If you came looking to register a health product with MOHAP, the route has changed. Most product registrations now run through the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE). Viora helps you find the correct authority, checks your registration, files the import permit, and clears the shipment through Dubai Customs end to end. Talk to our team or see our full product registration in Dubai page.
For years, MOHAP — the Ministry of Health and Prevention — registered the UAE's health products: medicines, medical devices, and supplements with medicinal claims. If you searched for MOHAP registration, this is what you meant.
That changed on 29 December 2025. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2024, product registration and marketing authorisations moved to the Emirates Drug Establishment, the EDE. So if you register a health product today, your authority is the EDE, not MOHAP.
The real question is no longer how to register with MOHAP. It is which authority your product belongs to, since health products split between the EDE and Dubai Municipality by what the product is and what it claims.
The authority depends on your product type and its claims. These cards show where each product goes and the rule that sends it there, so you can place your own product.
Conventional, biological, and natural-source medicines, plus general-sale medicinal products. Rule: medicinal use. Portal: ede.gov.ae.
All medical devices and in vitro diagnostics, registered by risk class. Rule: medical purpose.
Plain vitamins go to Dubai Municipality. A medicinal claim sends the product to the EDE. Rule: the claim decides.
Register with Dubai Municipality on Montaji and also need a MoIAT (ECAS) conformity certificate. Rule: both required.
Food registers with Dubai Municipality through FIRS. Water, juice, and dairy also need MoIAT EQM.
Electronics, toys, automotive parts, and building materials need MoIAT ECAS conformity. Rule: technical safety.
Many products sit on the line between categories, and that line decides the authority. These are the borderline cases that catch people out:
A cream is a cosmetic until it claims to treat. Anti-acne or whitening claims can make it a drug — a plain cosmetic goes to Dubai Municipality, a treatment claim can route it to the EDE.
A fortified food is still food at Dubai Municipality, but a health or medicinal claim changes the route. A collagen drink may be a food or a supplement — the claim and the form decide.
A vitamin with no disease claim is a supplement. Claiming to treat a condition makes it a drug, and restricted ingredients push it to the EDE. Plain formulas stay with Dubai Municipality.
Medical disinfectants are general-sale EDE products, while household cleaners follow a different route. Confirm the claim before you assume the authority.
The shape is similar across products, though the detail changes with the product type and the authority it falls under.
The exact list depends on the product and its route, but most MOHAP (EDE) product registrations draw on the same two stacks: one sets up the responsible entity, the other proves the product is safe and compliant.
The cost of MOHAP product registration varies widely by product type and route. A general-sale product sits at the low end, medical devices and supplements in the middle, and pharmaceuticals on the full EDE route cost the most because of the deepest review and dossier.
Send us your product list and we will confirm the authority and category first, so you never pay for the wrong application.
General-sale products sit at the lower end. Pharmaceuticals and Class III or IV devices run far longer.
Filing with the wrong authority is the most expensive delay of all — the product can sit for weeks before it is redirected.
Timelines vary sharply by product type. A general-sale product moves faster, while pharmaceuticals and high-risk devices take much longer through the EDE. Every registration moves through the same stages:
Tell us what your product is and what it claims. We will confirm whether it belongs with the EDE or Dubai Municipality, check the registration, file the import permit, and clear every shipment through Mirsal 2 — registration and shipping as one service. Contact Viora for a free route check. For the shipping side, see medical shipment & clearance in Dubai, our MOHAP permit checklist, and our medical shipping supplies and logistics services.
For health products, it is the EDE. On 29 December 2025 the Emirates Drug Establishment took over product registration and marketing authorisations from MOHAP. New applications go to the EDE portal at ede.gov.ae, so although people still search for MOHAP registration, the authority is now the EDE.
Yes. MOHAP still runs other health functions, including community and compounding pharmacies and some narcotic drug controls. What moved to the EDE is product registration, marketing authorisations, import and export permits, and licensing of pharmaceutical facilities.
Yes. Certificates issued by MOHAP before the transfer stay valid until their stated expiry date. When it is time to renew, the renewal is processed by the EDE rather than MOHAP.
Renewals for transferred product registrations go through the EDE, even if the original certificate was issued by MOHAP. The EDE issues the new certificate.
The Emirates Drug Establishment is the federal authority that now regulates medical products in the UAE — medicines, medical devices, IVDs, and pharmaceutical establishments such as warehouses and medical stores. It took over these services from MOHAP under Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2024.
Medicines and pharmaceuticals, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics, general-sale medicinal products and medical disinfectants, and supplements or cosmetics that make medicinal or treatment claims. Plain cosmetics, food, and supplements without medicinal claims register with Dubai Municipality instead.
Registration approves the company and the product for the UAE market. The import permit is a separate approval filed for each shipment against that registration. Dubai Customs will not release a medical or pharmaceutical shipment through Mirsal 2 without a valid permit, even if the product is registered.
Roughly 4 to 24 weeks. General-sale products and low-risk devices sit at the lower end; pharmaceuticals and Class III or IV devices take much longer because of the deeper technical review.
It depends on the route. EDE government fees apply per company and per product, and the pharmaceutical and higher-risk device routes cost more than general-sale or Dubai Municipality routes. Entity setup, attestation, lab testing, and agent fees add to the total. Send us your product list and we will confirm the route and expected costs before any work starts.
No. Importing an unregistered medicine or medical device is not allowed — the shipment is held at customs until registration and the import permit are in place, and storage charges build up while it waits.
Yes — we confirm the correct authority for your product, check EDE (formerly MOHAP) registration status, file the import permit for each shipment, and clear the cargo through Mirsal 2 with Dubai Customs. For full registration dossiers we work alongside your registration holder or consultant, so registration and shipping run as one service.