By Shincy George, Nursing Manthra
If you are a social worker, psychologist, counsellor, psychotherapist or applied behavior analyst working in the UAE, and you wish to practice in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, you must hold a Social Care Professional License issued by the Department of Community Development (DCD).
In this blog I am summarizing:
- Who needs a DCD license
- Types of licenses (Provisional vs Professional)
- Education and experience requirements for each profession
- Required documents
- Data Flow / Primary Source Verification (PSV)
- DCD exam / competency assessment
- Good Standing, Discontinuity of Practice, CPD and renewal process
1. Who needs a DCD Social Care Professional License?
DCD regulates Social Care Professionals who provide non-medical social services in Abu Dhabi. A license is required for the following categories:
- Social Worker
- Psychologist (Non-Clinical)
- Counsellor
- Psychotherapist
- Applied Behaviour Analyst (ABA)
These professionals must meet DCD Standards for Education and Practical Experience and obtain a license before providing social care services in Abu Dhabi.
Who does not need a DCD license?
- Staff in social care facilities whose duties fall outside the DCD professional scopes (e.g., administrative, support staff).
- Professionals providing educational, academic, healthcare or medical services – they must be licensed by the relevant education/health authority (MOE, DOH, DHA, MOHAP, etc.) according to existing regulations.
DCD also reserves the right to define “specializations” within each profession and attach specific requirements to each specialization.
2. Types of DCD Licenses: Provisional vs Professional
DCD issues two main categories of license for social care professionals.
Category 1 – Provisional License
This license is for professionals who have completed the required educational qualification but have not yet met the full practical experience requirement.
Key features:
- Holder can practise only under on-site supervision of a DCD-licensed professional.
- Used mainly to gain supervised practical experience and become eligible for a Professional License.
- No prior experience required at the time of first issue.
- Valid for 24 months and can be renewed only once (i.e., limited renewals).
- Provisional licensees must comply with:
- DCD Professional Code of Conduct and Ethics
- Standards for Education & Practical Experience
- Standards for Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Category 2 – Professional License
This license is for professionals who have completed both:
- Educational qualification requirements, and
- Required practical experience hours.
Key features:
- Allows the holder to practise independently within their approved scope and specialization.
- Practical experience must be obtained and accepted by DCD.
- Valid for 24 months with unlimited renewals (as long as you remain professionally active and meet renewal criteria).
- Must comply with the same standards and ethical codes as provisional licensees.
3. Eligibility: Educational Qualification Requirements
For all social care professions, DCD expects that your qualifications:
- Are obtained from a nationally accredited program.
- Are issued by a recognised university/college in the home country.
- Are attested and/or equalized by the relevant regulatory bodies (for degrees issued outside UAE, this means Ministry of Education – UAE equalisation).
- Match the detailed requirements for each profession in the DCD Standards for Education & Practical Experience.
- Any additional qualifications you submit will be reviewed and assessed by DCD.
- DCD may exempt certain applicants from some minimum requirements where appropriate.
Profession-wise academic requirements (summary)
1. Social Worker
- Professional License:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work
- Provisional License:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work
2. Psychologist (Non-Clinical)
- Professional License:
- Doctoral Degree or Master’s Degree in Psychology or in one of the listed disciplines (e.g., Educational/Academic, Marriage & Family, School, Counselling, Forensic, Child, Organizational, Cognitive).
- Provisional License:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology in one of the listed specializations.
3. Counsellor
- Professional License:
- Master’s Degree in Counselling or in a listed counselling specialization (School & Educational, Family & Marriage, Elderly & Geriatric, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Forensic, Rehabilitation, Psychological, Career, etc.).
- Provisional License:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Counselling or any of the above specializations.
4. Psychotherapist
- Professional License:
- Doctoral or Master’s Degree in a psychotherapy specialty (e.g., Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Behavioural Therapy).
- Provisional License:
- Master’s Degree in one of the psychotherapy specializations.
5. Applied Behaviour Analyst (ABA)
- Professional License – Applied Behaviour Analyst (Doctoral level):
- Doctoral Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis + passing a proficiency test from an accredited professional association.
- Professional License – Applied Behaviour Analyst (Master’s level):
- Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis + proficiency test.
- Professional License – Assistant Behaviour Analyst:
- Bachelor or Diploma in Applied Behavior Analysis + proficiency test.
- Provisional License:
- Doctoral or Master’s degree as above, or
- Provisional license of Applied Behavior Analyst or Assistant Behaviour Analyst, or
- Bachelor/Diploma in Psychoanalysis (for some provisional paths).
4. Practical Experience Requirements
Before you can get a Professional License, you must show that you have completed a specific amount of relevant practical experience.
Standard experience requirements
- Social Worker (Professional License):
- 3,000 hours of practical experience (approx. 2 years full-time) in a related field.
- Psychologist (Non-Clinical, Professional License):
- 3,000 hours (2 years full-time or equivalent).
- Counsellor (Professional License):
- 3,000 hours (2 years full-time or equivalent).
- Psychotherapist (Professional License):
- 3,000 hours (2 years full-time or equivalent).
- Applied Behaviour Analyst (all Professional levels):
- 1,500 hours of training under the supervision of a specialized professional.
For Provisional Licenses, prior experience is not required; the idea is that you will complete your experience under supervision after the license is issued.
Conditions for practical experience
Your practical experience must:
- Be relevant to the profession and license type you are applying for.
- Be obtained in an appropriate social care setting.
- Be supported by formal employment contracts.
- Be documented in Letters of Experience from employers stating:
- Employer name and contact details
- Facility location
- Exact job title and detailed job description
- Employment period
- Activities and responsibilities undertaken
- Date of letter and authorised signatory.
Supervised practical experience (for upgrading from Provisional to Professional)
If you hold a Provisional License and want to move to a Professional License, you must show supervised practical experience under a DCD-licensed professional who:
- Has been practising in the relevant profession for at least 3 years (4,500 hours of practice).
- Provides supervision within a relevant area of practice.
Supervised practice can be:
- Postgraduate hands-on training
- Postgraduate temporary or part-time work placements
- Any formal employment under a contractual arrangement.
The purpose is to:
- Build your skills and confidence
- Help you complete eligibility requirements
- Gradually increase your responsibility in delivering social care services
- Attract and retain professionals in the social care field.
5. List of Required Documents
When applying for a new Social Care Professional License, prepare clear scanned copies (PDF/JPEG) of the following:
- Passport: Copy of the first two pages of your valid passport.
- Emirates ID: Copy of your valid Emirates ID.
- Photo: Digital, passport-size coloured portrait photo (JPEG).
- CV: Updated Curriculum Vitae (PDF or Word).
- Educational Degrees: Attested copies of all relevant degrees.
- If the certificate is in a language other than Arabic or English, provide a legal translation.
- For degrees issued outside UAE, obtain equivalency from the UAE Ministry of Education.
- Official Transcripts for each relevant degree.
- Again, provide legal translations if not in Arabic or English.
- Letters of Experience for the last two years (or more, depending on your category), clearly stating:
- Job title
- Responsibilities
- Employment period
- Facility location and contact details
- Signed and stamped by the authorized signatory.
- Employer Good Standing Certificate as per DCD format.
- Police Clearance Certificates:
- Local PCC (UAE) if you have been a UAE resident for more than 6 months (issued within last 6 months).
- International PCC or equivalent from your home country / country of residence if you have lived in UAE less than 6 months (also issued within last 6 months).
- DCD may request both if needed.
- Copies of local or international professional licenses (if already licensed elsewhere).
Tip: Always keep multiple soft copies of each document ready; they will also be required for PSV (Data Flow) and other authority processes.
6. Application Steps – How to Apply through TAMM
The official service name is “Request to Issue a Social Care Professional License.”
Service channel: Online via TAMM platform.
Who can apply? Any eligible social care professional residing in the UAE who intends to practice in Abu Dhabi.
Step-by-step process
- Fill out the online application form
- Log into the TAMM portal and choose the DCD Social Care Professional License service.
- Enter your personal, educational and professional details accurately.
- Upload all required documents
- Attach all the scanned documents listed above.
- Ensure quality, clarity and correct attestation/equivalency.
- DCD review & requests for additional documents
- DCD will review your file and may send a notification asking for extra documents or clarifications.
- Provide these within the given timeframe.
- Preliminary approval
- If your basic eligibility is met, you receive preliminary electronic approval.
- The message will outline any further requirements, such as:
- Completing Primary Source Verification (Data Flow)
- Passing a professional competency assessment / DCD exam
- Submitting any missing documents.
- Complete PSV and exam
- Arrange your PSV (Data Flow) for education, experience, license and good standing, as requested.
- Sit for the DCD competency-based exam or interview if required.
- Final license issuance
- Once all requirements are satisfied and a Positive PSV report is received, DCD finalizes your application.
- Your Social Care Professional License will be issued automatically via the TAMM portal / available channels.
Expected timeframe: Up to 90 days (this includes internal approvals, PSV and exam process).
7. Primary Source Verification (Data Flow)
DCD may conduct PSV internally or through an authorised external provider (similar to DataFlow used by health authorities).
- PSV confirms the authenticity and accuracy of:
- Educational degrees
- Transcripts
- Experience certificates
- Professional licenses and registrations
- Only applications with a Positive PSV Report can proceed to license issuance.
- If any negative or “unable to verify” result appears, you must rectify the issue within the timeframe specified by DCD; otherwise the application will be closed and rejected.
8. Competency-Based Assessment (DCD Exam / Interview)
DCD may ask you to complete one or more competency assessments, including:
- Online multiple-choice exams
- Written tests
- Personal or panel interviews
These assessments are designed to check:
- Your competence to practise the specific social care profession (e.g., counsellor).
- Your competence in the declared specialization (e.g., Family & Marriage Counselling, ABA, CBT).
DCD controls:
- Which professionals must be assessed
- The content, grading system and pass mark
- Rules for retaking the exam and consequences of failure
Assessments may be required for initial licensing and for some renewals.
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Social worker: https://nursingmanthra.com/product/nursing-manthras-prometric-review-material-for-socialworker/
9. Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Every licensed social care professional is responsible for maintaining and updating their knowledge and skills through CPD activities.
- Most DCD professions require 20 CPD hours per year (minimum 40 hours per 24-month license period).
- CPD activities must:
- Be directly relevant to your scope of practice
- Align with DCD Standards for Continuing Professional Development
- DCD can:
- Approve or accredit certain CPD activities/providers
- Set different CPD requirements for different professional groups
- Grant temporary exemptions or postponements in exceptional cases.
10. Good Standing & Police Clearance
To show Good Standing Status, you must provide evidence that:
- You are not a convicted criminal or, if previously convicted, you have been officially rehabilitated.
- You have no disciplinary sanctions or restrictions on your professional practice by any regulator or professional body.
- You are not currently under investigation for professional misconduct.
DCD may request:
- Original Certificate of Good Standing (CGS) from relevant regulatory bodies.
- Police Clearance Certificate(s) from UAE and/or other countries of residence.
- Additional documents or investigations if needed.
11. Discontinuity of Practice (DoP)
If you stopped practising your social care profession for two years or more, you are considered to have “Discontinued Practice.”
This includes:
- Professionals whose license (in UAE or abroad) expired more than 2 years ago.
- Professionals who held a license but have not practised for 2+ years.
In such cases you must:
- Fulfil extra practical experience requirements as per the Discontinuity of Practice Licensing Requirements Schedule.
- Provide fresh Letters of Experience covering the period of discontinued practice.
- Apply for a new Professional License – you cannot simply renew your old one.
- If you cannot meet the extra requirements, you may need to apply first for a Provisional License to rebuild your practice hours.
12. Application Assessment, Rejection & Appeals
Once your application is submitted:
- DCD reviews all information and documents.
- If you meet all criteria, a license is issued.
- If not, DCD can reject the application, and you will be notified within 60 working days of the decision.
- If no decision is made within 60 days, the application is considered rejected by default.
You may:
- Appeal a rejection according to procedures in the regulations.
- Re-apply for a license if rejected, but there is a maximum of 2 additional attempts.
- If your application is rejected three times in total, you will be barred from applying for any social care profession via DCD.
DCD also has the power to exempt applicants from certain requirements where appropriate.
13. Renewal of DCD Social Care Licenses
- Licenses are valid for 24 months.
- DCD recommends applying for renewal at least 2 months before expiry, and you may apply up to 4 months in advance.
- To renew, you must:
- Submit the renewal application with updated details.
- Provide required supporting documents (proof of ongoing practice, CPD certificates, updated PCC or Good Standing if requested, etc.).
- Professional licenses can generally be renewed indefinitely as long as you remain active and meet all standards.
- Provisional licenses, however, can normally be renewed only once.
14. How Nursing Manthra Can Support You
As Shincy George and the NursingManthra team, we regularly guide nurses and allied professionals through complex licensing, Data Flow and exam procedures across the GCC and European countries.
For those planning to work in Abu Dhabi’s social care sector as a social worker, psychologist, counsellor, psychotherapist or applied behaviour analyst, we can help you to:
- Understand whether you qualify for Provisional or Professional license.
- Organise your documents, translations and MOE equalisation.
- Plan your PSV (DataFlow) properly to avoid negative or “unable to verify” reports.
- Prepare strategically for DCD competency exams/interviews.
- Maintain CPD and manage renewals on time.
If you need personalized guidance, you can reach Nursing Manthra via our social media platforms or website contact forms. WhatsApp-+971502515717
Disclaimer:
Regulations may change, so always cross-check the latest requirements on the Department of Community Development (DCD), Abu Dhabi and TAMM portals before submitting your application.
