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Aesthetic clinic licence in Dubai, doctors first

Injectables and medical lasers belong in a DHA-licensed clinic, and your treatment menu sets which doctors the clinic needs.

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A clinician scans a client's facial skin with a handheld device in a white clinic room
Usual route
Usually mainland
Extra approval
DHA facility
Timeline
Months
AML
Not a DNFBP activity
At a glance

An aesthetic clinic licence in Dubai is a DET trade licence with a Dubai Health Authority (DHA) facility licence behind it. DHA expects at least one licensed dermatologist or plastic surgeon to supervise non-surgical cosmetic work. Botox and fillers are physician-only, and laser hair removal needs staff with a separate DHA hair laser licence.

Covers
Injectables, medical lasers, peels and skin treatments under doctors
Not covered
Salon facials, surgery under sedation and selling cosmetics
Premises
A clinic unit with laser rooms built to DHA rules
Timeline
Months, set by doctors' licences and the final inspection

What an aesthetic clinic can offer

The clinic sells non-surgical cosmetic treatments that DHA classes as medical work. Each one is tied to a professional allowed to perform it.

Covered

Not covered

  • Covered by Beauty salon
  • Covered by a day surgery centre or hospital
  • Covered by Spa and massage centre
  • Covered by Cosmetics trading

A clinic selling its own skincare line adds a retail activity, and we put it on the licence before the shelves go up.

Where an aesthetic clinic is licensed

Clients come to you, so the clinic sits where they live and shop. That usually means a DET licence with a DHA facility licence.

Likely route by where most of your clients are
If most of your clients areLikely routeWhy
Residents booking in a mall or villa unitMainland (DET)DET issues the trade licence and DHA licenses the clinic and its doctors
Medical tourists in a healthcare free zoneFree zoneThat zone has its own health regulator for the facility and practitioners
A salon chain adding a medical wingMainland (DET)The medical rooms need their own DHA facility licence beside the salon

A free zone clinic treating mainland clients needs a DET branch licence or permit (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025). Fees from individual clients sit outside QFZP qualifying income.

Several free zones license this activity; we match the zone to your visas, office and banking. Compare free zones

Aesthetic clinic licence approvals

DHA issues the facility licence inactive and activates it after the final inspection. By then the supervising doctor, the injecting physicians and any laser staff need their own DHA licences.

  1. Before the licence

    • Trade name and initial approvalDET
    • Facility licence applicationDubai Health Authority (DHA)

  2. The licence

    • Trade licenceDET

  3. Alongside the licence

    • Dermatologist or plastic surgeon licensedDHA
    • Hair laser licences for staffDHA
    • Laser rooms and devices readyDHA

  4. After the licence

    • Final inspection and activationDHA
    • Corporate bank accountThe bank

We line up the supervising doctor before the lease is signed.

What each treatment asks of your team

Tick the treatments on your opening menu. The heaviest one shows what the clinic has to have in place for it.

DHA lists who may perform each cosmetic procedure, so we match your menu to the doctors you plan to hire before anything is filed.

Tick every treatment you plan to offer

Tick every treatment you plan to offer
What you planPoints to
Trained beauty therapists, with no doctor needed for that item
Staff with a DHA hair laser licence, a laser room to DHA rules and same-gender treatment
A trained, privileged physician under a dermatologist or plastic surgeon
A trained, privileged physician under a dermatologist or plastic surgeon
A dermatologist or plastic surgeon performing it personally
A dermatologist or plastic surgeon performing it personally
A day surgery centre or hospital, outside a clinic licence

What banks see in an aesthetic clinic

Bank viewStandard; prepaid packages and imported devices draw questions

Banks review an aesthetic clinic as a healthcare business once the DHA facility licence is live. Two things draw questions. Clients often prepay treatment packages, and the first months bring large payments abroad for laser devices. We put the DHA approval, the device invoices and the clinic's package terms into the account file together, so the review sees a clinic that adds up.

AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.

Where aesthetic clinic setups stall

  1. Signing the lease before the doctor

    DHA expects a licensed dermatologist or plastic surgeon to supervise cosmetic work. A doctor still waiting on a DHA licence leaves a finished clinic that cannot activate.

  2. A laser room built like a salon

    DHA's laser rules ask for matt walls, no mirrors or metal surfaces, closed windows and a warning sign on the door. Mirrored treatment rooms get rebuilt before inspection.

  3. Job titles missing from the DHA licence

    Staff may only use the title on their DHA licence. Websites and social posts calling someone an aesthetician or anti-ageing consultant are a common inspection finding.

Questions about a aesthetic clinic licence

A question about your plan? Describe your aesthetic clinic plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.

Ask on WhatsApp

How much does an aesthetic clinic licence cost in Dubai?

An aesthetic clinic licence cost in Dubai depends mostly on the medical team and the devices. A supervising dermatologist or plastic surgeon, the physicians you hire, laser rooms built to DHA rules and the equipment itself usually outweigh the trade licence. You get a written quote before anything starts, and it only changes if your plans do.

Who can do Botox and fillers in Dubai?

Only a licensed doctor who is trained and privileged for it. DHA classes cosmetic Botox and fillers as prescription-only medicines, so beauty therapists and nurses cannot inject them, and nobody under 18 receives them. Nose injections are reserved for dermatologists and plastic surgeons, and body fillers for consultants and specialists in a relevant field.

Does an aesthetic clinic need a dermatologist in Dubai?

Yes, or a plastic surgeon. DHA expects every clinic offering non-surgical cosmetic procedures to have at least one licensed consultant or specialist dermatologist or plastic surgeon, full time or part time, supervising the work. General practitioners can inject once trained and mentored, but they practise under that specialist's supervision. We plan this hire first.

Does laser hair removal need a DHA licence in Dubai?

Yes. Laser and IPL hair removal is kept out of salons, and each person performing it needs a separate DHA hair laser licence and recognised training. The room has to meet DHA's laser safety rules, and the practitioner must be the same gender as the client. A specialist or experienced doctor supervises the service.

How to start an aesthetic clinic business in Dubai?

Start with the doctors. The clinic needs a DET trade licence and a DHA facility licence. DHA activates the facility licence after inspection, once a supervising dermatologist or plastic surgeon and the treating staff hold DHA licences. Your treatment menu decides that team, because each procedure is tied to who may perform it, so we build the plan around it.

Related pages

Does your menu match the doctors you have? We check both before any lease

Fifteen minutes with a senior advisor on your treatment menu, your doctors and the unit. You leave with the activity, the route and the order of the DET and DHA steps.

Book a 15-minute callMessage us on WhatsApp

On the call

  1. The activity wording that fits your plan
  2. The route, and the approvals in order
  3. A written quote before any work starts
Portrait of your advisor
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