A Dubai Health card lets your family use Dubai Health’s public hospitals and clinics at resident rates, and it is the card parents most often need when registering children at a government clinic for vaccinations, check-ups or referrals. You apply online through the Dubai Health website or app, or at a customer care centre, using each family member’s Emirates ID. The card is digital, linked to your medical record number, and each person, including every child, has their own.
What the health card does and does not do
The health card is your key to the public system run by Dubai Health, formerly the DHA: hospitals such as Latifa, Rashid and Hatta, plus the primary health care centres spread across the emirate. It is not health insurance. Since insurance is mandatory in Dubai, most families also hold a private policy through an employer or their own purchase, and the two work side by side: insurance decides who pays, the health card registers you with the public provider. Families often keep the card current even with good private cover, because public clinics handle school vaccinations, certain specialist services and emergencies at very reasonable cost.
Documents for parents and children
- Emirates ID for each adult applicant, valid and active
- For children: the child’s Emirates ID and passport, plus the parent’s ID for the application
- Your Dubai Health medical record number (MRN) if you have ever been registered before
- A mobile number and email for the digital card and appointment messages
- For newborns: the birth notification or certificate details, with the card updated once the Emirates ID is issued
Older paper health cards and records from the DHA era still link to the same file in most cases, so mention any previous registration rather than opening duplicates. If a child was born in a Dubai Health hospital, a record usually already exists and simply needs the card activated.
Applying step by step
- Create or sign in to your account on the Dubai Health portal or app using UAE Pass.
- Open the health card service and choose new card or renewal for each family member.
- Enter the Emirates ID details and confirm the personal information shown.
- Add children one at a time under the family file, checking spellings against their IDs.
- Pay the card fee online for each applicant.
- Save the digital cards to your phone; you can also view them in the Dubai Health app at appointments.
As a guide, the card fee is typically around AED 120 for adults and around AED 20 for children under ten, with validity of one year, but these figures are estimates that change, so confirm the current fees on the official Dubai Health portal before paying. Cards for some categories, such as certain government employees, follow different arrangements.
Using the card well as a family
Once everyone has a card, register at your nearest primary health care centre, which becomes your first stop for childhood vaccinations on the national schedule, developmental checks and referrals to specialists. Book through the app rather than walking in where possible; family medicine clinics run on appointments and vaccination sessions fill quickly at the start of the school year. Keep the children’s card details with their school health files, because schools ask for them when updating immunisation records.
Renew on time each year. An expired card can usually still be sorted at the clinic desk, but renewing online in advance keeps appointment booking smooth, especially during the busy back-to-school weeks when every family in Dubai seems to be updating records at once.
When your family first arrives
New families often ask whether to sort health cards before or after choosing a paediatrician. The practical order is: Emirates IDs first, health cards second, then register at the nearest primary health care centre so vaccinations and records sit in one file from the start. Bring the children’s previous vaccination records from your home country to that first appointment; the clinic will map them onto the UAE schedule and tell you exactly which doses, if any, are missing. Keeping that single, continuous record avoids repeat vaccinations and makes school admission health checks far simpler in later years.
FAQ
Does each child need a separate card? Yes. Every family member has an individual card and medical record, including babies, so apply for each child separately.
Is the health card the same as insurance? No. Insurance pays for treatment; the health card registers you with Dubai Health facilities. Most families hold both.
Can visitors get a health card? The card is for UAE residents with Emirates IDs. Visitors are treated on a pay-per-visit basis or through travel insurance.
Sorting health cards for the whole family in one sitting removes a surprising amount of admin from your year. For more family paperwork guides, visit DXB Talk and explore the How-To archive.
