DHA Hijama Therapist Exam HIJ5862: New 2026 CBT, Eligibility, Syllabus and Study Plan

In September 2026 DHA added a fifth traditional and complementary exam to its computer-based list: Hijama Therapist, code HIJ5862. The May 2026 version of the guideline had only four. The Sep 2026 DHA guideline gives these details:

• 100 questions
• 2 hours
• Pass mark of 60%
• Fee of USD 180

The Hijama Therapist title is added to an existing UAE healthcare licence. It is not a first licence for someone with no healthcare registration, except for UAE nationals and children of Emirati women, who follow a different path. Hijama must also be practised in a health facility.

You can prepare with our Hijama Therapist exam prep, which has an original question bank, and try the free Hijama mock exam. We do not sell recalled or leaked questions.

A note on accuracy: HIJ5862 is a DHA code. We found no official source showing that DOH, MOHAP or SHA run this same exam. MOHAP says Hijama applicants go through "DataFlow verification and examination stages" but does not publish the format.

This guide uses the official title, Hijama Therapist, as it appears in the Unified PQR and the DHA guideline. It explains the three eligibility routes, the 20-case log, exam day, a domain-by-domain study guide, a 6-week plan and practice questions. For a side-by-side view with the other TCIM exams, see our table of DHA pass marks.

The Unified PQR (3rd edition, April 2025) gives three qualification routes. Each one also needs 2 years of experience.

Other rules:

• The title is added onto an existing Authority licence, except for UAE nationals and children of Emirati women.
• For UAE nationals, the PQR refers to "passing the MOHAP examination", and nationals are otherwise evaluated case by case.
• Hijama must be practised in a health facility.
• Unani Practitioners may practise Hijama within their own title, and TCM Practitioners may perform dry cupping.

Keep a clear case log for the 20 documented cases. Ask whoever supervised you to sign each entry. Check your documents with our assessment service before you apply.

Which route fits you?

• Route 1 suits a traditional practitioner with a long certificate course but no healthcare degree. The certificate must be accredited, last at least 2 years, and include infection prevention and control, biology and haematological diseases. If your syllabus does not show these subjects, ask the college for a detailed curriculum letter.
• Route 2 suits a nurse, physiotherapist or other healthcare graduate who then took a Hijama course of at least 1 year.
• Route 3 suits a professional who already holds a MOHAP, DHA, DOH or SHA licence and a bachelor's degree, and who completed an Authority-approved programme of at least 25 CME hours.

Because the title is added to an existing Authority licence, a person with no healthcare registration cannot start here, except UAE nationals and children of Emirati women. If that is your position, read our guide to complementary medicine licensing in the GCC to see which first licence fits, and use the DataFlow guide to plan your document checks.

You will have about 72 seconds per question. At least 60 correct answers out of 100 are needed if all questions carry equal weight. DHA does not publish the weighting by topic, so treat any exact percentage per topic as a guess.

You may notice that Aesthetician (BYT5862) shares the number 5862, but with a 65% pass mark. This does not mean the Hijama code is wrong. DHA reuses numeric endings across different prefixes. For example, "PHO" is used for both Pharmacist and Homeopathy. Always use the full code, HIJ5862, when you book.

See our DHA exam page and the booking guide on how to book your exam.

DHA says the 2 hours include registration and the process introduction, so your net testing time is a little under 120 minutes. The fee is paid to Prometric in US dollars. At the AED 3.6725 peg, USD 180 is about AED 661. DHA also charges a Sheryan credentialing fee of AED 200. See the DHA fees page and the DHA pass marks page, and confirm the figures on Sheryan before you pay.

Take the free Hijama mock exam first. It scores you against the 60% pass mark and shows which domains need work. Then use the full Hijama Therapist question bank from week 3 of the plan below, and read sample items on the Hijama sample questions page. If you are unsure which PQR route your certificate fits, request an eligibility check before you book.

The DHA guideline lists these areas for the Hijama Therapist exam.

Reference texts named by DHA include Osman-Latib and Kachlak, among others.

Infection control and emergency management are likely to feel familiar if you are a nurse, but many therapists from a traditional background need extra time on them. Spend more hours on those two areas than on technique alone.

DHA names eight syllabus areas but does not publish weights. The weights below are Neelim's own estimates from our Hijama blueprint, built from the DHA syllabus. They are not DHA figures. Use them to share your time, not to predict the paper.

Look at the first four rows. Together they are about two thirds of our estimated paper, and they are the practical core of the job: who you can treat, how you treat, how you keep everyone safe, and the anatomy behind it. Add emergencies and you have about 78%. The legal, rights and evidence domains are smaller but easy to score, because the answers are rules and principles, not clinical judgement.

Study notes for the harder areas

Contraindications. Build a table with three columns: do not treat, treat only after medical advice, and treat with extra care. Anticoagulant use, a bleeding disorder, anaemia and a recent blood donation belong in the first two. Always link a condition to the reason, for example "bleeding risk" or "poor healing", because the exam often asks for the best reason.

Infection control. Learn the order of events in a wet session: hand hygiene, PPE, skin antisepsis, single-use blade, sharps container, waste bin, surface cleaning, hand hygiene again. If you can say the order without notes, you can answer most sequence questions.

Emergencies. For each emergency, write three things: the sign, the first action and when to escalate. A fainting client, for example, needs the procedure stopped, a lying position and monitoring, with escalation if recovery is slow.

Use the Hijama question bank from week 3 onwards. Also use your case log: think about each documented case and ask what the exam might ask about it.

Checkpoints

The targets sit 10 to 15 points above the pass mark because any practice test is only a sample of the real paper. Nurses and physiotherapists often finish weeks 3 and 5 faster. Candidates from a traditional or certificate background should add a week for infection control and emergencies, and stretch the plan to 8 weeks.

DHA does not publish exam questions. These are Neelim practice examples, written by our team to show the style. They are not from any exam. Examples 4 to 8 are about judgement and rules.

Example 1. Which action is most important immediately after a sharp instrument has been used on a client during wet cupping?
A. Wipe it and reuse it B. Place it directly into an approved sharps container C. Leave it on the tray D. Rinse it under tap water
Answer: B. Used sharps are disposed of safely in an approved container.

Example 2. A client feels dizzy and pale during a session. What is the best first action?
A. Continue quickly B. Stop the procedure, help the client lie down and monitor them C. Ask the client to stand D. Apply more cups
Answer: B.

Example 3. Before treatment, a client says they take a blood-thinning medicine. What should you do?
A. Ignore it B. Record it, assess the bleeding risk and seek medical advice before you decide to proceed C. Reduce the cup time and continue D. Skip the consent form
Answer: B.

Example 4. What is the correct order in the basic wet cupping sequence?
A. Incision, suction, dressing B. Suction, incision, re-suction C. Re-suction, incision, suction D. Incision, re-suction only
Answer: B. The first suction raises the skin, the incision is made, and the second suction draws out the blood, followed by cleaning and dressing.

Example 5. A therapist has a skin puncture from a used blade. What is the best immediate action?
A. Squeeze the wound hard and carry on B. Wash the wound with soap and running water, let it bleed freely, report it and get urgent assessment for post-exposure treatment C. Cover it and finish the session D. Wait until the end of the day
Answer: B. Blood exposure is time-sensitive, so first aid, reporting and urgent medical assessment come at once.

Example 6. A client with a flame-cupping burn on the back has a small red blister. What should you do?
A. Burst the blister B. Cool the area with running water, cover it with a clean non-stick dressing and refer if the burn is larger or deeper than minor C. Apply oil and massage D. Ignore it
Answer: B. Cool, cover and refer when needed. Record the incident.

Example 7. A client asks to be treated by a practitioner of the same gender. What is the best response?
A. Refuse the request B. Respect the request where possible, arrange a suitable practitioner or chaperone, and document it C. Treat them anyway D. Cancel without explanation
Answer: B. Dignity, privacy and cultural sensitivity are patient rights topics.

Example 8. A clinic leaflet says cupping "cures diabetes". What is wrong with it?
A. Nothing B. It makes an unproven claim of cure, which breaches advertising and evidence rules C. It is too short D. It uses the wrong colour
Answer: B. Evidence for cupping is limited, and claims must be honest.

Most questions reward safe, careful choices. When two options look similar, choose the one that protects the client and follows procedure.

Saudi Arabia's route differs from Dubai's. NCCAM, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, licenses cupping as one of five practices. Since 2015, cupping has been limited to SCFHS-registered doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. The requirements include an NCCAM course, a health screen and a general practitioner on site.

A research abstract describes the NCCAM programme as 5 days of 8 hours each, with coursework, oral, practical and OSCE components, followed by a written exam with a pass gate of at least 60%. This is secondary information, because the NCCAM practice manual is not accessible outside the Kingdom. We cannot confirm the exact format, so contact NCCAM. NCCAM does not publish a question count, fee or code. There is no SCFHS Prometric exam for cupping. Read our SCFHS licence guide for the general Saudi process.

Every PQR route needs 20 documented cases. This requirement is easy to overlook until the application stage, so start the log early.

• What to record: date, client reference (not the full name, to protect privacy), reason for treatment, screening done, the procedure, aftercare advice and any adverse event.
• Who signs: ask your supervisor or the clinic lead to sign each entry. A log with no signatures is weak evidence.
• Quality over speed: do not rush 20 cases into a few days. A reviewer may question a log that looks too compressed.
• Keep copies: store the log safely and scan every page.

The case log also helps your exam preparation. For each case, ask yourself what risks you checked, what you would do if the client fainted, and which infection control steps you followed. These are exactly the themes in the DHA syllabus.

1. Thinking it is a first licence. In the UAE, Hijama is added to an existing licence.
2. Weak case documentation. You need 20 documented cases on every route.
3. Not preparing on infection control. This is a core syllabus area.
4. Assuming other authorities use HIJ5862. Confirm with DOH, MOHAP or SHA.
5. Using shared attempts carelessly. PQR clause 1.5.4 allows three attempts in total across DHA, DOH, MOHAP and SHA, with one final attempt at another authority under clause 1.5.5.
6. Trusting recalled questions. We never promise them.

HIJ5862 is a computer-based exam at a Prometric centre. It is not an oral. You use two systems: Sheryan, DHA's licensing portal, and Prometric.

1. Check your mode of exam on Sheryan, and confirm that HIJ5862 is the route for Hijama Therapist.
2. Create your Sheryan account with your name exactly as in your passport.
3. Copy your DHA Unique ID and use it for both DataFlow and Prometric.
4. Generate your Eligibility ID and pay the AED 200 credentialing fee.
5. Book with Prometric, choose a centre and date, and pay the USD 180 exam fee by credit card.
6. Sit the exam. Arrive 30 minutes early with your valid passport. The name must match your Sheryan account. If it does not, contact DHA at least 5 days before the exam.

DHA allows DataFlow verification and the exam to run in parallel, but your application cannot move on until both are complete. Our booking guide shows each screen. At check-in, staff may ask you to show your arms and ankles, empty your pockets, pass a metal detector and have a photo taken. DHA does not publish permitted items or break rules, so follow the Prometric instructions for your centre.

During the exam

• Use a first pass of about 70 minutes for questions you can answer in under a minute, and mark the rest.
• Use about 30 minutes for the marked items. Remove the clearly unsafe options first.
• Keep 10 to 15 minutes at the end for review. Do not spend more than two minutes on one item.
• When two options look right, choose the one that is safer for the client and follows infection control rules.

Results

DHA shows Pass or Fail in Sheryan and never shares your score. Results are normally uploaded within 2 working days. Prometric also sends a Learning Outcome letter with general strengths and weaknesses, but it does not state your result. You can reschedule or cancel on Prometric's site up to 5 calendar days before the exam for a centre-specific charge. DHA says fees are not refundable, and a no-show is not a failed attempt but the fee is lost.

You have three attempts in total across DHA, DOH, MOHAP and SHA (PQR clause 1.5.4), and you must declare earlier attempts (clause 1.5.6). A fail at one authority uses an attempt at all of them.

Since you never see a score, plan a retake by domain. Take a timed mock, rank your domains and rework the weakest three. Our retake guide explains the steps.

After a pass, DHA issues a registration valid for one year. A licensed health facility must activate it into a licence, and Hijama must be practised in a health facility. DHA gives 5 working days to process Get Registered and publishes no time for activation, so ask your employer. If you also hold another TCIM title, compare routes in our Acupuncture, Homeopathy and Unani guide and our Ayurveda guide.

• Free mock exam: the Hijama mock scores you against the 60% pass mark and shows your weak domains.
• Question bank: the Hijama Therapist exam prep has original questions written to the DHA syllabus, with a rationale for each answer. We do not sell recalled or leaked questions, and we cannot promise a pass.
• Eligibility check: send us your certificates and case log and we map them to the three PQR routes.

For the full picture of DHA rules, see the DHA exam overview. Rules change, so check the final requirements with DHA before you pay.