Apply to the Ministry of Health's Health Licensing Department for initial approval, then receive a six month initial licence once the equipment and at least 50% of the staff are in place. An inspection within three months converts it into a final licence, valid for up to five years.
Three steps, set in Decision No. 36 of 2024
Law No. 70 of 2020 says no private health facility, or branch of one, may be built, run or managed without a licence from the Health Licensing Department, إدارة التراخيص الصحية.1 Ministerial Decision No. 36 of 2024 sets the route in three steps. Initial approval is applied for online on the Ministry's website, or at the department when that is not possible. An initial licence of six months follows, and then the final licence.2
The department must decide within sixty days of a complete application, with reasons for a refusal, and silence for sixty days counts as a refusal. A grievance goes to the Ministry's Undersecretary or the department within sixty days.2
Who may hold the licence
A private clinic or polyclinic, مستوصف, is licensed only to one or more licensed Kuwaiti doctors, and a doctor may hold one clinic or polyclinic, with no branches. A hospital or health centre is licensed to a licensed Kuwaiti practitioner, or to a company whose owner or a partner is one, and may open one branch per governorate with at least one Kuwaiti practitioner at each. Facilities of government bodies, companies the state shares in, and those under Law No. 116 of 2013 on direct investment are outside these ownership rules.1
- Apply for initial approval. On the Ministry of Health's website, with the applicant's CV in Arabic, qualifications, civil ID and a full time commitment, or the company's articles, commercial licence and the partners' practice licences.
- Submit the engineering plan. For a building licensed by the municipality as medical clinics, inspected by the Ministry's engineering affairs department or the technical sections concerned.
- Prepare the initial licence file. Specialties, the lease or title deed, an insurance policy, a medical waste contract with an approved company, the price list and the fees.
- Reach 50% of the staff. With the medical equipment complete, the initial licence runs for six months.
- Collect the other approvals. Kuwait Fire Force, the Environment Public Authority and Kuwait Municipality, within six months of the initial licence.
- Pass the inspection. Within three months of the initial licence, the inspection ends in a final licence, a new inspection date, or cancellation or suspension.
- Hold the final licence. Valid for up to five years, renewed at least sixty days before it expires.
- Facility type ______ Licence holder ______
- Initial approval applied on ______
- Engineering plan inspected on ______
- Initial licence issued on ______ Expires ______
- Staff in post ______ of ______ required (50% minimum)
- Fire Force, EPA and Municipality approvals due by ______
- Inspection on ______ Final licence on ______
- Renewal application due by ______ (60 days before expiry)
The dates that matter
| Step | Time allowed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Decision on an application | 60 days, silence counts as refusal | Decision No. 36 of 2024, Article 3 |
| Initial licence | 6 months, renewable once | Decision No. 36 of 2024, Article 9 |
| First inspection | Within 3 months of the initial licence | Decision No. 36 of 2024, Part 2 |
| Conversion to final | Within 1 year at most | Decision No. 36 of 2024, Part 2 |
| Final licence | Up to 5 years | Decision No. 36 of 2024, Article 11 |
| Renewal | At least 60 days before expiry | Law No. 70 of 2020, Article 61 |
Questions
Can a non-Kuwaiti doctor own a private clinic in Kuwait?
Law No. 70 of 2020 licenses a private clinic or polyclinic only to licensed Kuwaiti doctors, outside the exemptions for government, state-owned and direct investment facilities.
How long does a Kuwait facility licence last?
Up to five years under Decision No. 36 of 2024, after a six month initial licence that converts to final once the inspection is passed.
What happens if the licence lapses?
Late renewal carries a fee of double the renewal fee. A licence not renewed within six months of expiry is cancelled, and running a facility on an expired licence is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to KWD 3,000.
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.