Checked 25 September 2026. Centres from Pearson VUE's finder for program HAAD, read on 25 September 2026 (30 nearest centres to Kochi, and a Kolkata search). Pearson changes centres without notice, and some DOH exams are not offered at every centre. Emigration rules from MEA orders of 2015–2025.
You can sit the DOH nursing exam without travelling to Abu Dhabi: Pearson VUE runs it at centres around the world, including in India. But the centres are not spread evenly — on the day we checked, the Indian list ran from Kochi through Bangalore, Pune and Gujarat to Punjab, with nothing in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai or eastern India. The Kochi search reached as far as Amritsar, about 2,400 km away, so a centre in Chennai, Hyderabad or Mumbai — all much nearer — would have appeared had Pearson listed one. This guide lists what Pearson showed, explains how booking works from TAMM, and covers the Indian emigration rules that still apply to nurses going to the UAE.
Where other pages get this wrong
DOH exams are booked with Pearson VUE, from inside TAMM, after DOH approves you for the exam.
Commonly published instead: "Book the HAAD exam on Prometric" or "register directly with Pearson and pick a date".
Pearson's DOH page: "Once your application is approved for exam by Health Professionals Licensing Department, you will be able to initiate your pre-booking fees in TAMM." After paying, a link "will directly take you to your Pearson homepage where you can initiate your exam booking by selecting the date/time/location". There is no route to a DOH exam that starts at Pearson.
Pearson VUE centre finder, program HAAD, 25 Sep 2026 (30 nearest to Kochi; Kolkata search).
The Indian centres Pearson listed
| State | City | Centre | Centres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerala | Kochi | Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kakkanad | 1 |
| Karnataka | Bangalore | Pearson Professional Centers, Shivajinagar | 1 |
| Maharashtra | Pune | Pearson Professional Centers, World Trade Center, Kharadi | 1 |
| Gujarat | Surat · Ahmedabad | Pearson Professional Centers, Piplod · Makarba | 2 |
| Haryana | Gurugram | Pearson Professional Centers, M G Road | 1 |
| Uttar Pradesh | Noida | Pearson Professional Centers, Sector 16A | 1 |
| Punjab | Mohali · Ludhiana · Jalandhar · Amritsar | Pearson Professional Centers (Mohali 2, Ludhiana 1, Jalandhar 2, Amritsar 2) | 7 |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh | Pearson Professional Centers, Industrial Area Phase 1 | 1 |
Our count from Pearson VUE's finder for program HAAD, 25 Sep 2026. The same search also showed centres in Colombo, Kandy, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Muscat, Bangkok, Dubai and Sharjah.
Read the list with Pearson's own warning, printed above it: "Some exams for Department of Health - Abu Dhabi require special arrangements and may not be available at all of the test centers listed below." The finder shows every centre that serves the DOH program, not every centre that offers the nursing exam on a given day. The real list for your exam appears only once TAMM has routed you to Pearson with your authorisation — so choose your centre then, and have a second one in mind.
Where could you sit the DOH exam in India?
From Pearson VUE’s centre finder for program HAAD, read on 25 Sep 2026 (the 30 centres nearest Kochi, plus a search from Kolkata). Pearson warns that some DOH exams need special arrangements and may not be offered at every listed centre; the seats for your exam show only after you are routed from TAMM.
Booking, step by step
- Wait for DOH to approve your credentials for the exam; Pearson account access is created "instant after credentialing approval".
- Log in to TAMM on a computer (the DOH/Pearson guide recommends Chrome), open the menu from the nine dots next to your photo, then Health Services → Health Professional Licenses.
- Click your name, find the application under Alerts, open the three dots under Action and choose Pay.
- Back on the dashboard, go to My Requests, open the three dots again and choose Book Pearson Vue Exam.
- That first payment in TAMM is DOH's exam booking fee (AED 50 for nurses). On Pearson you pay the separate scheduling fee (AED 450 or 490 in DOH's 2024 catalogue), choose the centre, date and time, and keep the confirmation. Pearson's e-mails come from an address ending "@pearson.com" — check your spam folder.
If no Pearson authorisation ID arrives after paying in TAMM, DOH's FAQ says to write to support@doh.gov.ae with your account details. DOH's examination step says the exam step is valid for six months and "if the exam was not passed during those 6 months, a new application must be submitted", so do not leave booking to the last month: seats at the few Indian centres can be the constraint.
On the day
| Bring | Why |
|---|---|
| Your original passport | DOH requires it |
| A second valid photo ID | DOH asks for "another form of valid identification that includes a photo" — e.g. a driving licence or government employee ID |
| The printed booking confirmation | Pearson's DOH page asks you to print and bring it |
| Nothing else into the room | Standard Pearson rules; no books are allowed |
DOH Circular 151/2024 (examination step) and Pearson VUE's DOH page. The result follows within 24 hours on TAMM, not at the centre.
Can you take it online?
Pearson has a live page, "Online testing for Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DOH)", with the OnVUE system requirements, and DOH introduced online proctoring during the pandemic in 2020. What neither page says is which DOH exams can be taken online today, and DOH cancelled a batch of pandemic-era licensing circulars in August 2024. So do not plan on OnVUE for the nursing exam unless it is offered to you when you are routed to Pearson from TAMM.
Who to contact
| For | Contact |
|---|---|
| Licensing questions and appeals | hplicensing@doh.gov.ae · +971 2 5044525 / 5044520 |
| Exams and study materials | exam@doh.gov.ae |
| Missing Pearson authorisation after payment | support@doh.gov.ae |
| Gap of practice and training | CMEsection@doh.gov.ae |
| Pearson VUE (DOH program) | HAADcustomerservices@pearson.com · international 0044 20 3467 3252 (Pearson's page) or +44 20 3684 5573 (DOH's 2024 catalogue) · 800 0444 1158 from the UAE |
| DataFlow (DOH) | se.abudhabi@dataflowgroup.com (DOH FAQ) · +971 2 6350455 ext. 327 or +971 4 2475900 (DOH catalogue) |
DOH Circular 151/2024 (contact page), DOH FAQ, Pearson VUE DOH page. The two official sources print different international numbers for Pearson; both are shown.
The Indian side: emigration clearance
Passing the DOH exam does not settle the Indian formalities. The UAE is one of the 18 emigration-check-required (ECR) countries, and since 2015 Indian nurses going to any of them for work need emigration clearance (EC) from the Protector of Emigrants, whatever their passport category. What changed in 2025 is how the recruitment may be done:
| Rule | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| EC for nurses to the UAE | Required; the 25 Aug 2025 order says nurses "would continue to require the emigration clearance" | MOIA 12 Mar 2015; MEA 25 Aug 2025 |
| Country Specific Order (CSO) | Discontinued from 25 Aug 2025 | MEA 25 Aug 2025 |
| Who may recruit | A recruiting agent registered on eMigrate, or a foreign employer registered on eMigrate recruiting directly | MEA workflow, 4 Sep 2025 |
| Insurance | Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana bought for each emigrant, and the EC application verified by the Protector of Emigrants | MEA workflow, 4 Sep 2025 |
| Recruitment fees | No fee may be recovered from nurses | MOIA 7 May 2015 |
| Visit visas | Travelling on a visit visa to take up work, bypassing EC, breaches the Emigration Act | MEA advisory, 2 Nov 2018 |
Before and after your DOH exam
A short checklist for booking, the day and what follows.
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Practise it, don't just read it
Seats at the Indian centres are limited, so the date you book is often weeks away. Use that time for timed topic practice.
The ProSyllabus DOH nursing library has topic quizzes for Fundamentals of Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing (cardiovascular and respiratory; renal, endocrine and gastrointestinal), Pharmacology for Nurses, Maternal and Child Health, Critical Care and Emergency, Infection Prevention and Control and Professional Practice and Abu Dhabi Health Regulations — the first one is free.
Can I take the DOH nursing exam in India?
Yes. Pearson VUE lists DOH-program centres in Kochi, Bangalore, Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad, Gurugram, Noida, Chandigarh and several Punjab cities, though Pearson warns not every centre offers every DOH exam.
Is there a DOH exam centre in Kerala?
Pearson listed one, at Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kakkanad, Kochi, on 25 Sep 2026.
Is there a DOH exam centre in Chennai, Hyderabad or Mumbai?
None appeared in Pearson's finder for the DOH program when we searched on 25 Sep 2026. The nearest listed were Kochi, Bangalore and Pune.
How do I book the DOH exam?
After DOH approves your credentials, pay in TAMM, then use "Book Pearson Vue Exam" under My Requests to choose the centre, date and time on Pearson.
Can I take the DOH exam online from home?
Pearson has a DOH online-testing page, but neither DOH nor Pearson says which exams it covers. Plan on a test centre unless TAMM offers you online delivery.
What ID do I need for the DOH exam?
Your original passport and a second valid photo ID, plus the printed booking confirmation.
Do Indian nurses need emigration clearance for Abu Dhabi?
Yes. Nurses need emigration clearance for the UAE; the country-specific order was abolished on 25 Aug 2025, but EC was kept.
Can a UAE hospital recruit me directly from India?
Since 4 Sep 2025, yes, if the employer is registered on eMigrate; otherwise through a registered recruiting agent. No recruitment fee may be charged to nurses.
Where do I get the DOH exam result?
On TAMM within 24 hours, not at the test centre.
Who do I contact if Pearson did not send my authorisation?
DOH support at support@doh.gov.ae, with your account details.
More in this series
- The DOH nursing exam: questions, time, fee, pass mark
- Eligibility: GNM, B.Sc, Post-Basic — RN or Assistant Nurse
- From TAMM to licence: the DOH process and every fee
- Attempts, retakes, validity and exemptions
- Preparation: study material, a plan and DOH vs DHA vs MOHAP
- DOH Abu Dhabi nursing notice board — official updates
- DHA vs Kuwait vs DOH nursing exams compared
- DHA nurse eligibility: GNM, B.Sc, Post-Basic and M.Sc
Sources
- official — Pearson VUE — Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DOH)
- official — Pearson VUE / DOH — CBT exam booking steps (PDF)
- official — Pearson VUE — test centre finder for program HAAD
- official — Pearson VUE — Online testing for DOH (OnVUE)
- official — DOH Circular 151/2024 — Licensing Service Catalogue and Licensing Procedural Manual (Aug 2024)
- official — DOH — Frequently asked questions
- official — DOH Circular 143/2024 — cancellation of COVID-era licensing circulars (8 Aug 2024)
- official — MOIA order of 12 Mar 2015 — emigration of nurses to 18 ECR countries
- official — MEA OM of 25 Aug 2025 — Country Specific Order for nurse recruitment discontinued
- official — MEA OM of 4 Sep 2025 — workflow for recruitment of nurses to ECR countries
- official — MOIA order of 7 May 2015 — no recruitment fees from nurses
- official — MEA advisory of 2 Nov 2018 — nurses travelling on visit visas
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
