The DHA Sheryan portal, step by step

Last reviewed: 28 September 2026

The sequence at a glance

DHA's Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals sets out six stages. Sheryan is where you manage all of them:

1. Create a Sheryan account and complete the self-assessment.
2. Meet the PQR requirements for your title: qualification, clinical experience, home-country licence and good standing.
3. Get a positive primary source verification (PSV) result.
4. Pass the assessment your title requires.
5. Receive your professional registration certificate.
6. Have an employer activate your licence.

Stages 3 and 4 can run at the same time. DHA's manual says so explicitly, and running them together is the simplest way to save weeks.

Before you open the portal

Most delays trace back to paperwork that was not ready. Check these first:

• Your exact title in the PQR. Find your profession's entry in the unified PQR and note the title DHA uses. It may not match the title on your home-country licence. Our PQR guide explains how to read it.
• Names that match everywhere. The name on your passport, degree, licence and experience letters should be identical. Mismatches are one of the most common reasons an application is returned.
• A recent good standing certificate. DHA requires it to be no older than six months on the date you submit your registration application. Request it late enough that it is still valid when you apply.
• Translations. DHA asks for documents to be submitted with a certified legal translation where they are not in English or Arabic.
• One passport throughout. Your passport details must match across your DHA application and your exam booking.

Step 1: Create your account and note your DHA Unique ID

Open Sheryan from the official DHA Sheryan portal and create your professional account. Sign-in options can differ depending on whether you hold a UAE Emirates ID, so follow the login page's instructions for your situation.

Once your account exists, Sheryan assigns you a DHA Unique ID. Keep it safe. You need it to generate your exam eligibility ID, and it links your verification and assessment records to your file.

Step 2: Run the self-assessment

The self-assessment tool is a free preliminary check against the PQR for the title you select. It is not a decision: DHA still reviews your application to confirm eligibility. An eligible result is what unlocks the next service, Get Registered.

If the tool says you are not eligible, stop and read why before paying for anything else. The usual causes are degree level, minimum experience, or the title you picked. The same qualification can sometimes be eligible under a different title.

Step 3: Primary source verification (DataFlow)

DHA delegates primary source verification to a third-party verification agency, DataFlow, which contacts your university, employers and licensing body directly. The documents verified usually include your qualifications, experience letters, licences and registrations, your good standing certificate, and any exam exemption proof.

Two rules from DHA's manual are worth knowing:

• If a document comes back as unable to verify, you can appeal for re-verification of that document twice. If it comes back with a discrepancy, you can appeal once.
• DHA accepts PSV reports transferred from DOH, the Sharjah Health Authority and MOHAP. If you have already been verified for another emirate, you may not need to start again.

Costs, documents and the usual causes of delay are covered in our DataFlow guide.

Step 4: Generate your exam eligibility ID and book the exam

Most allied health titles sit a computer-based test (CBT) run by Prometric, and some titles have an oral assessment. In Sheryan's CBT eligibility service you enter your DHA Unique ID, then select your position category, job title and specialty to generate an eligibility ID. Save it, because Prometric asks for it when you book.

Format, fees, booking and results are in our DHA exam guide.

Step 5: Submit the Get Registered application

With a positive PSV report and a passed exam (if your title needs one), you apply for registration through the Get Registered service. DHA will not process the application until both are complete.

You upload:

• your educational qualifications
• experience or employment certificates
• licences and registrations
• a good standing certificate no older than six months
• exam exemption proof, if the PQR gives you one
• a recent passport-sized photo and a copy of your passport

The fee DHA lists for allied health is AED 200 for credentialing, plus Knowledge and Innovation fees added at checkout. DHA's stated service time is 5 working days after a complete submission.

What can come back

DHA can approve or reject the application, or return it to you: for more documents or information, for an assessment or verification, to change the title you applied for, to add a trainee restriction, or to add limitations to your licence. A returned application is normal. Answer exactly what is asked.

Some specialties also need an oral assessment after Get Registered is approved. If yours does not, you receive your registration certificate and your name is listed on the Dubai Medical Registry.

Step 6: Registration certificate, then activation by an employer

The registration certificate confirms you are eligible to be licensed in Dubai. Many people still call it the eligibility letter. It is valid for one year from the date it is issued.

It is not yet a licence to practise. The licence is activated by the facility that hires you, through the facility's own Sheryan account, and the facility must hold an active licence itself. Activation can be for one, two or three years, and the fee depends on the licence type and duration.

Where people lose time

Official references: DHA Manual for Licensing Healthcare Professionals (v1.2, 2025), DHA Manual for Professional Assessment (v1.1, 2025) and the Get Registered service description.

Common questions