SHA exam 2026: format, booking and attempts

No. Sharjah does not run a stand-alone exam you book first. You apply to SHA for a Healthcare Professional Assessment; SHA reviews your qualifications and experience against the Unified PQR and decides whether your title requires an exam. If it does, the exam fee is paid within the same application, and the assessment certificate is issued only after you pass.

The certificate confirms your professional title - it does not let you work. SHA's own FAQ is explicit: you may practise only once your employing facility has obtained your licence from SHA. Our SHA exam and licence guide covers the licence stage, fees and renewal.

SHA decides this during your assessment, based on your title and credentials. SHA publishes no list of titles that need an exam, and no exam table, so we cannot tell you in advance.

The Unified PQR, which SHA co-signs, requires healthcare professionals to pass the authority's exam, exempts UAE nationals and Children of Emirati Women (clause 1.5.1), and sets exam equivalency criteria for others (clause 21). Examples in the April 2025 PQR include a Tier 1 specialty certificate from one of 21 listed countries for specialists and consultants, and a valid licence and good standing certificate from those countries or an NCLEX record for nurses. Exemption covers the exam only (clause 1.6.2), and it does not apply once your gap in practice exceeds two years (clause 21.4).

SHA asks you to upload exemption documents with your recent DataFlow report at application, so have them ready on day one. See the GCC exam exemptions guide for how the criteria work in practice.

Every professional listed in the Unified PQR can apply. SHA's published conditions are that your qualification is accredited and from a recognised institution, that you have no gap in practice of more than three years, and that every document is in Arabic or English or legally translated. Check your title and eligibility before you pay with our eligibility checker and title classifier.

The PQR itself requires remediation for gaps beyond three years (clause 1.7.1): CME/CPD credits and supervised training, followed by the licensure exam for everyone except UAE nationals and Children of Emirati Women. See our gap in practice guide.

SHA's service page lists a valid passport and Emirates ID, the birth certificate or mother's ID for Children of Emirati Women, academic qualifications and transcripts, internship completion certificates, current licence copies, work experience certificates, good standing certificates from your current health authorities and, for surgical specialties, surgical logbooks for the last two years.

SHA also asks for a recent DataFlow report if you hold one, plus exemption documents. Our DataFlow guide explains verification, and the cost calculator estimates the fee. If you want a second pair of eyes on your file before you submit, our eligibility assessment covers this.

You apply online through SHA's portal; SHA states a review period of 8 working days. The steps are: log in to the SHA portal, complete the information and upload documents, accept the disclaimer about exam attempts at other UAE authorities, pay electronically, then receive the assessment certificate on approval.

Eight working days is SHA's review period only. It does not include DataFlow verification, which depends on your university, registration council and past employers, and SHA publishes no timing for any exam. After the certificate, your employing facility applies for the licence, which SHA also quotes at 8 working days. That is about 16 working days of SHA review in total, before verification and any exam. Use the licensing timeline calculator to plan.

SHA publishes no exam format, blueprint, question count, pass mark or booking route, and no test vendor is named on its service pages. Where an exam is required, SHA tells you at the assessment stage and collects the fee within your application, so you do not book it yourself.

Searches for a "Sharjah Health Authority Prometric exam" borrow the DHA and MOHAP process. Do not pay a site offering to book an SHA exam for you; confirm the format with SHA or your employer's licensing coordinator. SHA can be reached on the contact details in its service pages ([email protected], +971 6 509 1666).

You get three attempts in total across the UAE, and attempts at DHA, DOH or MOHAP count in Sharjah. The Unified PQR grants three attempts across the authorities (clause 1.5.4) and one final attempt with a different authority after three failures (clause 1.5.5), and SHA's assessment asks every exam candidate to declare previous attempts at other UAE health authorities. Under-declaring is a serious risk to your application.

SHA publishes no waiting period between attempts. DOH's own standard sets 3 months, but that is not an SHA rule, so ask SHA before you plan a re-sit. Since pass or fail is all most UAE exams report, use the gap to find weak areas with a timed mock. If you have already used attempts, read our UAE retake guide before you apply.

The assessment costs AED 500 for physicians, dentists and TCIM practitioners and AED 300 for nurses, midwives, pharmacists, allied health and TCIM therapists. The DataFlow fee and any exam fee are charged on top, and SHA does not publish the exam fee.

The licence is a separate application with its own fee. SHA's licence service lists AED 3,000 (physicians, dentists, TCIM practitioners) or AED 1,000 (allied health, nursing, pharmacists, trainees) for a full-time licence, AED 4,000 for part-time and AED 2,000 for a visitor licence for physicians and dentists. A full-time licence is valid for one year. Who pays the licence fee depends on your employer. For wider budgeting see the GCC cost comparison.

The assessment certificate confirms your professional title; the licence lets you practise. SHA's licence service is requested by the healthcare facility's representative on your behalf, with the offer letter and malpractice insurance, which can be submitted within 14 days after approval.

That means you cannot obtain a licence without a job at an SHA-licensed facility. The assessment is worth doing early, but do not accept a start date based on the certificate alone.

No. Sharjah Healthcare City is a healthcare free zone for businesses, and the professionals working there are still licensed by SHA. The SHCC regulations page says its Health Regulation Department supervises the health facilities and professionals licensed by SHA, and publishes no separate exam.

So an SHCC employer sets your business framework, not your professional pathway. The assessment, any exam and the licence work the same way. Our SHCC vs SHA guide explains the distinction.

The costly ones are treating the certificate as permission to work, assuming a DHA, DOH or MOHAP licence covers Sharjah, under-declaring exam attempts, leaving exemption documents out of the first submission, and ignoring the gap clock. Weak experience letters and unstamped logbooks also cause delays. Our licence rejection mistakes guide covers the paperwork.

SHA publishes no exam blueprint or question bank, and a pack sold as an "official SHA exam" is not one. The clinical content of UAE licensing exams follows the same professional scope, so preparing against a published blueprint is the practical route: our free timed mock tests show your weak domains, and the question banks give you full-length papers with a rationale for every answer. Browse all professions in exam prep.