DOH Abu Dhabi Licence (Formerly HAAD): What Changed and How to Apply in 2026

Ask a Pakistani doctor about working in Abu Dhabi and the word that comes back is "HAAD". The Health Authority Abu Dhabi was reorganised as the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH) several years ago, but the old name survives in exam-prep circles, job advertisements and FAME's own course titles. This article explains what the change did and did not alter, how the DOH licensing process runs today, and how it differs from the Dubai (DHA) and federal (MOHAP) routes. Fees, question counts and exact document lists change and are not quoted here; the DOH portal is the authority.

What the rename changed

• The regulator: DOH is the government body regulating healthcare in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including the licensing of professionals.
• The assessment: the "HAAD exam" of old is now the DOH licensing assessment. Third-party guides disagree on whether it is delivered through Prometric or Pearson VUE and on its length; the DOH's candidate information, issued once an application is accepted, settles those questions for your category.
• The standard: the UAE's unified Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR) apply across DOH, DHA and MOHAP, so the qualification and experience needed for a title are aligned across the emirates even though each regulator licenses separately.

How the DOH process runs

1. Title and specialty under the PQR. Determine whether you are applying as a general practitioner, specialist or consultant; the required qualifications and experience differ.
2. Application through the DOH's digital channels (the Abu Dhabi government's TAMM platform hosts DOH professional licensing services), with the required documents.
3. Primary-source verification of qualifications and experience through the DataFlow process.
4. Assessment, unless exempt under the PQR's exemption provisions for certain qualifications.
5. Licence issuance and activation with a DOH-licensed facility as sponsor.

DOH, DHA and MOHAP in one paragraph

DOH licenses for Abu Dhabi, DHA for Dubai, and the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) for the Northern Emirates (Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah). A licence from one does not automatically permit practice in another emirate, although the unified PQR and inter-authority arrangements have made transfers more straightforward than they once were. Candidates should apply to the regulator of the emirate where they intend to work, which usually follows the job offer.

Preparing for the assessment

The DOH assessment, like the DHA and MOHAP assessments, tests broad clinical medicine at the level of the title applied for. Prepare across medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and the other core disciplines with question practice, and use the DOH's candidate guidance for the blueprint and format rather than conflicting third-party summaries.

What this means for you

If your target is Abu Dhabi, apply to DOH under the right PQR title, begin verification early, and prepare for a broad clinical MCQ assessment. The "HAAD" label on preparation resources, including FAME's HAAD question bank, refers to this DOH assessment.

Before you apply: a checklist

• Title decided under the PQR (general practitioner, specialist or consultant) with the qualifications and experience it requires in hand.
• Documents consistent across passport, degree, PM&DC registration, good-standing certificate and experience letters; mismatched names and dates are the usual cause of verification delay.
• Verification started early, because the DataFlow process takes weeks and the assessment cannot be booked until the file is accepted.
• Assessment format taken from DOH's candidate information, not from third-party guides that disagree with each other about the provider and the length.
• A job plan, since the licence is activated by a DOH-licensed facility; many applicants let the job offer decide the emirate and therefore the regulator.

Sources and references

• Department of Health Abu Dhabi (official site, professional licensing)
• TAMM: Abu Dhabi government services (DOH professional licensing services)
• DataFlow Group: primary-source verification