Licensing exams for Tanzanian health professionals

Medical and health education in Tanzania

In Tanzania the Doctor of Medicine takes five years and is followed by a 12-month internship. Dentistry takes five years, and pharmacy and nursing are taught as degree and diploma programmes. Teaching is in English, even though Swahili is the national language. The Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) accredits universities and approves programmes, while the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training handles diploma-level institutions. Medical programmes are offered by a mixture of public and private universities.

The distinctive link between education and licensing is the split around the internship. Graduates sit a Medical Council of Tanganyika pre-internship examination for provisional registration, complete the internship year, and then sit a post-internship examination for full registration. Nurses register with the Tanzania Nursing and Midwifery Council after their programme. Details of the examinations are explained later on this page. Confirm current programme lengths with the TCU and the Council.

Tanzania tests you twice, and asks for Swahili

Two things set Tanzania apart. First, the Medical Council of Tanganyika does not use a single licensing examination: it splits assessment around the internship, so a doctor sits once before starting the internship year and once after finishing it. Second, the language rule is unusual in the region. The examinations are in English, but a non-Tanzanian applicant is expected to hold a Swahili proficiency certificate issued by the National Kiswahili Council (BAKITA).

Note that "Tanganyika" in the council's name refers to mainland Tanzania. Zanzibar has its own arrangements, which are not covered here.

Who needs a licensing exam in Tanzania

Doctors: the MCT pre- and post-internship examinations

The MCT publishes a page on its pre- and post-internship examinations, covering medical, dental and allied health graduates. The pre-internship examination is the gate to provisional registration, after which the graduate begins the internship. The post-internship examination follows the internship and leads to full registration.

• Fees listed: TSh 50,000 for the post-internship examination for Tanzanians and USD 50 for non-Tanzanians.
• Format: written. The MCT does not publish an item count or blueprint in the material we reviewed.
• Foreign-trained applicants: need NECTA and TCU evaluation of their qualifications, and non-Tanzanians need the BAKITA Swahili certificate.

1. Complete the evaluation: NECTA and TCU for foreign qualifications.
2. Obtain the BAKITA certificate if you are not a Tanzanian citizen.
3. Register for the pre-internship examination and pay the fee.
4. Complete the internship in an approved facility.
5. Sit the post-internship examination and apply for full registration.

Dentists and physiotherapists

The same MCT page lists dental graduates, and also mentions allied health. For physiotherapists it is not clear from our sources whether the MCT or a separate allied health council holds the examination, so confirm which body applies to you. Dental graduates, local and foreign, follow the same two-stage structure as doctors.

Nurses and midwives: the TNMC licensure examination

The Tanzania Nursing and Midwifery Council (TNMC) publishes requirements for professional registration on its website. The licensure examination combines a written paper with a practical or OSCE component, and the Council publishes lists of candidates who have been segregated by sitting. Diploma and BScN graduates both sit, as do foreign-trained nurses. A midwifery version applies to midwives.

1. Read the TNMC requirements for permanent registration.
2. Apply for the sitting through your school or the Council.
3. Sit the written paper and the practical.
4. Apply for registration and licence on a pass.

Pharmacists

The Pharmacy Council of Tanzania runs a registration or internship examination for pharmacy graduates after their internship. We did not confirm an official page for it, so look for the current notice with the Council.

Tanzanian exams compared

The Swahili rule and other recognition steps

Swahili is the language of daily life and public service in Tanzania, and the BAKITA certificate requirement for non-Tanzanians reflects that. It is a condition of the application and is separate from the exam. If you are a foreign graduate, start it early because certificate issuing has its own timetable.

For qualifications earned abroad, NECTA and TCU evaluation checks that your degree is equivalent to a Tanzanian one. Only then does the council process continue.

Preparing with TriagePass

We build explained-answer practice for the clinical content behind these exams. We are independent of the MCT, the TNMC and the Pharmacy Council. Join the waitlist for Tanzanian courses.

A realistic timeline for a foreign-trained doctor

For a non-Tanzanian doctor, the elapsed time is dominated by the administrative steps rather than the examinations. A sensible sequence looks like this.

1. Months 1 to 2: start NECTA and TCU evaluation and arrange the BAKITA Swahili certificate in parallel.
2. Months 2 to 3: submit your MCT application and fee, and confirm the pre-internship sitting date.
3. Study period: run in parallel with the paperwork, with timed written practice.
4. Internship: a supervised year in an approved facility.
5. After the internship: post-internship examination, then full registration.

These month markers are our planning suggestion, not official timings. The MCT, NECTA, TCU and BAKITA each set their own processing times.

Preparing for Tanzanian written papers

The MCT does not publish an item count or blueprint, so cover the whole undergraduate curriculum evenly: medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and public health. Tanzanian practice includes a significant burden of infectious disease, maternal and neonatal conditions and trauma, which is likely to feature.

Nurses preparing for the TNMC examination should plan the practical or OSCE component from the start, since the Council publishes lists of candidates who have been segregated by sitting and a practical failure can hold you back independently of the written paper.

Last reviewed October 2026