The DHA General Practice Exam: From Sheryan Account to Pass/Fail Result

What you are actually sitting

For doctors, DHA lists a General Practice computer-based test under the code GEN5331. The DHA CBT Exam Guideline (a copy hosted outside dha.gov.ae, last updated May 2026) gives the format: 150 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours, 60% to pass, Pass or Fail reported. It does not state how many options each question has, and it does not publish content weights.

The CBT is not the only form DHA uses. DHA's Professional Assessment manual (2025) says the assessment may be a Prometric theory test, a virtual oral assessment in English, or both, depending on title and experience. Where an oral is set, the manual describes it as lasting about 20 to 30 minutes or more with at least five scenarios. Which route applies to you is decided by DHA from your application, not by you. This guide covers the computer-based test.

From Sheryan account to seat

The steps below are the sequence reported by DHA-derived sources. The Sheryan screens are the authority, and DHA may change the flow, so read each screen before you act.

1. Create a Sheryan account. Enter your name exactly as it appears on your passport. A mismatch between portal and passport is the avoidable problem here.
2. Copy your DHA Unique ID from the account. You will need it with the exam provider.
3. Generate your Eligibility ID. This is where the credentialing fee is paid.
4. Schedule and pay on the Prometric DHA portal by credit card, using the Eligibility ID.
5. Sit the exam at your chosen centre.
6. Read the result in Sheryan. It shows Pass or Fail and nothing else.

Verification of your documents runs on its own track. DataFlow's DHA page describes an application through its DHA portal, a case number for tracking and a Letter of Authorization template. See the DataFlow guide for what is and is not stated.

The money

The guideline copy states USD 280 per attempt. The AED 200 credentialing fee is reported by DHA-derived sources and paid in Sheryan, so check the amount on the payment screen. Arithmetic is simple, and it is worth doing before you book.

The point is not the total but the comparison: a second attempt costs the same as the first, and a third attempt is the last. That is the case for sitting once, ready, rather than twice, unready.

Attempts: what the DHA manual says

The Professional Assessment manual sets a maximum of three attempts. DHA may reduce that number for some candidates, and after a third failure DHA can bar reapplication for two years. Secondary sources add that the three attempts count across the UAE authorities, with the candidate declaring earlier attempts. We could not confirm that wording on a DHA page, so ask DHA how earlier attempts at DOH or MOHAP are counted if you have any.

Pacing a 3-hour paper that includes the introduction

Because the 3 hours include registration and the introduction, you will not have 180 minutes of question time. The guideline does not say how long the introduction takes, so look at the on-screen timer at the first question and plan from that. A first pass at 60 seconds an item is the safe approach: it finishes in 150 minutes and leaves the rest for flagged items.

This table is a practice target of ours, not a DHA rule. Train with it in your full mocks so the clock is familiar on the day. Always answer every item: DHA's materials we reviewed do not describe negative marking, so an empty answer cannot help you.

How to build a DHA-style mock

A mock only predicts the real paper if it copies the constraints. Set up each full mock the same way.

• 150 items, one sitting. No breaks beyond what you would take on the day. A fatigue pattern in hour three is information you need.
• A clock that starts before the first question. Give yourself 10 minutes of dead time at the start to mimic registration and the introduction, then run the question clock. If the real introduction is shorter, you gain margin.
• Four options, one best answer. Do not use select-all items or mock banks with five options and different stem styles, because the habits differ.
• Flag, do not stall. Practise the flag-and-move habit from the pacing table above.
• Review for time errors separately. Count how many items took more than 90 seconds and why.

Three full mocks of this kind in the last four weeks are worth more than ten untimed question sets.

Reading a single-best-answer stem

DHA has not published its item style, so this is a general technique that suits any four-option, one-best-answer paper. Read the last line of the stem first. It tells you the task: most likely diagnosis, next best step, most appropriate investigation, best initial treatment, or what to tell the patient. Then read the stem for the details that decide the answer: age, pregnancy, renal function, allergy, drug history, time course and setting. Predict an answer before you look at the options, and then eliminate options that fail on a stated detail. When two options remain, ask which one a guideline would name first. Most wrong answers on practice papers are plausible-but-second-line, not absurd.

Three mistakes that cost attempts

1. Booking on the first available slot. With three attempts and a USD 280 fee each, a slot is cheap and an attempt is not. Book when your last two mocks agree.
2. Setting up the account carelessly. A name that does not match the passport, a recruiter-held account or a lost Unique ID costs weeks, and weeks cost momentum. Open the account yourself.
3. Revising without the clock. Knowing the material and finishing the paper are different skills. Candidates who never practise at pace are the ones who run out of time.

These are our editorial observations from the format and the rules, not DHA statistics.

What to study when there is no blueprint

DHA publishes no weights, so no one can honestly tell you the share of cardiology or paediatrics on the paper. What exists is the international evidence base and the SMLE and Qatar DHP blueprints as the nearest published guides. We therefore advise preparing the shared core, with both published shapes in mind. See high-yield topics and the study plan. Our bank uses four options per item and a single best answer, which is the confirmed SMLE format and the safest assumption. DHA has not told us otherwise.

Exemptions

Exemptions are set in the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR). Secondary sources list qualifications that can exempt a doctor from the DHA exam, including AMC, LMCC, PRES, NZREX, EMREE, PLAB 1 and 2 and USMLE Part III. Treat that as a prompt to check, not as a ruling. Read the PQR for your title, and ask DHA whether an exemption removes only the exam or also other steps.

After the result

DHA shows Pass or Fail in Sheryan. Some prep sources say CBT results appear within about two working days; the DHA guideline gives no figure, so do not plan around one. The guideline gives no expiry for a pass. A secondary source says a pass in the same title within five years of registration still counts if there is no gap in practice, which is worth confirming with DHA if you may delay licensing. After a pass, credentialing, verification and DHA's licensing decision continue on their own timelines.

If you do not pass, remember that Sheryan gives no domain feedback. Rebuild from your own error log, as set out in the scoring guide, and read your attempt allowance before you rebook. The comparison guide shows how DHA's limits compare with the others.