Checked 25 September 2026. Fees from SCFHS's fee schedule (published 2024; no newer schedule found). Processing times from the Mumaris FAQ; rules from the Aug 2025 procedural guide and membership criteria. No official DataFlow fee or turnaround exists — none is printed.
Passing the SMLE does not make you a licensed doctor in Saudi Arabia. It is one input to two SCFHS decisions: classification, which gives you a professional title, and registration, which puts you on the register so you can practise. This guide follows that process from SCFHS's own FAQ, fee schedule and August 2025 procedural rules, and marks clearly which common figures are not official.
SCFHS fee schedule (2024); Mumaris FAQ.
Classification and registration are two steps
| Classification | Registration | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | SCFHS studies and verifies your qualifications and experience, assesses you, and assigns a title (e.g. General Practitioner) | SCFHS enters you in the professional register so you can practise |
| Where you can be | Anywhere — it can be applied for from outside Saudi Arabia through Mumaris+, without a Saudi work permit | Needs lawful residence in Saudi Arabia |
| Target time | 7 working days (direct decision), 30 (electronic written exam), 35 (practical evaluation) | 5 working days |
| How long it lasts | Lapses if you stay classified but unregistered for over a year | 2 years, then renewal |
From the SCFHS Mumaris FAQ and the August 2025 procedural guide. The processing times are SCFHS's own service-level targets; your file can take longer if documents or verification are incomplete.
The process, step by step
| Step | What you do | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a Mumaris+ account and apply for the licence exam (or, as a final-year student or intern, use "National Exams Eligibility") | Your name must match your passport exactly — it will be on the Prometric permit |
| 2 | Sit and pass the SMLE (560 on the 200–800 scale) | Results 2–6 weeks after the window closes |
| 3 | Get your qualifications, internship, experience and licence verified by DataFlow, SCFHS's approved verification company | The final report must be attached before classification |
| 4 | Apply for classification in Mumaris+ with the documents | An incomplete application is cancelled if not completed within 20 working days |
| 5 | Receive your title (an MBBS alone leads to General Practitioner) | Non-Saudis need 12 months' experience to be classified |
| 6 | Take up a job and residence, then apply for registration | Classified but unregistered for more than a year means classifying again |
| 7 | Renew every two years with 60 CPD hours | Renewal opens three months before expiry |
The SMLE can come before or after DataFlow. Many candidates start verification while preparing, because the classification application cannot proceed without the final report — our suggestion, not an SCFHS rule.
Verification (DataFlow)
For a non-Saudi, SCFHS requires the result of verification by its approved company — DataFlow — for qualifications, experience and licences. If you are classified on a bachelor's degree alone, that degree must be verified. The procedural guide says verification fails if the issuing body — your university, hospital or medical council — does not respond within 20 working days, and a negative result means rejection and referral to SCFHS's violations committee. So the best thing you can do is warn your college and employer that a verification request is coming.
SCFHS publishes no DataFlow fee or turnaround time. Third-party pages quote figures from a few hundred to nearly two thousand riyals and from four to ten weeks; they do not agree with each other, so we print none. Pay what DataFlow's own portal shows for your file.
Fees: the official SCFHS schedule
| Title | Admin | Classification | Registration | Total (SAR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Practitioner | 200 | 900 | 320 | 1,420 |
| Resident / resident in training | 200 | 900 | 320 | 1,420 |
| Registrar / Senior Registrar | 200 | 1,300 | 400 | 1,900 |
| Fellow | 200 | 1,300 | 400 | 1,900 |
| Consultant | 200 | 1,600 | 500 | 2,300 |
New classification plus registration in medicine, from SCFHS's fee schedule (published in 2024, in Arabic; titles translated). The same fees apply whether classification is by direct decision, evaluation or exam. The widely quoted "about 900 SAR eligibility fee" is most likely this 900-riyal classification fee.
SCFHS fee schedule (2024).
Add up your SMLE-to-registration costs
The three SCFHS fees for a General Practitioner are filled in. Enter the exam seat fee Prometric shows you and DataFlow's fee for your file — neither has an official published figure — and today's exchange rates.
| SCFHS admin fee | 200 SAR |
| Classification fee (GP) | 900 SAR |
| Registration fee (GP) | 320 SAR |
| DataFlow verification (from your DataFlow quote) | SAR |
| SMLE seat fee (from your Prometric booking; convert to USD if shown in another currency) | USD |
No exchange rate is pre-filled: rates move and a stale default would print a wrong rupee total. Travel, attestation and courier costs are not included.
Renewal and late fees
| Item | Fee (SAR) | When |
|---|---|---|
| GP registration renewal | 320 | From three months before expiry |
| Update fee | 150 | Renewing with more than three months left |
| Late re-registration, 31–90 days | 300 | Fines start 31 days after expiry |
| Late re-registration, over 90 days | 600 | 91–180 days and over 180 days are both 600 |
| Good-standing certificate | 300 | On request |
Renewal needs 60 CPD hours for a doctor (SCFHS asks 40 of pharmacists and specialists and 20 of technicians). A doctor short of the hours gets a one-time, one-year renewal. A registration expired for more than a year means applying again as a new registration.
Why files stall, and how to avoid it
SCFHS's processing targets are short; most of the waiting in a real application happens around them. The procedural guide (August 2025) is strict on two clocks: an application returned as incomplete is cancelled if you do not complete it within 20 working days, and verification fails if the issuing body does not answer within 20 working days. Both are in your control only if you prepare before you apply.
| Where it stalls | What helps |
|---|---|
| Your college or university does not answer DataFlow | Tell the registrar's office in advance; keep the contact person's email ready for DataFlow |
| An employer no longer exists or will not reply | Use experience that can still be verified; SCFHS needs at least 12 months of it |
| Names differ between passport, degree and council registration | Sort out spellings and initials before you book the exam — the Prometric permit uses one name |
| Transcript sent without the degree | SCFHS says classification cannot be done on the academic record alone |
| Internship certificate missing | It is a separate required document from the degree |
Our suggestions, built on SCFHS's document list and procedural rules. A negative verification result — a document the issuer says it did not issue — leads to rejection and referral to SCFHS's violations committee, which is a far worse outcome than a delay.
Which title you will hold
An MBBS alone is classified as General Practitioner under SCFHS's August 2025 criteria. The fee schedule also lists Resident and Resident-in-training titles at the same fees; these belong to doctors in training programmes. A recognised postgraduate qualification leads to Registrar, Senior Registrar or Consultant, each with higher fees and its own experience rule. Your title decides what you may do in practice and what your employer can hire you as, so check that the title in your offer letter matches what your qualifications support.
Situations that send you back to the start
When SCFHS makes you classify again
- Classified but not registered for more than a year: apply for re-classification, then registration (under a year, you can go straight to registration).
- A non-Saudi on final exit for over 180 days who was classified but not registered.
- Classified and registered, with new experience from outside Saudi Arabia: the Mumaris FAQ says to apply for re-classification with experience proving practice was not interrupted for two years or more, and that it is necessary to retake the professional licence exam.
- A failed professional assessment: the classification application is rejected; a new one can be filed a year after the previous application (procedural guide, Aug 2025).
Mumaris FAQ; SCFHS procedural guide (Aug 2025).
Planning the timeline
| Stage | Official figure | Can you run it in parallel? |
|---|---|---|
| SMLE window to result | 2–6 weeks after the window ends | Yes, with DataFlow |
| DataFlow verification | None published | Yes, with preparation and the exam |
| Classification decision (exam route) | 30 working days | Needs the DataFlow report and the exam result |
| Registration | 5 working days | Needs residence in Saudi Arabia |
Adding the official figures gives roughly three months from the end of a window to registration if verification is already done — our arithmetic, and optimistic: most delays come from verification and employer paperwork, which have no official clock.
Practise it, don't just read it
Classification waits for the SMLE result, and the result waits for the window to close. Pass it first time and the rest of the process moves.
The ProSyllabus SMLE library has topic quizzes for Internal Medicine (cardiology and respiratory; endocrine, renal and gastroenterology), General Surgery and Trauma, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Infectious Disease and Microbiology, Emergency Medicine and Critical Care and Community Medicine, Ethics and Saudi Health Practice. Each question comes with an explanation.
What is the SCFHS classification fee for a GP?
The SCFHS fee schedule (2024) charges a General Practitioner 200 SAR admin, 900 SAR classification and 320 SAR registration — 1,420 SAR in total for a new classification and registration.
How long does SCFHS classification take?
SCFHS's targets are 7 working days for a direct decision, 30 when classification is by an electronic written exam and 35 for a practical evaluation. Registration takes 5 working days.
Can I apply for SCFHS classification from India?
Yes. Classification can be applied for from outside Saudi Arabia through Mumaris+ without a work permit. Registration needs lawful residence in Saudi Arabia.
What is the DataFlow fee for SCFHS?
SCFHS publishes none, and third-party figures disagree. Use the fee DataFlow's portal shows for your documents.
How long is SCFHS registration valid?
Two years. Renewal opens three months before expiry and needs 60 CPD hours for doctors.
What happens if I do not register after classification?
If you stay classified but unregistered for more than a year, you must apply for classification again.
Sources
- official — SCFHS fee schedule (2024)
- official — SCFHS — Mumaris FAQ
- official — SCFHS — procedural guide for classification and registration (Aug 2025, Arabic)
- official — SCFHS — Membership Regulation criteria (Aug 2025, Arabic)
- official — SCFHS — professional classification requirements
- official — SCFHS — SMLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025)
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.
