Keep the facility exactly as it was licensed, every day, because Law No. 70 of 2020 lets the Ministry inspect any health facility at any time. Inspectors may enter, read the health records, take samples and write up violations with the powers of judicial police.
Inspection at any time
Article 64 gives the Ministry the right to oversee and inspect every health facility at any time. The Minister appoints committees of Ministry staff who do not practise in the private sector, and they may enter every part of the facility, request data, read its health records and take samples for analysis.1 Decision No. 36 of 2024 adds post-licence audit committees that check, by a mechanism the Health Licensing Department sets, that a working facility still meets its licence conditions.2
What the licence conditions cover
A facility must keep every condition it was licensed on for as long as the licence runs, and change none without the Health Licensing Department's approval. If a final licence falls short, the facility has six months to put it right, after which the matter goes to the Medical Responsibility Authority.2
| Area | What the law or regulation asks | Evidence to have ready |
|---|---|---|
| Licences on display | Facility licence shown prominently | The licence, current and on the wall |
| Staff licences | Every practitioner licensed, including visitors | A file of practice licences |
| Devices | Licences and operator training for regulated equipment | Device licences and training certificates |
| Patient files | One file per patient, complete | Any file, on request |
| Prices | A price list approved by the department | The approved list, and charges that match it |
| Premises | Infection control, fire safety, medical waste | Waste contract and fire licence |
| Insurance | Building and equipment risk, and practitioner malpractice | Current policies |
- Make the medical director the owner. Decision No. 36 of 2024 puts the facility's technical supervision, staff licences and quality and infection control standards on the medical director.
- Check licences monthly. Facility, staff and device licences, with expiry dates and the sixty day renewal window.
- Read five files a month. As an inspector would, for the note, consent, results and signatures.
- Match charges to the price list. Every charge against the list the department approved.
- Walk the premises. Waste, sterilisation, fire exits and first aid, as Article 56 of the law lists them.
- Keep a deficiency log. Every gap gets an owner and a date inside the six months the regulation allows.
- Month ______ Checked by ______ (medical director)
- Facility licence displayed, expires ______
- Staff licences checked ______ Expiring within 90 days ______
- Device licences and training certificates checked ______
- Files reviewed ______ Gaps found ______
- Charges matched to approved price list ______
- Deficiencies open ______ Owner and date ______
Questions
Does the Kuwait MOH announce inspections?
Law No. 70 of 2020 lets the Ministry inspect any facility at any time, and sets no notice period.
Who inspects private facilities?
Committees of Ministry staff the Minister appoints, none of them licensed to practise in the private sector, with judicial police powers.
What happens to a facility with violations?
Penalties run from a warning to fines of KWD 500 to 5,000, closure for up to a year, or permanent closure and cancellation, under Article 75.
Sources
- 1Medical Responsibility Authority, Kuwait, 2020Law No. 70 of 2020 on the practice of medicine and its allied professions, patients' rights and health facilities, full Arabic textRead source
- 2Kuwait Ministry of Health, published by the Medical Responsibility Authority, 2024Ministerial Decision No. 36 of 2024 amending the regulation of requirements and controls for licensing private health facilitiesRead source
Written by the wai team from Kuwait's Ministry of Health guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. Kuwait MOH does not endorse wai or any software.