Israel: Ministry of Health Licensing Exams and the Language Choice

Medical and health education in Israel

Israel has five medical schools: the Hebrew University-Hadassah, Tel Aviv University, the Technion, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Bar-Ilan University's Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Safed. The standard medical degree takes six years, followed by a paid one-year internship (the "stage") in a Ministry-recognised hospital. Teaching is in Hebrew, with English-language programmes for international students at some schools. Nursing is a four-year bachelor's degree, pharmacy takes five years, and dentistry five to six years.

Degree programmes are approved by the Council for Higher Education. The Ministry of Health issues the licence after the internship, and graduates of foreign schools are normally required to pass the Ministry's licensing examination in addition. Rules for foreign graduates change, so check the current requirements.

Choose your exam language carefully

For most countries the exam language is fixed. Israel is different. The MoH nursing exam can be taken in several languages, which opens the profession to immigrants, but a non-Hebrew paper comes with a Hebrew proficiency test attached. Planning the language choice is the main strategic decision a nursing candidate makes. The details come from the Ministry's published rules as summarised by Nefesh B'Nefesh, an aliyah organisation, so check them against the Ministry portal before you act.

Who needs a licensing exam in Israel

The nursing licensing exam applies to nursing graduates, local and foreign. For the other professions, our research points to MoH exams for foreign-trained physicians and some returning Israelis with foreign degrees, for pharmacy graduates, and for foreign-trained dentists, though we could not confirm these from an official page. Exemptions exist for some foreign qualifications. Ask the Ministry whether your degree and country of training qualify for one.

Applications run through the Ministry's Medical Professions Online Portal, which is in Hebrew only. Expect to need help if your Hebrew is limited.

Nurses: the government licensing exam

Registered nurses sit a government exam in multiple-choice format. The exam is offered four times a year, and a computerised version is now available. Before you can sit it, you complete the 7-unit course, along with CPR and measurement-conversion courses. The courses carry a fee.

Registration follows a set sequence:

1. Get approved. The Ministry sends an eligibility letter and a fee slip.
2. Log in to the portal with the username sent by email and the password sent by SMS.
3. Submit declarations. These are your contact details, a health declaration and a criminal record declaration.
4. Choose the date and language and upload proof of payment.
5. Apply at least one month before the exam date.

Results arrive by SMS, and you check your score on the portal. A failed result can be appealed through a gov.il procedure. New immigrants may be eligible for a reimbursement of up to 500 NIS for the exam fee through the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, claimed after payment.

Doctors: the MoH exam and the specialty Stage A

Foreign-trained physicians are reported to sit an MoH licensing exam in multiple-choice form, although we could not confirm the format or the language options. Some returning Israelis with foreign degrees are in the same group. Whether you must sit it depends on your medical school, your country and your experience, so ask the Medical Professions Licensing Division.

Do not confuse that with the Stage A exam. Stage A (Shlav Aleph) is a written specialty exam run by the Scientific Council of the Israel Medical Association for residents during training. It is not an entry exam. It is a mid-residency board exam, and it matters if you plan a specialty career in Israel.

Midwives

Midwifery in Israel is a post-basic qualification for registered nurses, according to our research. Nurses who complete a midwifery course sit a certification exam in multiple-choice format under the Nursing Division. This means you need your nursing licence first. We could not verify the exam from an official page.

Pharmacists

Pharmacy graduates, local and foreign, are reported to sit a government licensing exam run by the Pharmacy Division of the Ministry. Format is reported as multiple choice. Confirm eligibility and language options.

Dentists

The dental licensing exam is reported to have a theory part and a practical part, and to apply to foreign-trained dentists. It may also apply to local graduates under current rules. Because a practical test needs a venue and an examiner, ask the Dental Division about dates and what you will be asked to do.

Physiotherapists

Physiotherapy graduates are reported to sit a government licensing exam under the Physical Therapy Law of 2008, in multiple-choice form. The Ministry's Physiotherapy Division is the contact.

The professions side by side

Planning the Hebrew test

If you take the nursing exam in English or another language, the Hebrew proficiency test is the part that tends to set your timetable. The Ministry allows it before the exam or within three years after. Two ways to use that window:

• Test first. If you already have some Hebrew, clearing the test early removes a loose end and lets you focus on the exam.
• Exam first. If you are newly arrived, sitting the exam in your strongest language while your clinical knowledge is fresh, then building Hebrew over the next three years, can be the more realistic route.

Either way, the test covers medical terms as well as everyday Hebrew, so a general ulpan course alone may not be enough. Ask the Ministry for the current test details and the deadline that applies to your exam date.

Language and recognition

Hebrew is the working language. The nursing exam can be taken in Hebrew, English, French, Russian, Spanish or Arabic, but a non-Hebrew paper requires the Hebrew test at about Ulpan Daled level, including medical terms. You can sit it before the exam or within three years after. For the other professions we have no confirmed language options. Recognition is through the Ministry, not through any treaty or EU directive. The Ministry decides whether your foreign qualification is accepted, exempted or sent to the exam.

Last reviewed October 2026