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Professional Facility Guide

Required documents to open a physiotherapy center

Select a country to see the official documents, licenses, and facility standards needed to open a physiotherapy center.

25
Countries
16
Arab countries covered
2026-09
Last verified
🇦🇪

United Arab Emirates

Prepared facility-licensing dossier
Licensing authority
Emirate health authority: DHA (Dubai), DOH (Abu Dhabi), MOHAP (Northern Emirates) + economy department trade licence
Legal form
Trade licence (DED/DET, ADDED, or equivalent) with a health-facility activity; facility licence is separate
Typical timeline
4–10 months (initial approval → fit-out → final inspection)
Typical fees
Trade licence + tenancy (Ejari/Tawtheeq) + health-authority facility fees + professional licences + malpractice insurance
Area / layout
Authority design guidelines for a physiotherapy clinic (treatment rooms, reception, dirty utility, WC)
Technical director
Medical director / in-charge physiotherapist licensed by the same emirate authority as the facility
Official & Useful Links
Dubai Health Authority — facilities Department of Health — Abu Dhabi MOHAP
Required documents checklist
  • Initial approval from the emirate health authority for a physiotherapy facility
  • Trade licence application with the matching economic activity
  • Tenancy contract registered (Ejari in Dubai; Tawtheeq / equivalent in Abu Dhabi)
  • Passport, Emirates ID (when issued), and company formation papers
  • Architectural drawings per DHA/DOH/MOHAP clinic design standards
  • Civil Defence approval of the fit-out
  • Medical director licence in that emirate + malpractice insurance
  • Professional licences for every treating physiotherapist (same emirate)
  • Policies: infection control, incident reporting, medical records, emergency
  • Equipment list and calibration plan
  • Final inspection request and facility licence issuance
Facility & equipment requirements
  • You cannot treat patients on a trade licence alone — the health-facility licence must be active
  • Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates are three different regulators; a DHA licence is not valid in Abu Dhabi
  • Free-zone companies still need the onshore health-authority facility licence if they treat the public onshore
Staff licensing
  • Each PT needs a professional licence from the same authority (DHA / DOH / MOHAP), usually after DataFlow PSV
  • The medical director must be named on the facility file and available per the authority’s coverage rules
Licensing steps — in order
1

Pick the emirate (it decides the regulator) and obtain health-authority initial approval

2

Issue the trade licence and register the tenancy

3

Submit drawings, fit out, Civil Defence, then request inspection

4

Licence the director and staff, buy malpractice cover, then collect the facility licence

Important tip

Choose the emirate first. Copying a Dubai drawing into an Abu Dhabi file is a common reason inspections fail.

Guidance only — not a licence. Confirm fees, area minima, and portal names with the official regulator before you apply or spend on fit-out.