Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB): Exams and Licensing 2026

If you want to work as a doctor in Oman, you will meet the Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB) early in the process. OMSB verifies and evaluates your certificates, runs the computer-based Occupational Classification (OC) exams that employers and the Ministry of Health use for licensing, and runs Oman's postgraduate residency training.

OMSB does not publish fees, attempt limits or result validity on its examination page. For the job market and visas, see our guide to working as a doctor in Oman.

Key facts

What OMSB does

OMSB is organised into several departments:

• Professional Competence Affairs: accreditation, verification and equivalence of certificates, competence assurance and examinations.
• Academic Affairs: training administration, graduate medical education and educational programmes, including the residency programmes.
• Medical Simulation and Innovation Centre: life support, critical care, ultrasound and disaster management courses, plus a medical library and research.
• Oman Medical Journal (OMJ): OMSB's journal.

For an international doctor, the two functions that matter most are verification and equivalence of your qualifications and the OC exams.

Verification and equivalence of certificates

OMSB's Verification and Equivalence of Health Professional Certificates section was set up at the start of 2012. Since 2011, OMSB has had the authority to evaluate and equalise all health professional certificates.

The section:

• Sets the standards, policies and guidelines for certificate verification and equivalence.
• Evaluates the equivalence level of health certificates from other countries and institutions.
• Verifies educational, employment and registration certificates against local and international standards.
• Works with bodies such as the Ministry of Health and Sultan Qaboos University Hospital.
• Relies on a national committee of 16 members, representing health service providers across Oman, which reviews cases and recommends equivalence levels.

Primary source verification is carried out by DataFlow, an external verification company under contract with OMSB since April 2012. Start this early: your degree, internship, experience letters and licences are checked directly with the issuing institutions.

The Occupational Classification (OC) exams

OMSB describes the OC exams as computer-based exams used by the Ministry of Health and other government and private health institutions for licensing. Candidates who want to work in those institutions must sit them.

What OMSB states about the exams:

• Delivery. Computer-based, at the OMSB National Test Center in Innovation Park, Muscat, and at Pearson VUE centres worldwide.
• Booking. You register, schedule, reschedule or cancel through the Pearson VUE website. OMSB publishes a registration guide and exam content documents for download.
• Range of exams. OMSB lists separate OC exams for different professions and specialties, for example an Omani examination for anaesthesia and examinations for nurses.
• Lost results. If you lose your score report, you can request a certification letter using OMSB's online form.

OMSB's exam page does not state fees, pass marks, attempt limits or how long a result remains valid. Check the registration guide and the content document for your exam before booking, and confirm with your prospective employer which OC exam applies to your post.

Our OMSB exam page covers preparation, and the MediFlow app lets you practise exam-style questions in short sessions.

Route for international doctors, step by step

1. Confirm the post and the employer (Ministry of Health or another institution), because the OC exam is used for licensing in those institutions.
2. Start primary source verification with DataFlow.
3. Apply for equivalence of your qualifications through OMSB's Verification and Equivalence section.
4. Download the registration guide and exam content for your OC exam from OMSB.
5. Book the OC exam through Pearson VUE, in Muscat or at a centre near you.
6. Pass the exam, then complete licensing with the employer and the licensing authority.

If you are weighing Oman against other Gulf countries, MediFlow's GCC licensing service can help you plan at /get-licensed/.

Residency and postgraduate training

OMSB runs Oman's specialty training. Its programmes include anaesthesia, dermatology, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, paediatrics, psychiatry, radiology, pathology-related fields and others, plus selected fellowships. It also runs a General Foundation Program and the Oman Medical Residency Selection Examination (OMRSE), which is separate from the OC licensing exams.

Document checklist

OMSB's verification and equivalence process checks educational, employment and registration certificates. Before you start, gather:

• Passport copy.
• Medical degree certificate and transcripts, if available.
• Internship completion certificate.
• Postgraduate qualifications and specialty certificates.
• Experience certificates from each employer, with dates.
• Current professional licences or registrations.
• A current CV that matches the dates in your certificates.

Keep names and dates consistent across all documents, because DataFlow verifies each one directly with the issuing institution.

Planning your timeline

Verification and equivalence, the OC exam and the employer's licensing steps are separate stages. You can usually prepare for the exam while verification is under way, but your employer will need the equivalence outcome and the exam result before licensing can be completed. Download the OMSB registration guide and content outline for your OC exam as early as possible, set a realistic study plan, and book a Pearson VUE date that leaves time for a resit if necessary. If you are applying from abroad, choosing a Pearson VUE centre near you avoids travelling to Muscat for the exam.

Fees (as of October 2026)

The OMSB pages we reviewed do not publish fee amounts for verification, equivalence or the OC exams, so we do not quote figures. Pearson VUE shows the exam fee during booking, and DataFlow charges for verification. Confirm current costs on the OMSB website before applying.

Typical mistakes

• Booking the wrong OC exam. OMSB runs separate exams by profession and specialty.
• Confusing OMRSE with the OC exam. OMRSE is for residency selection, not licensing.
• Leaving verification to the end. DataFlow checks every document at source.
• Relying on unofficial fee lists. OMSB's exam page does not list fees; check the booking system.

Next steps

• Read our OMSB exam page and practise in the MediFlow app.
• Download the OMSB registration guide for your exam.
• See working as a doctor in Oman for the wider picture.

Contact and official links

• Website: omsb.gov.om
• OMSB overview: OMSB departments and programmes
• OC exams: OMSB Occupational Classification Exams
• Verification and equivalence: OMSB Verification and Equivalence

We do not list phone numbers; use the contact options on the OMSB website.