SCFHS exam 2026: pass marks, format and attempts

SCFHS runs two families of written exam. Professional Practice Licensure Exams are entry-level tests taken after your degree or during internship: the SMLE (doctors), SNLE (nurses), SPLE (pharmacists), SDLE (dentists), SLLE (laboratory), SRTLE (radiologic technology), SRCLE (respiratory care), plus the newer SCNLE (clinical nutrition) and SPSLE (psychology). Saudi Classification Examinations are title-specific tests used when you are classified as a specialist or technician, with a separate blueprint for each title.

SCFHS's licensure page lists 11 licensure exams; the table below leaves out the public-health one (SPHLE). SCFHS's classification list runs to about 99 titles, and the table includes those we have matched to a profession. Use the professional title classifier to see which title you are likely to be assessed for.

The licensure exams share one format: 200 multiple-choice questions, each with four options and one best answer, split into two parts of 100 questions with 120 minutes for each part and a scheduled 30-minute break between them. Up to 10% of the questions are unscored pilot items.

The papers mix recall questions with scenario questions that test interpretation, analysis, decision-making and problem-solving. You can test at any SCFHS-approved Prometric centre in Saudi Arabia or abroad; centres appear when you schedule.

SCFHS publishes a 2026 blueprint for the SMLE, and applicant guides for the SNLE, SPLE, SDLE, SLLE, SRTLE and SRCLE. See our exam pages for the SMLE, SNLE, SPLE and SDLE.

The licensure exams report a scaled score on a 200-800 scale, so the pass mark is a scaled number, not a percentage. SCFHS sets it through a standard-setting panel and the Central Assessment Committee approves it.

The pass marks are 500 for the SNLE, 530 for the SRTLE, 536 for the SPLE, 542 for the SDLE and SRCLE, 530 for the SLLE and 560 for the SMLE. The SCNLE is 542 and the SPSLE is 500. The flat 60% or 70% often quoted online does not apply.

Unlike DHA or DOH, SCFHS gives you more than pass or fail: every candidate receives a statement of results and a feedback report on performance compared with other test takers.

SCFHS's 2026 SMLE blueprint weights the paper at Medicine 30%, Obstetrics and Gynaecology 25%, Paediatrics 25% and Surgery 20%. Half the exam is women's and children's health, so a medicine-heavy revision plan leaves a large gap.

The SPLE blueprint weights Basic Biomedical Sciences 10%, Pharmaceutical Sciences 35%, Social, Behavioural and Administrative Sciences 20% and Clinical Sciences 35%, with each area allowed to vary by up to 5%. The SNLE weights Nursing Fundamentals 20%, Adult Nursing 40%, Maternal-Child Nursing 30% and Nursing Management and Leadership 10%, with the same 5% tolerance. The SLLE gives 15-20% each to blood bank, clinical chemistry, haematology and microbiology, with the rest across immunology, molecular biology, laboratory operations and professional practice.

Classification exams follow three fixed patterns. Physician and dental specialties are 200 MCQs in 4 hours, with a 65% pass mark at Registrar level and 70% at Senior Registrar. Allied specialist titles are 150 MCQs in 3 hours at 60%, and technician titles are 150 MCQs in 3 hours, usually at 55%.

There are exceptions, all from SCFHS blueprints: Nursing Technician 45%, Nursing Health Assistant 50%, Paramedic Science Technician 40%, and Cardiothoracic Surgery at 150 MCQs, 3 hours and 65%. Clinical Psychology Specialist and Psychology Specialist are listed by SCFHS with no blueprint, so their format and pass mark are unpublished. Percentages are not scaled scores, so they are not comparable with the 500-560 licensure pass marks.

Be careful with vendor claims. Prep sites quote an orthopaedic specialist exam of 100 questions in 180 minutes; SCFHS's own blueprint says 200 questions in 4 hours.

Eligibility for a licensure exam is a recognised primary degree (MBBS, BSN or equivalent), or being in your internship year, or being one year from graduation. Saudi university students can sit in their final undergraduate year. Whether you must sit a classification exam is decided when SCFHS classifies you, and depends on your target title and qualification.

Consultancies report that holders of certain boards (for example US, UK, Canadian, Australasian and Saudi Board certificates) are often classified without an exam, and that experienced consultants may face an interview rather than an MCQ. SCFHS's classification page does not publish an exemption list, so treat these as unconfirmed and case by case. We could not verify whether the Arab Board alone waives the exam.

Check your own position with our Prometric exam checker and exemption guide, or book an eligibility assessment.

You apply through SCFHS's e-application on the Mumaris Plus portal. Once SCFHS processes it, you get a scheduling permit with an eligibility period by email, then book a date with Prometric. For classification exams, SCFHS's page links straight to Prometric to book.

Scheduling may not open more than three months ahead. Licensure exams run in monthly testing windows: SCFHS's 2026 table lists twelve exam periods, such as 1-22 October, 1-24 November and 1-24 December. Registration dates are subject to change, so check SCFHS's page.

Behind the exam sits professional classification. SCFHS asks for official qualifications, authentication of overseas credentials through an SCFHS-approved company (in practice the DataFlow primary-source check), a valid professional registration, and an employment letter issued within three months. Non-Saudis need at least one year of experience. See our Mumaris Plus guide, DataFlow guide and Prometric booking guide.

SCFHS's licensure guides allow up to four attempts a year from your first attempt, until you pass, but only one per testing window. A second sitting in the same window counts as an attempt and its result is void.

Scheduling attempts within the year is your responsibility; SCFHS says it is not responsible if you leave them to the end of the year and find no test slot. After a pass, you get two further attempts to improve your score for residency selection, then one more per year. SCFHS's licensure page also publishes an attempt table (two improvement attempts after a pass, two additional attempts after a fail, repeatable after a year), which reads differently, so confirm your own count in Mumaris Plus.

If you fail within two years of graduation, SCFHS classification and registration rules apply. Our guide to repeated Prometric failures covers the comeback plan.

Bring your scheduling permit (paper or on your phone) and unexpired ID: a passport, or a national or residence card in Saudi Arabia. The name must match the permit exactly. Without both you are not admitted and pay a fee to reschedule; the amount is not published in the guides.

Centres open at 7:30 a.m. Arriving more than 30 minutes late, or not appearing, counts as an attempt unless SCFHS accepts a documented reason. Once you start, you cannot cancel or reschedule, and block time keeps running if you leave the room.

Results are not instant. They are announced 2-6 weeks after the testing window closes, with a statement of results and a feedback report. SCFHS offers a practice test, which you request through its website.

SCFHS publishes no consultant exam format. Consultancies describe a structured oral interview for the Consultant tier, in place of or in addition to the written exam, but this comes from secondary sources, not from SCFHS.

Those accounts describe a panel of two to four senior consultants, case-based scenarios, and sessions of roughly 30 to 45 minutes, often online. Numbers vary by specialty and we have not verified them. Consultant classification is also tied to years of post-specialty experience that differ by credential group; see our consultant interview guide, reclassification guide and the consultant oral practice.

SCFHS does not publish an exam fee in its applicant guides or on its classification page. The amount appears inside Mumaris Plus when you pay, so treat any fee table you find online as unsourced. Separate DataFlow costs depend on your profession; see our DataFlow cost calculator.

SCFHS publishes no end-to-end timeline either. The only published timings are 2-6 weeks for results after a window closes, and a booking window of up to three months ahead. Plan your overall route with the licensing timeline calculator.

On its classification page, SCFHS requires all prior degrees, authenticated overseas qualifications, a valid registration with verification, an employment letter issued within three months, and a medical report for applicants over 65. Missing or out-of-date items are the most obvious reasons a file stalls. See fixing a rejected Mumaris Plus application and common licence rejection mistakes.

Work from the SCFHS blueprint and reading list for your exam, then practise under timed conditions across the full blueprint. Start with our free mocks for GPs, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, lab, radiography and respiratory candidates, then work through full papers in the question banks or the wider exam prep library.

The exam is one step of professional classification and registration through Mumaris Plus, alongside DataFlow verification. Our SCFHS licence requirements, classification guide and SCFHS licence guide cover the whole process.