Jordan: Nursing, Midwifery and Medical Licensing Routes

Medical and health education in Jordan

Jordan produces a large number of doctors for its size. The MD takes six years at roughly six to eight universities, public and private, including the University of Jordan, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Yarmouk and Mutah. Teaching is mostly in English, with Arabic used in some settings. After graduation, doctors complete a one-year rotating internship in accredited hospitals before registration. Nursing is a four-year bachelor's, pharmacy a five-year degree, and dentistry a five-year programme with a clinical year in some schools.

Programmes are accredited by the Higher Education Accreditation Commission. Licensing and specialist training come under the Jordanian Medical Council, which sets residency standards and the Jordanian Board exams, and practitioners also register with the relevant professional body. A Jordanian degree is not a licence on its own, so confirm the current steps.

A system led by councils, with nursing in the open

Jordan regulates through professional councils: the Jordanian Medical Council for doctors, the Jordanian Nursing Council for nurses and midwives, and associations or the Ministry of Health for others. The nursing council is the one that publishes its numbers. That makes Jordan one of the few places in the region where you can see how many people sit a licensure exam and how many pass.

Who needs a licensing exam in Jordan

For nursing and midwifery, the JNC licensure exam applies to graduates, local and foreign. For medicine, the position is less clear. A JMC general practice licensing exam for Jordanian and foreign medical graduates before a permanent licence is reported in our research, but we could not confirm it from an official page. The JMC page we could open describes the council and its Board certificate and links to the council's own site for licensing detail.

If you are planning to practise in Jordan, contact the relevant council in writing and ask which exam applies to your qualification. Do not rely on a forum post for this.

Nurses: the JNC Registered Nurse Licensure Exam

The exam is written, with four sessions a year. In 2024 the JNC reported 3,025 candidates and a pass rate of 73.3%, according to its 2024 annual report. That figure is the useful planning number: roughly one in four candidates did not pass in that year. Candidates include local and foreign nursing graduates.

The report does not describe the paper in detail. Ask the JNC for the syllabus, the language of the paper and the application deadline for the next session. Registration details are on the JNC published documents page.

Midwives: the JNC Midwife Licensure Exam

Midwives sit a separate JNC exam, also written and also offered four times a year. The 2024 annual report records 695 candidates and a 70.8% pass rate. That is lower than the nurse pass rate, so do not assume the midwifery paper is a formality.

Doctors: JMC, Board exams and the reported GP exam

The Jordanian Medical Council trains and oversees doctors and rehabilitation specialists and awards the Jordanian Board certificate, described on the Ministry of Health site as the highest vocational certificate in the Kingdom. Board exams are written plus clinical or oral, taken by residents completing JMC-accredited programmes. Press reports describe a move toward question-bank-based exams, though we have not seen an official statement.

That is the postgraduate route. For a general practice licence, a JMC GP licensing exam is reported for Jordanian and foreign graduates, with format unconfirmed. If you are a foreign-trained doctor, ask JMC directly. The council's page is at the Ministry of Health and its own site is jmc.gov.jo.

Pharmacists, dentists and physiotherapists

We found reports of licensing exams for each of these professions but no confirmed format, regulator page or sample. In practice:

• Pharmacists: a licensing exam is reported, run through the Jordan Pharmacists Association and the Ministry of Health. Ask both.
• Dentists: a dental licensing exam is reported under the Medical Council or the Jordan Dental Association.
• Physiotherapists: an allied health licensing exam is reported under the Ministry of Health.

Treat all three as unverified until the body concerned confirms in writing. We would rather say this plainly than guess a format.

What is confirmed and what is not

Reading the pass rates

A 73.3% pass rate on 3,025 candidates means roughly one in four did not pass in 2024. For midwives, 70.8% on 695 candidates leaves a similar share. With four sessions a year, a failed candidate does not have to wait long to try again, but the figures do not say how many of those sitting were repeat candidates, so do not read them as a first-time pass rate.

The numbers also do not tell you whether foreign graduates fare differently from locals. If you trained abroad, ask the council whether it publishes a split, and look at how your own programme's content compares with the syllabus.

Language and recognition

Arabic is the national language and English is widely used in clinical training and practice. The JNC report we reviewed does not state the exam language, so ask the council. Recognition of foreign qualifications runs through the relevant council. We found no automatic recognition route for any profession, and no EU-style directive applies. A Jordanian licence does not replace a Gulf exam, since each Gulf regulator sets its own.

Typical steps for nurses and midwives

1. Check eligibility with the JNC for your degree and country of training.
2. Apply for the next session. There are four a year, so note the closing date.
3. Request the syllabus and paper language in writing.
4. Sit the written exam.
5. Register with the JNC after a pass.

Last reviewed October 2026