How do I check that a clinic or surgeon is licensed?
Ask the clinic for its facility licence number and the surgeon’s registration, then verify them with the health authority that issued them: the Dubai Health Authority for Dubai, the Department of Health for Abu Dhabi, and the Ministry of Health and Prevention for the other emirates and for federal oversight.
- Subject
- Dubai & UAE
- Topic
- Regulation & verification
- Kind of question
- Where & how
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
This is a check with a definite answer, which is why it is worth doing before comparing prices. A clinic that cannot or will not produce a licence number is not necessarily unlicensed, and it is certainly not giving you something you can verify.
What this answer depends on
- Which emirate the facility operates in
- Whether the individual surgeon’s registration is current
- Whether the licence covers the procedure being offered
Related guides
People also ask
The questions readers move to next from this one: the closest subjects first, from either question bank.
Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Dubai & UAE eye care in Regulation & verification . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Place Dubai
- Place LASIK in Dubai
- Place SMILE in Dubai
- Place Eye clinics in Dubai
- Place An eye consultation in Dubai
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Dubai Health Authority: Sheryan licensing and Dubai Medical Registry
The Dubai Health Authority’s licensing portal, including the public medical registry used to check that a facility and a practitioner hold a current Dubai licence.
Used for How to verify a Dubai clinic licence; How to verify a surgeon’s licence and scope of practice; Regulatory context for the Dubai guide.
Link checked 22 September 2026
- UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention
The federal health authority for the UAE, relevant to facilities licensed outside the Dubai Health Authority system.
Used for Explaining which authority licenses which facility.
Link checked 22 September 2026
- Health regulatory authorities in the United Arab Emirates
The UAE government’s own listing of the federal health authority and of the emirate-level health authorities, naming which part of the country each one covers.
Used for Explaining that more than one authority licenses healthcare in the UAE; Explaining which body to approach about a licensed facility.
Link checked 24 September 2026