.

Dubai Law No. 16 of 2024 Concerning the Dubai Healthcare City was issued on 4 September 2024 and came into force on the day it was published. Three provisions matter most to clinicians:

• Article 20: no individual, establishment or company may conduct any healthcare activity within the health sector in DHCC "unless they have obtained the relevant licences and permits from the DHA, in addition to any other permits or approvals to be issued by the DHCA".
• Article 30: the new law supersedes Law No. 9 of 2011. Resolutions and regulations made under the old law stay in force so far as they do not contradict the new law, until replacements are issued.
• Article 5: the DHCA keeps a defined role: supervising DHCC, developing its infrastructure, licensing establishments for authorised business activities, and carrying out audits and inspections.

The DHCA's commercial rulebook has been rewritten to match. DHCA Rule No. 1 of 2025, effective 2 May 2025, replaced Rule No. 1 of 2018. It makes the issue and renewal of a commercial licence for healthcare activity subject to approvals or a no-objection certificate from external authorities, naming the DHA for almost every clinical activity, and requires every licensed healthcare facility to obtain a Clinical Operating Permit before it starts operating.

What this means for your professional licence

The legal direction is settled: healthcare activity in DHCC now requires DHA licences and permits. The operational detail is not something we could confirm from official documents: whether DHCR still renews existing professional licences, how and when current licence holders move into Sheryan, the DHA licensing system, and how CPD already earned in a DHCR cycle is treated. The DHA Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals (version 1.2, May 2025) does not mention DHCC.

If you already hold, or are applying for, a DHA licence, read the Dubai Health Authority guide alongside this page.

The DHCR Healthcare Professional License Renewal Guidelines set CPD per renewal period rather than per year, and a DHCR licence runs for two years under Regulation No. 2 of 2013. The targets are split by grade as well as by profession, so a registered nurse and a practical nurse, or an allied specialist and a technician, have different numbers.

How DHCR counts points

• One point, one hour: the DHCR CPD Standard (SD/HCO/009/02, effective 24 April 2018) defines one CPD point as learning equivalent to one hour of educational engagement.
• A daily ceiling: no more than 8 points per course per day, so a three-day conference is worth 24 at most. Speakers can be given an additional point, or part of one, depending on the length of their talk.
• The online limit: "Online course/Reading Journals – can constitute only up to a maximum of 50% of the requirement."
• DHCR's discretion: "DHCR has the discretion to approve or reject any educational event's validity or its assigned CPD-Points value."
• Accredited events: under the CPD Standard, a facility can apply to DHCR to accredit an event only if it holds a valid education permit, and must submit the course content, instructor credentials and consent forms.

The rest of the renewal file

• Apply 30 to 60 calendar days before the DHCA licence expires.
• Hold a valid Basic Life Support certificate, no more than two years old, from a recognised body.
• Hold medical malpractice insurance (MMI), which DHCA regulations and UAE law require.

The UAE CPD requirements guide compares these rules with those of the DHA, DOH, MOHAP and SHA.

While the move to DHA licensing works through, the safest plan for a DHCC professional is CPD that would satisfy either system. The two rulebooks differ in ways that matter, especially for dentists and nurses. The DHA figures below assume a two-year DHA licence; the DHA also issues one- and three-year licences, with the target scaled to match.

In practice: aim for the higher number in each row, keep at least half of your learning outside online courses and journal reading, and make at least 70% of it relevant to your specialty. A dentist who plans only to the DHCR figure of 50 would be 30 points short of the DHA target for a two-year licence; an allied technician, by contrast, already exceeds the DHA figure by meeting the DHCR one.

Under DHCR rules, online courses and journal reading can make up at most half of the renewal requirement, and DHCR decides whether any event and its points value are valid. Under the DHA, online learning has had no percentage cap since the May 2025 Manual, but the DHA Code of Ethics refers to accredited CPD and the DHA runs its own CPD accreditation service. Neither authority commits to counting learning from a provider it has not accredited or recognised.

DHCR has not published a single named code of ethics. Professional conduct in DHCC has been framed by the Healthcare Professionals Regulation No. 2 of 2013, which separates "Professional Misconduct", meaning conduct that is improper or inappropriate and affects the provision of healthcare services, from "Inappropriate Professional Practice", meaning practice below the "Required Standard of Competence". Policies sit beneath the Regulation, such as the DHCR Advertisement Policy and Procedure (PP/AD/001/01, 2016, reviewed 2019).

Advertising rules that catch clinicians out

• Every medical advertisement needs approval, including social media posts. Submit it 14 working days ahead; approval lasts six months.
• No false or misleading claims, no comparative or superiority claims, and no claim that a treatment works in all cases.
• No patient photographs or videos without written consent.
• No claims to treat cancer, HIV/AIDS or mental illness, and no content aimed at people under 18.

Federal law applies in the free zone too

Free-zone status does not switch off federal law. The Medical Liability Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2016, applies to anyone who practises the profession in the State (Art. 2), including its rule on written consent (Art. 8) and the requirement for insurance against civil liability for medical errors (Art. 25). Looking ahead, the DHA Standards for Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, in force since 3 September 2025, apply to all DHA-licensed professionals in Dubai, so they are the standards to learn now if your licence is moving to the DHA.

• Late renewal: allowed for up to six months after expiry. After that, the guidelines say the expired licence is automatically cancelled.
• Inactive Status: DHCR allows a licence to be placed on Inactive Status, for example voluntarily, for ill health or after resignation, with a later return to Active Status.
• Good standing from elsewhere: when DHCR asks for a good standing certificate from another regulator, it must confirm that you are "not disqualified, suspended or prohibited" and must have been issued within the last six months.
• Verification and exams: under the DHCR General Licensing Requirements guideline (GL/HCP/050/03), all submitted documents go through primary source verification, and licensing exams are taken at Prometric centres.

The Gap in Clinical Practice Policy

The DHCA Policy for a Gap in Clinical Practice (PP/HCO/003/02, revised 16 June 2023) sets what a returning professional needs:

At least 60% of that CPD must relate to your primary area of practice. The DHA follows the PQR and its Manual still describes discontinuity as a gap exceeding two years, so if you return to DHCC under a DHA licence, confirm with the DHA which threshold and requirements it will apply.

Law No. 16 of 2024 describes DHCC's purpose as supporting Dubai as a medical hub and attracting specialist care and medical professionals. In that setting, advertising approvals, consent and documentation are the questions that come up most. These courses match the rules above:

Regulation No. 2 of 2013 provides for a Fitness to Practice Panel, and what happens to DHCC complaints as licensing moves to the DHA has not been fully published. The DHCR complaints and remediation page sets out what is and is not confirmed, and which courses support reflection and learning. For advice on your own case, speak to your medical liability insurer or a lawyer.