Dubai Health Authority (DHA): licensing, CPD and the Code of Ethics

The Dubai Health Authority regulates health professions across the Emirate of Dubai through its Health Regulation Sector. The current framework is Executive Council Resolution No. 49 of 2024, issued on 28 August 2024, which replaced Resolution No. 32 of 2012. It applies to all facilities practising health activities in Dubai, including Special Development Zones and free zones such as the Dubai International Financial Centre. Federal government entities and their facilities are outside it; professionals there are licensed at federal level (see the MOHAP guide).

Dubai Healthcare City is moving in the same direction. Dubai Law No. 16 of 2024 requires anyone conducting healthcare activity in the DHCC health sector to hold DHA licences and permits, while older DHCC regulations stay in force until they are replaced. If you work in DHCC, read the DHCR guide as well.

How a DHA licence works

• One system: all applications go through Sheryan, the DHA licensing system. Professional registration comes first; the licence is then activated by the facility that employs you.
• Qualifications: the DHA applies the national Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR, 3rd version, 2025), shared with MOHAP, DOH and SHA. Documents are checked by primary source verification, which the DHA delegates to a third-party verification agency.
• Assessment: where an assessment is required it is a computer-based test or an oral assessment, with three attempts.
• Term: the DHA Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals offers licences of one, two or three years, and the CPD target scales with the term (see below).

The DHA Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals (version 1.2, effective 8 May 2025) sets an annual CPD target for each profession. The target is multiplied by the length of the licence: double for a two-year licence and triple for a three-year licence.

The rules behind the numbers

• No CPD, no renewal. The Manual states that a professional licence cannot be renewed if the required CPD has not been achieved.
• 70/30 split. At least 70% of your CPD must be in your specialty; up to 30% can be general professional development.
• No carry-forward. CPD above the target does not roll into the next licence period.
• More than one licence category: the highest category requirement applies.
• Upload: CPD is recorded through the Sheryan service "Update CPD Points".
• Honesty matters: the Manual warns that claiming fraudulent CPD will result in disciplinary action decided by the Medical Practice Committee.

What does not count

The Manual excludes morning meetings, ward rounds, internal departmental meetings, public awareness sessions, software training, induction and orientation, and product training.

Other authorities count CPD differently, for example the DOH uses a two-year cycle with formal and non-formal categories. The UAE CPD requirements guide compares them side by side.

Older DHA documents, the 2014 CPD guideline and the 2020 licensing policy, capped online learning at 30% of the target. The 2025 Manual removed that cap: 100% of the target can now be gained through online programmes, as long as they are related to your specialty field.

The question that remains is accreditation. The DHA Code of Ethics asks professionals to engage regularly in accredited continuing professional development, and the DHA runs its own CPD Accreditation service for organisers with a valid UAE commercial licence or legal recognition in the UAE. The 2025 Manual itself does not list which accrediting bodies it accepts.

The Standards for Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Health Professionals (Version 1) were issued on 3 July 2025 and took effect on 3 September 2025. DHA circular CIR-2025-00000127 sent them to every licensee. They apply to all DHA-licensed healthcare professionals providing services under the DHA's jurisdiction in Dubai, and they build on federal law, the national Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of 2017 and the Patient's Rights and Responsibilities Charter.

1. General Principles
2. Act in Patient's Best Interests
3. Act in Public's Best Interests
4. Respect Patient Autonomy and Obtain Informed Consent
5. Maintain Privacy, Confidentiality and Data Protection
6. Uphold Professional Integrity, Ethical Behaviour and Accountability
7. Adhere to the Defined Scope of Practice and Maintain Professional Competence
8. Ensure Professional and Ethical Communication at All Times
9. Pursue Continuous Professional Development and Learning
10. Provide Appropriate Supervision and Delegate Duties Responsibly
11. Conduct Research in an Ethical, Responsible, and Compliant Manner
12. Ensure Insurance Integrity and Comply with Regulatory Requirements

Duties that come up most often

• Consent: obtain informed consent before any examination, diagnostic procedure, treatment or surgery, without coercion, threat or manipulation.
• Confidentiality: access patient information only when directly involved in the patient's care or specifically authorised.
• Records: never alter, falsify or destroy patient records.
• Conflicts of interest: do not accept or offer gifts, discounts, hospitality or other benefits that may influence, or appear to influence, professional judgement; avoid fee-splitting and kickbacks; prescribe on evidence-based clinical need alone.
• Boundaries: no romantic or personal relationships with current patients or their immediate family members.
• Social media and advertising: no confidential patient information and no individualised clinical advice to the public on social media; advertising must be truthful, evidence-based and verifiable.
• Speaking up: report impaired or unfit colleagues where patient safety is at risk, with protection from retaliation.

The standards list warnings, suspension, licence revocation, fines and legal proceedings as possible consequences of breaches.

Alongside the Code, the DHA Fitness to Practice Policy (DHA/HRS/HPSD/HP-05, version 1.1, effective 21 March 2025) describes what fitness to practise means in Dubai: having no physical or other impediment to practising safely, and being able to consistently demonstrate appropriate professional conduct. Areas of concern it names include dishonesty or fraud, substance misuse, confidentiality breaches and practising outside your scope. Professionals working beyond the age of 65 need DHA approval and a medical fitness certificate.

If a concern has been raised about you, the DHA complaints and remediation page explains how investigations, the Medical Practices Committee and grievances work, and which courses match each type of concern.

• Late renewal: an expired licence can be renewed within six months of the expiry date with a late penalty. You may not practise while the licence is expired.
• Not practising: a licence is cancelled after six consecutive months of not practising without an acceptable excuse.
• Time away from assessment: if more than two years have passed since a previous assessment, a new assessment is required.
• Good standing: the Good Standing Certificate is generated in Sheryan. It carries an issue date rather than an expiry date and reflects Medical Practice Committee and appeal decisions from the past ten years. Where an investigation or appeal is in progress, or a warning or suspension is recent, a Current Status Certificate is issued instead.

Rules change; the Sheryan help pages and the current Manual are the authority on your own renewal.

Every Healthcare Practise course page has a "Relevant to" box that names the DHA standard it supports. The courses most often chosen by DHA-licensed professionals, by standard:

For a profession-wide view of the Code, choose the ethics course for your profession, or the general Healthcare Ethics Course.