How to Pass the DHA Exam: Passing Score, Attempts and Strategy

The DHA passing score for GPs and specialists, how results are reported, how many attempts you get, and an exam-day strategy for 150 questions in 3 hours.

Doctors from every country ask the same questions about the DHA exam: what is the pass mark, how many questions, and what happens if I fail? Here are the current answers from the DHA's own CBT guideline.

Pass marks by title

General Practice: 150 MCQs, 3 hours, 60%, USD 280.
Specialist Family Medicine and Specialist Internal Medicine: 150 MCQs, 3 hours, 60%.
Other physician specialist titles: usually 150 MCQs and 3 hours, with pass marks that range from 55% to 70% depending on the title.

Because DHA can change the format, content or pass score at any time, check your exact title in the guideline before you book.

How results work

DHA reports Pass or Fail in your Sheryan account. Your numeric score is not shared. That means you cannot see how close you were, so the safest plan is to prepare to score well above the cut.

Attempts

DHA's licensing rules limit how many times you can sit the exam. Reports citing the DHA manual say the limit is three attempts in total across the UAE health authorities, not three per authority, and that a third failure blocks reapplication for two years. Check the current manual on the DHA website for the exact policy that applies to you, since this is the part most candidates misunderstand.

A strategy for 150 questions in 3 hours

Time: 3 hours includes check-in and the tutorial, so assume roughly 2 hours 40 minutes of actual testing: about 64 seconds per question.
Two passes: answer what you know, flag the long ones, return with the remaining time.
No negative marking: never leave a blank.
Read the last line first: know whether the question asks for diagnosis, next investigation, or management, then read the vignette.

Where candidates lose marks

Over-investigating: the answer is usually the first-line, guideline-based step.
Specialist-level answers to primary care questions.
Skipping the "soft" topics: epidemiology, screening, family medicine concepts and psychiatry.

Put the plan together with our 6-week DHA study plan and the DHA General Practitioner exam guide.

Sample questions

1. A 29-year-old female is noted to have an elevated bilirubin during a viral illness. Gilbert's syndrome is suspected. Which one of the following tests may confirm the diagnosis?

A) Bromsulphthalein excretion test
B) Ammonium chloride acidification test
C) Urine analysis
D) Nicotinic acid test ✅
E) Faecal fat excretion

The nicotinic acid test (provoking a rise in unconjugated bilirubin) supports Gilbert's syndrome.

2. Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease type 1 is associated with a gene defect in:

A) Chromosome 4
B) Chromosome 8
C) Chromosome 12
D) Chromosome 16 ✅
E) Chromosome 20

ADPKD type 1 (PKD1) is on chromosome 16 and accounts for about 85% of cases.

3. Which one of the following would cause a rise in the carbon monoxide transfer factor (TLCO)?

A) Emphysema
B) Pulmonary embolism
C) Pulmonary haemorrhage ✅
D) Pneumonia
E) Pulmonary fibrosis

Pulmonary haemorrhage raises TLCO because intra-alveolar haemoglobin takes up carbon monoxide.

Practise with the DHA QBank, which includes timed mock exams. Your first 20 questions are free.

Exam rules change. Everything above comes from the DHA CBT guideline and manuals; confirm the current version on the official portal before you book or pay.