Checked 25 September 2026. DHA from its CBT guideline (Sep 2026) and the unified PQR; Saudi from the SPLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025) and SCFHS criteria; Qatar from the DHP blueprint (from 1 May 2025), pharmacist guidelines and 2025 circulars.
An Indian pharmacist looking at the Gulf usually meets three exams first: Dubai's DHA exam, Saudi Arabia's SPLE and Qatar's NPQE. They look alike from a distance — multiple choice, Prometric centres, a pharmacy degree and some experience — but differ in length, in how the pass mark works, in what they weight, and in how many chances you get. This guide sets them side by side, using each regulator's own documents, and says where those documents are silent or contradict themselves.
DHA CBT guideline; SPLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025); Qatar DHP.
The three exams side by side
| Feature | DHA (Dubai) | SPLE (Saudi Arabia) | NPQE (Qatar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official name | Pharmacist (PHO5481) | Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination | National Pharmacy Qualifying Exam |
| Questions | 150 | 200 in 2 parts of 100 (up to 10% pilot) | 150 |
| Time | 3-hour appointment, including registration and introduction | 2 × 120 min + 30-min break | 3½ hours (blueprint); DHP's web table says 3 hours |
| Pass mark | 60% (DHA's manual says results use domain weighting) | 536 on a 200–800 scale | 60% |
| Result | Pass or Fail, no score | Scaled score + feedback report, 2–6 weeks after the window | Timing not published |
| When | On demand at Prometric | Twelve testing windows in 2026 | Booked at Prometric |
| Official fee | USD 240 | Not published | USD 244 for registrations from 1 Jan 2026 (circular DHP/2024/10) |
Where a regulator's documents disagree — Qatar's 3 hours against 3½ — both are shown. The Qatar blueprint is the newer and more specific document.
Where other pages get this wrong
The SPLE is 200 questions in two parts — not 300 questions over six hours, and not 150.
Commonly published instead: "SPLE: 300 MCQs in 3 sets over 6 hours", "150 questions" and "passing score usually 60–70%".
SCFHS's applicant guide (September 2025) describes 200 questions in two parts of 100, each 120 minutes, with a 30-minute break; the 300-question format ended in March 2023. The pass mark is 536 on a 200–800 reporting scale — a scaled score, not a percentage.
What each exam weights
SPLE percentages from the SCFHS applicant guide (±5% at each level). Qatar publishes item counts — 7, 38, 38 and 67 of 150 — converted here by our arithmetic. DHA publishes no weights, so it is not shown.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar use the same four areas, which come from a common pharmacy-licensing taxonomy, but weight them differently. Qatar puts almost 45% of its exam on clinical sciences and under 5% on basic biomedical science; the SPLE is more even, at 35% each for pharmaceutical and clinical sciences and 20% for social, behavioural and administrative topics. DHA lists 14 topics without weights; its list leans towards pharmaceutical and clinical sciences and has pharmacy law and ethics as its only administrative topic.
| Area | SPLE | NPQE | DHA topics that fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic biomedical sciences | 10% (≈20 questions) | 7 questions | None named separately (biochemistry and immunology are in its references) |
| Pharmaceutical sciences | 35% (≈70) | 38 | Medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, compounding, pharmacognosy, toxicology, calculations |
| Social / behavioural / administrative | 20% (≈40) | 38 | Pharmacy law and ethics |
| Clinical sciences | 35% (≈70) | 67 | Pharmaceutical care, clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, medication safety, infection control, OTC |
SPLE question counts are our arithmetic on 200 items; the DHA mapping is our reading of its topic names.
Who can sit, and what experience counts
| Rule | DHA | Saudi Arabia | Qatar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree for the pharmacist title | BSc in Pharmacy or Doctor of Pharmacy | A bachelor's in pharmacy (the criteria never mention Pharm.D) | Bachelor's in pharmacy |
| Experience | 2 years after qualifying | At least 12 months for non-Saudis (at classification) | 2 years post-graduate |
| Sitting the exam before experience | Not addressed; the title needs the experience | Graduates, interns and students a year from graduating may sit | The exam must be done before applying for evaluation |
| Clinical Pharmacist | Six-year PharmD, or BSc + clinical PG qualification or residency; 6 months in a hospital on most routes | Higher grades are Senior (master's) and Consultant (doctorate) | Bachelor's + PharmD (including rotations), 2 years |
| Pharma-company experience | Not accepted | Must be in the specialty | Must be covered by a registration licence |
Two gaps matter for Indian graduates. SCFHS's August 2025 criteria tie the pharmacist grade to a bachelor's degree and higher grades to a master's or doctorate after it, and never mention a Pharm.D; how an Indian six-year Pharm.D is graded is not stated. Qatar's Clinical Pharmacist route is written as "Bachelor's Degree in pharmacy + PharmD", and how it treats an integrated Pharm.D with no separate bachelor's is likewise not stated. In both cases, ask the regulator before relying on the higher title.
Attempts
| Exam | Attempts | Waiting period | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| DHA | Three, shared across all UAE authorities; one final attempt at a different authority; one extra at a lower title | None | Two-year DHA block after a third DHA fail |
| SPLE | Guide: up to four times a year from the first attempt. SCFHS page: after a failed first attempt, two additional attempts | Never twice in one window; the page adds a one-year rule after failure | Two improvement attempts after a pass |
| NPQE | Five consecutive attempts, "whatever the gap between each attempt" | None stated | An additional attempt can be granted with a clear justification (MOPH Qualifying Examination Policy) |
From the unified PQR and DHA's assessment manual, the SPLE guide and SCFHS's licensure-exam page, and Qatar's DHP page. The two SCFHS texts are worded differently; confirm your count in Mumaris+.
Exemptions
| Exam | Who is exempt |
|---|---|
| DHA | Licence holders from listed countries (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, much of Europe) under conditions; EPREE passers; UAE licence holders |
| SPLE | SCFHS may exempt someone assessed by an equal or higher method, or assessed by SCFHS in the same specialty within five years (membership criteria) |
| NPQE | Holders of NAPLEX, PEBC, OSPAP, OPRA or CAOP, verified by a verification company from 1 Jan 2026 (circular DHP/2025/19); Qataris, offspring of Qatari women and graduates of Qatar institutions (DHP/2025/24) |
Where other pages get this wrong
A master's degree may no longer exempt you from Qatar's pharmacist exam.
Commonly published instead: "Pharmacists with a master's degree are exempt from the Qatar Prometric."
DHP's own September 2025 guidelines still show master's rows as "exempted from prometric", citing circular 13/2023. But circular DHP/2025/24 (30 December 2025) annulled 13/2023 and limits qualifying-exam exemptions to Qataris, offspring of Qatari women and graduates of Qatar institutions. Plan on sitting the exam unless DHP confirms otherwise for you.
No Gulf licence and no Indian registration appears on any of the three lists, so an Indian pharmacist sits each regulator's exam separately. A pass in one country does not license you in another.
Which to sit first
Which Gulf pharmacist exam fits your plan?
One reading list, three exams
| Book | DHA | SPLE | NPQE |
|---|---|---|---|
| The APhA Complete Review for Pharmacy | Yes | Yes | Yes (primary, 12th ed.) |
| Comprehensive Pharmacy Review (for NAPLEX) | Yes | Yes | Yes (primary, 8th ed.) |
| Applied Biopharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics (Shargel) | Yes | Yes | Yes (secondary, 7th ed.) |
| Goodman & Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics | Yes | Yes | — |
| Pharmaceutical Calculations (Ansel) | Yes | Yes | — |
| Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach (DiPiro) | Technician list only | Yes | — |
| Country-specific sources | None listed | SFDA drug list and narcotics procedures; MOH immunisation list | Qatar National Health Strategy 2024–2030 and MOPH documents |
From each regulator's reference list. The two review books appear on all three lists and are the practical core of any Gulf preparation; each country then adds its own regulations, which a general review book will not cover.
Practise it, don't just read it
The three exams share most of their core. Topic quizzes on pharmacology, calculations and clinical therapeutics serve all three.
The ProSyllabus DHA pharmacist library has topic quizzes for Pharmacology and Mechanisms of Action, Pharmaceutics and Dosage Forms, Pharmacy Practice and Dispensing, Clinical Therapeutics, Pharmaceutical Calculations, Drug Interactions and Pharmacovigilance, Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy Basics and UAE Pharmacy Law and Ethics. Each question comes with an explanation.
Which is easier, DHA or SPLE?
Neither regulator publishes pass rates. The SPLE is longer (200 questions over four hours of testing) and scaled (536 on 200–800); the DHA exam is 150 questions at 60% with no published weights. Choose by where you want to work and whether you meet the title's experience rule.
What is the SPLE passing score?
536 on a 200–800 reporting scale, approved by SCFHS's Central Assessment Committee. It is a scaled score, not a percentage.
How many questions are in the Qatar pharmacist exam?
150 multiple-choice questions with a 60% pass mark. The 2025 blueprint gives 3½ hours; DHP's web table says 3 hours.
What is the Qatar pharmacist exam blueprint?
Since 1 May 2025: 7 basic biomedical, 38 pharmaceutical sciences, 38 social/behavioural/administrative and 67 clinical-sciences questions out of 150.
Can I use a DHA pass to work in Saudi Arabia or Qatar?
No. None of the three regulators lists another Gulf licence as an exemption; each exam licenses only its own country (or, for DHA, the UAE authorities).
How much experience do I need for a Gulf pharmacist licence?
Two years after qualifying for DHA and Qatar; at least 12 months for a non-Saudi at SCFHS classification.
More in this series
- The DHA pharmacist exam: codes, format, pass mark, syllabus
- Which DHA title your pharmacy degree leads to
- DHA Clinical Pharmacist: routes, 70% pass mark, fallback
- DHA pharmacist licence: Sheryan, PSV, exam, registration
- DHA pharmacist attempts, career gaps and exemptions
- DHA pharmacist 8-week study plan
- DHA pharmacist notice board — official updates
Sources
- official — DHA computer-based test guideline (updated Sep 2026)
- official — DHA Manual for Professional Assessment v1.1 (May 2025)
- official — Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), April 2025
- official — SCFHS — SPLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025)
- official — SCFHS — Professional Practice Licensure Exams: 2026 periods and attempts
- official — SCFHS — Membership Regulation criteria (Aug 2025, Arabic)
- official — Qatar DHP — qualifying examination
- official — Qatar DHP — National Pharmacist Qualifying Examination blueprint (from 1 May 2025)
- official — Qatar DHP — Guidelines for Pharmacists (Sep 2025)
- official — Qatar DHP circular DHP/2024/10 — qualifying examination fee
- official — Qatar DHP circular DHP/2025/19 — exams that exempt from the Prometric exam
- official — Qatar DHP circular DHP/2025/24 — registration and licensing policy update
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.
