Authority approvals · Healthcare facilities
For investors and doctors opening a clinic, pharmacy, laboratory or day surgery centre in Dubai. We prepare the facility layouts and design submissions DHA reviews, line them up with the fit-out permits, and help you reach inspection ready to activate the licence.
A health facility in Dubai is licensed twice over: once as a business, and once as a place where patients can be treated safely. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) controls the second licence, and it reviews the premises as closely as the paperwork.
DHA licensing is not only an administrative step for the end of the project. The rooms, their sizes, the clean and dirty flows, the handwash basins and the engineering services are all judged against DHA's Health Facility Guidelines. A layout that works for a dentist's workflow but misses a requirement in those guidelines can mean reworking a finished fit-out. The earlier the DHA view is built into the design, the cheaper the project.
We are a private consultancy and have no role in DHA's decisions. DHA alone grants initial approval, inspects and activates a facility licence. We prepare the layouts and design submissions, coordinate them with the building-side approvals and help you prepare for inspection.
DHA licenses health facilities in Dubai through its online licensing system, Sheryan. Not every location falls under DHA, though. Dubai Healthcare City has its own regulator, the regulatory arm of the Dubai Healthcare City Authority, which licenses facilities and professionals within that free zone.
| Location | Health regulator | Building and fit-out side |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland Dubai | DHA | Dubai Municipality permits, with Civil Defence fire approval |
| Dubai Healthcare City | Dubai Healthcare City Authority (regulatory arm) | As set by the free zone |
| Other free zones and special areas | Confirm for each location | The zone's own permit authority, e.g. DDA or Trakhees |
The commercial licence comes from the Department of Economy and Tourism on the mainland or from the free zone authority. DHA's FAQs note that trade name reservation is done with the economic department or the free zone authority, and a valid trade licence is required before the facility licence can be activated.
The depth of DHA's design review grows with clinical risk. A small outpatient clinic is assessed on its schematic layout. A day surgery centre or hospital brings in detailed engineering review, including medical gases and nurse call. DHA's FAQs also state that Dubai Municipality approval is required for the initial approval of a hospital or day surgical centre licence.
For the full project view of a medical fit-out, including landlord approvals and contractor scope, see our clinic and pharmacy fit-out approvals page.
DHA's Health Facility Guidelines describe a staged approval process that runs from the first registration of a proposal through design and construction to licensing for operation. In Sheryan it appears as two main applications: a new facility licence, which gives an initial approval and an inactive licence, and activation, which follows a final inspection.
The investor reserves the trade name with the economic department or free zone, creates a Sheryan account and selects the facility type and category.
Owner / investor
The application is filled in for the facility category with the required documents. DHA issues an initial approval, recorded as an inactive licence.
Owner · DHA
The facility layout is submitted for review against the Health Facility Guidelines. Depending on the facility, this is a schematic design submission (architectural only) and a detailed design submission (architecture plus MEP, medical gases, nurse call and medical equipment).
Engineering consultant · DHA
In parallel, the fit-out is permitted by the building authority and Civil Defence, then built to the approved layout.
Consultant · contractor · authorities
Licensed healthcare professionals are added and activated under the facility, and a medical director is appointed.
Facility · DHA
The facility applies to activate the licence. DHA schedules and carries out the inspection. Facilities that pass receive an active licence through Sheryan. An optional pre-inspection assessment is available.
DHA inspectors
Before activation: DHA states that during the initial approval period a facility must not provide healthcare services, receive or treat patients, or advertise health services. The inactive licence is valid for one year. If licensing isn't completed within that year, the process is cancelled and the facility must reapply, so the fit-out programme has to fit inside that window.
The DHA Health Facility Guidelines run from Part A (administrative provisions and the approval process) through Part B (health facility briefing and design, with chapters on units such as outpatients and pharmacy) to Part E (engineering systems). They are what DHA's reviewers measure your drawings against.
Two submission methods are described. The simple method suits small facilities and minor extensions, and any non-hospital facility can use it. The enhanced method is optional for others but mandatory for hospitals and specialised hospitals.
DHA's FAQs ask for engineering layouts as schematic drawings in AutoCAD format, with room measurements in square metres and room labels that match the services the facility will offer. If you list physiotherapy, there must be a room labelled and sized for it.
The FAQs say the engineering firm preparing layouts needs credentials in interior decoration or architectural drawing services. Detailed design for larger facilities also needs MEP engineers familiar with medical gases and nurse call.
Typical reviewer points include room sizes against the guidelines, handwash basin positions, separation of clean and dirty utility areas, waste holding, patient toilets and accessibility, sterilisation flow in dental and surgical settings, and the relationship between waiting areas and treatment rooms. Our interior design and space planning service builds these in from the first layout, and our MEP design team handles the engineering submission where one is needed.
Exact requirements vary by facility category and change over time. They are listed in Sheryan when you start the application, and we work from that live list for each project.
DHA's licence sits on top of the normal building approvals; it doesn't replace them. A clinic in a mainland commercial building usually also needs:
The order matters. If the building permit drawings and the DHA layout differ, one of them has to be revised. We keep a single coordinated drawing set so every authority sees the same facility.
DHA publishes its facility licensing fees, and they vary by facility type and the licence term chosen (one, two or three years), with separate inspection and re-inspection fees. Because they differ so much between a single pharmacy and a hospital, we confirm the current figures for your category rather than quoting them here. Authority fees are paid to DHA and the other authorities and are shown separately from our consultancy fee.
Sheryan lists one working day as the average processing time for the activation service. Most of the real time sits elsewhere: designing a compliant layout, getting it accepted, building the fit-out, licensing professionals and passing inspection. The main factors are:
DHA licensing of healthcare professionals is outside our scope. Your medical director or HR team handles that through Sheryan. For an overview aimed at clinic owners, read DHA approval for clinics and pharmacies.
No. DHA states that during the initial approval period a facility must not provide healthcare services, treat patients or advertise. Services can start only once the licence has been activated after inspection.
DHA's licensing manual gives the inactive facility licence one year. If the requirements aren't completed within that year, the process is cancelled and you must reapply.
DHA reviews the layout of every facility, but the depth varies. Non-hospital facilities can use the simple submission method, while hospitals must use the enhanced method with detailed engineering design. We confirm the requirement for your facility category.
Facilities in Dubai Healthcare City are licensed by the regulatory arm of the Dubai Healthcare City Authority, not DHA. The design principles are similar, but the application goes to that regulator.
No. We are a private consultancy. DHA alone grants, inspects and activates facility licences. We prepare and coordinate the design and approval side.
On this page
Opening a clinic or pharmacy?
Send us the unit plan and the services you want to offer. We will check it against DHA's guidelines before you commit.
Guide
A healthcare premises should be planned around its actual service category and operational model.
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Guide
A practical fit-out register lists each permission, issuer, scope, owner and status.
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Guide
Inspection preparation should compare the completed work with the approved package and required evidence.
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Guide
A proposed change of use can affect much more than partitions.
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Service
Fitting out a clinic, dental practice or pharmacy in Dubai? How the DHA layout, building permit, Civil Defence and inspection stages fit into one programme.
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Service
Create interiors that support daily use while respecting the property’s technical limits. We connect the design brief, layout development, material decisions and approval-related coordination.
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Service
Coordinate mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems around the proposed space and equipment. We help connect the architectural layout to practical service routes, demand information and technical submissions.
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Service
DCD approval support in Dubai for fire and life-safety drawings, fire alarm and firefighting coordination, submissions, inspections and completion.
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Service
Get support for Dubai Municipality approval: drawings, NOCs, permits, submissions and completion coordination. Check the approval route for your project.
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Share a few details and we will tell you which approvals apply, what documents you need and how we can help. There is no obligation.
