QCHP exam 2026: pass marks, format and attempts

DHP's Qualifying Examination Policy makes the exam mandatory at the evaluation stage for general practitioners, general dentists, pharmacists, registered general nurses, registered midwives, lab and radiology technologists and technicians, physiotherapists, paramedics (basic, paramedic and critical care), dental assistants, dental hygienists and dental lab technicians. DHP's exam page also lists cut scores for dieticians, anaesthesia technologists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, 34 physician specialties and 8 dental specialties.

Qatari practitioners are exempt, as are dentists with a postgraduate degree of at least two years that includes accredited clinical training, and pharmacists, nurses and allied professionals with a clinical master's or PhD in their field. Our QCHP licence requirements page covers the rest of the evaluation.

A valid equivalent exam exempts you. For physicians: the AMC MCQ, PLAB Part 1, USMLE Step 3, the MCCQE Part 1, the Hamad Medical Corporation National Board Examination, the IFOM exam, or both parts of Ireland's PRES. For dentists: NDEB Canada, the Australian, Irish or New Zealand dental exams or registration for accredited graduates, NJCE-II, or the UK ORE (not older than 5 years). Nurses are exempt with NCLEX; dental hygienists with both the NBDHE and a US clinical board exam.

Higher-level exams also count downwards within a discipline: the dentist exam qualifies for dental assistants and hygienists, the nursing exam for dental assistants, and a technologist exam for the technician title. DHP's latest list of exempt certificates is in circular DHP 19/2025; our GCC exam exemptions guide compares it with the other regulators.

DHP publishes a cut score for every exam: 60% for general practitioners, general dentists and pharmacists, 50% for nursing, midwifery and allied and dental support titles, 65% for 33 of the 34 physician specialties and all 8 dental specialties, and 55% for Sports Medicine. Every exam is 150 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours.

Two rules are unusual. If you have used all five attempts and your best score is no more than 3 marks short of the cut score, DHP's policy allows the score to be rounded up using your highest mark. And a pass is valid for 3 years - if you submit your evaluation within a month of the exam expiring you do not need to sit it again, and on re-evaluation an exam that expired within the last year can be accepted once.

DHP's policy lists several cases: you are not re-examined at licence renewal; a licensed practitioner who left Qatar within five years and whose licence can be restored does not re-sit; practitioners licensed before the CBT exam began, or who work in government sectors and move to another facility while their licence is valid, are exempt; and trainee licence holders who passed the qualifying exam move to a full licence without another one.

DHP publishes a blueprint and reference list for every group - general and specialty physicians, general and specialty dentists, pharmacists, nurses and midwives, and allied health - linked from its qualifying exam page. Our QCHP syllabus and sample questions guide walks through them. Then practise under time pressure: our free timed mock tests score you by domain, and the question banks give you full-length 150-question papers with rationales.