Short answer: EMREE is an entry exam for residency, not a licence, and the DHA exam is for licensing, so some doctors need both and some need one. They use different subject lists: seven disciplines for EMREE, twelve areas for DHA General Practice. Plan around the dates you can control, and check any exemption in the PQR.
Can you prepare for EMREE and the DHA exam at the same time?
Yes, for many doctors the subjects overlap enough to share a clinical core, but the two exams ask different things of you. EMREE decides entry to residency; the DHA exam is part of getting a licence. This guide sets out what each organiser states and how you might sequence the two. It does not tell you which one you need: that depends on your route. Meddex is independent and is not connected to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) or Prometric. Meddex is independent and is not connected to UAE University or the National Institute for Health Specialities (NIHS).
Key facts and where they come from
All official, from the EMREE portal and Blueprint (read 15 October 2026) and DHA’s CBT Guideline and PQR (read 15 and 16 October 2026).
- EMREE is “only a qualifying exam” and a unified entry examination for residency, conducted by NIHS through UAE University.
- EMREE usually has 120 questions in 3 hours, with a pass mark of 60 percent for 2025 to 2026, set periodically.
- The EMREE blueprint has seven disciplines: Internal Medicine 20, Obstetrics and Gynaecology 15, Paediatrics 15, Surgery 15, Family Medicine 15, Psychiatry 10 and Public Health 10, each in percent.
- DHA General Practice has 150 questions in 3 hours including registration, with a pass score of 60 percent, and twelve content areas with no weights.
- The PQR lists exam equivalency by title. Passing EMREE exempts a specialist physician route in the PQR physician table, for the exam only. Check your own title.
- Seats at EMREE are limited and first come first served, while DHA appointments depend on availability.
What is each exam for?
EMREE is for doctors who want a residency place. The organiser says it is only a qualifying exam, and the residency authorities set their own acceptance rules, with the score used for ranking. The DHA exam is for doctors who want to be licensed to practise in Dubai. A doctor entering residency may need EMREE first, and a doctor seeking a licence as General Practice sits the DHA exam. Our guide EMREE vs DHA compares them side by side, and DHA licence for Indian doctors shows one worked route.
How do the subject lists compare?
EMREE lists seven disciplines with weights, from the November 2025 blueprint. DHA General Practice lists twelve areas with no weights: Chronic Diseases, Acute and Common Medical Problems, Common Pediatric Problems, Women Health, Emergency Problems, Common Surgical Problems, Common Psychiatric Problems, Common Eye and ENT Problems, Common Derma Problems, Basic Epidemiology and EBM Concepts, Family Medicine Concepts, and Screening and Periodic Health Examination.
The clinical core is shared: medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, surgery and psychiatry appear in both. Differences are real too. EMREE has public health and ethics and patient safety under its outline, and its blueprint publishes weights. DHA’s list has eye, ENT and skin as named headings, and screening as its own area. We cannot give a percentage of overlap, because DHA publishes no weights. See the DHA physician subject map and EMREE discipline weights.
Does passing EMREE exempt you from the DHA exam?
For some physician routes the PQR lists EMREE as equivalent, and an exemption covers the exam only, not the other licensing steps. It does not apply to every title. Read who may not need to sit the DHA exam and confirm your own title in the PQR and the Self-Assessment Tool.
How might you sequence them?
This is our suggestion, not an official order. Start with the exam whose date you can least change. EMREE seats go first come first served, and its date cannot be moved once you enrol, so work back from that sitting. Use the shared clinical core for the first phase of study, then split: add the EMREE blueprint weights and public health and ethics for EMREE, and the named DHA headings and screening for the DHA exam. Keep a shared error log, since a mistake in internal medicine costs you in both.
Then plan the last two weeks of each exam separately, as the formats differ: 120 questions for EMREE and 150 for DHA General Practice, both in three hours, with the DHA time including registration. See how to study for EMREE while working nights and the 4, 8 and 12 week plans.
How does Meddex handle the two?
The app keeps the DHA and EMREE tracks separate, so your progress, mocks and flashcards are shown for the track you choose, and you can switch between them. Mocks are listed per track and per profession, so check which papers are available for you in the app before you plan around them.
What we do not know
Frequently asked questions
This article is general educational guidance, not official advice. Exam rules, fees and timelines are set by the Dubai Health Authority and the test provider and can change, so always confirm the latest details on their official channels. Review of Meddex content by named, licensed clinicians is not complete yet. See how we write and check our content.
Last updated .