DOH exam 2026: format, booking and attempts

Depending on your specialty, the DOH licensing exam has one or two components taken in order: a written exam, and an oral, practical or OSCE (objective structured clinical examination). The written exam is computer-based and taken at a Pearson VUE centre; for some specialties it is followed by an oral, practical or OSCE component. You must pass every component DOH sets for your title before you can be licensed.

DOH's standard says the oral, practical and OSCE components can test the technical expertise of your specialty, general clinical knowledge and judgement, patient risk and safety, professional ethics, accepted international standards and evidence-based practice - using scenarios, radiographs, slides, clinical skills assessments and anonymised patient records. Our DOH oral assessment guide covers how to prepare for the panel, and the consultant oral hub compares how each authority runs it.

The components are sequential. Under DOH's standard, if you fail the first component three times you cannot move on to the second and must restart the exam process. If you fail the second component three times in a row, you must re-sit the first component after 12 months. And you must sit the second component within 12 months of passing the first, or the first pass lapses - so plan your preparation for both before you book.

DOH notifies you of a Pass or Fail only; no score or breakdown is given. That means a failed attempt tells you nothing about where you fell short, so find your weak areas before you sit it: our free timed mock tests score you domain by domain against the same clinical blueprints, and the question banks give you full-length papers with a rationale for every answer.

Attempts are shared across the UAE: the Unified PQR allows three in total across DHA, DOH, MOHAP and SHA, so a failed DHA attempt counts against your DOH total. Between attempts, DOH's standard lets you re-sit 3 months after a fail, and 12 months after a third fail. Exam fees are non-refundable - including when you reschedule, cancel or miss the exam - so book only when you are ready. For how to use the time between attempts, see our UAE retake guide.

The exam is one step in the DOH licence alongside the PQR eligibility check, DataFlow primary source verification and your good standing certificate - some qualifications exempt you from it altogether. The full process, fees and timeline are in our DOH licence requirements guide and the DOH Abu Dhabi licence guide. Moving from Dubai? See DHA to DOH licence transfer.