Bahrain: The NHRA Exam and How Many Attempts You Get

Medical and health education in Bahrain

Bahrain has two main medical schools: the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences at Arabian Gulf University, and RCSI Medical University of Bahrain, which awards an Irish-style MB BCh BAO. Both teach in English. The degree takes about five to six years, and graduates then complete an internship of about one year in hospitals such as Salmaniya Medical Complex before full registration. Nursing and allied health programmes are mainly offered at bachelor's level, and pharmacy and dentistry are generally trained abroad or through limited local programmes.

Programmes are reviewed through the national education quality authority and the Higher Education Council, while the National Health Regulatory Authority licenses practitioners and sets the professional classification and registration rules. A Bahraini degree still has to be matched to an NHRA licence, so confirm the requirements for your profession.

The rule that shapes everything: pass or do not practise

In some countries the exam is waived for most applicants and left to the few without a recognised qualification. Bahrain goes the other way. NHRA Decision No. 29 of 2020 says that licence applicants in the covered professions must pass the NHRA licensure exam, and the only stated exception is an exemption approved by the Supreme Council of Health. There is no default exemption for experienced foreign professionals, and no automatic recognition of another Gulf licence in the text we reviewed.

That makes the attempt rules matter more than usual. Read them before you book your first sitting.

How the attempt ladder works

The decision lays out a fixed sequence. In summary:

1. First attempt. You sit the exam when your application is eligible.
2. If you fail: you may take up to three more attempts within three years.
3. If you still fail: two further attempts are allowed, but only after at least six months of training.
4. After that: the only remaining path is the exemption route, which needs Supreme Council of Health approval.

On this reading that is six attempts in total, spread across a long period. Do not treat the later ones as free retakes. Read Decision No. 29 of 2020 directly for exact wording and any later amendment.

Who needs a licensing exam in Bahrain

All applicants for NHRA licences in the listed professions, whether they trained in Bahrain or abroad. Bahraini graduates are not exempt by virtue of local training under the decision text we saw. Foreign-trained applicants additionally go through NHRA's usual credential checks, typically including primary source verification.

Applications go through the NHRA licensing process described on its application and licensing procedure page.

Doctors

The NHRA Licensure Exam for Medical Practitioners is a multiple-choice computer-based test at Prometric, with a 2.5-hour exam in a 3-hour seat. Candidates are general and specialist applicants for a medical licence. The published material does not give a question count, so check the Prometric NHRA page for the current candidate information.

Nurses

The Nurses exam uses the same 2.5-hour computer-based format. Every nursing applicant must pass it. The decision text we saw offers no recognised-qualification shortcut.

Midwives

Midwives have their own NHRA Licensure Exam in Midwifery, named in Article 5 of the decision. It is multiple choice at Prometric. The summary data we reviewed gives the shared 3-hour seat time but not a separate midwifery exam length, so confirm duration with NHRA.

Pharmacists

Pharmacists sit the NHRA Licensure Exam for Pharmacists: multiple-choice CBT, 2.5 hours. The same attempt ladder applies, and so does the Supreme Council of Health exemption route.

Dentists

The Dental Practitioner exam is again a 2.5-hour multiple-choice CBT. Dental specialists should ask NHRA whether their category has a separate exam or uses the general one.

Physiotherapists and other allied health

Physiotherapists are also named in Article 5, with an NHRA Licensure Exam for Physiotherapists in multiple-choice CBT format. Allied health examinations were announced in NHRA Circular No. 26 of 2020, which also affects other allied titles beyond the six covered here.

The exams side by side

Planning around the attempt ladder

The ladder turns scheduling into a strategy question. A few points follow directly from the decision text:

• Do not sit early to test the water. Every sitting counts toward the limit, so a trial run uses up one of your attempts.
• The three-year window runs from the failure. If you fail and then delay, the three more attempts have to fit inside that period.
• The final two attempts need training first. At least six months of training must pass before them, so line up a placement or supervised work early, and ask NHRA what counts as acceptable training.
• Keep your results. Save every score report and the date, because you may need to show NHRA where you stand on the ladder.

If you reach the end of the ladder, the exemption route through the Supreme Council of Health is the only door the decision leaves open. It is an approval, not a right, so it should be a last resort and not a plan.

Language and recognition

The NHRA material we reviewed is in English and does not set a separate language test for the exam. Confirm whether your employer or NHRA will ask for proof of English. Recognition is through NHRA evaluation of your qualification and experience. The Gulf has no shared licence, so a Saudi, Emirati or Qatari licence does not remove the exam requirement on its own.

If you are relocating for a post, check your start date against the attempt ladder. A failed first sitting can delay licensing by months.

Finally, remember that the six professions named here are not the whole list. The allied health circular extends the exam requirement to further titles, so if you are in another health discipline, read it before assuming you are outside the system.

Last reviewed October 2026