SCFHS grades doctors by qualification: a master's is Registrar, a specialty certificate Senior Registrar
SCFHS's membership standards of August 2025 classify a doctor by the level of their qualification: a bachelor's is General Practitioner, a master's-level specialty qualification Registrar, and a doctorate or specialty certificate Senior Registrar or, with 3 years, Consultant; Registrars and above are classified by exam or evaluation, with no Saudi licensing exam (SMLE).
Checked 26 Oct 2026 · SCFHS ↗
- Who it affects
- Doctors in Saudi Arabia
The 2025 standards, in brief
| How you are assessed | Bachelor's level (General Practitioner) sits the professional practice licence exam or the classification exam; master's level (Registrar) and doctorate or specialty level (Senior Registrar, Consultant) sit an exam or an evaluation, unless an exemption standard applies |
|---|---|
| Which level your qualification reaches | A qualification is classified only after SCFHS grants it professional equivalence at a level of the qualifications framework (master's seven, doctorate eight, specialty certificate eight); a qualification that does not meet every standard can be equivalised at a lower level or conditionally on the recommendation of SCFHS's committees; a qualification not already on SCFHS's list goes through the new-qualification study service first |
| The year of experience for non-Saudis | The twelve months of experience outside the Kingdom required of non-Saudis does not apply to those who did their whole internship year in the Kingdom or who hold a qualification from outside the Kingdom professionally equivalent to at least a master's |
What it means for you
SCFHS's 2025 membership standards set the physician grade by the level of the qualification; doctors with a master's-level specialty qualification now see the Registrar route instead of only the GP one, and the Senior Registrar grade is read from the certificates SCFHS treats as equivalent to the Saudi board.
A Registrar route
SCFHS's membership standards (August 2025) classify a doctor by the level of their qualification: a medical degree is General Practitioner, a master's-level specialty qualification is Registrar, and a doctorate or specialty certificate is Senior Registrar or, with three years, Consultant. The plan had no Registrar route, so a doctor with India's MD, MS or DNB, or UK college membership such as the MRCP, saw only the GP licence in Saudi Arabia. They now see the Registrar route: classification by exam or evaluation, with no Saudi licensing exam (SMLE).
Your grade, read for you
Certificates SCFHS treats as equivalent to the Saudi board open the Senior Registrar and Consultant routes without a question: the Arab Board, a CCT, an American, Canadian or Australasian board, India's MD with the DNB or a DM, and Pakistan's FCPS. These come from SCFHS's own tables, an older edition, because the 2025 standards leave each foreign certificate to SCFHS's equivalence decision; you can still set your level by hand when SCFHS decides otherwise.
The year of experience
The 2025 standards exempt holders of a master's-level qualification from the year of experience asked of non-Saudis, but SCFHS's requirements page still asks every non-Saudi for it, so the plan keeps the year.
What to do next
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Sources
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