How to become a psychologist in Saudi Arabia

Checked on 16 October 2026 against the regulator's own pages and other official sources; every statement links the page it comes from. Rules and fees change; if a link says something different today, the link is right and this page is out of date.

The short version

1. A degree in psychology with supervised training of at least 12 months (an internship year or equivalent). SCFHS
2. Verification of your degree, experience and licence by DataFlow, the company SCFHS uses. SCFHS FAQ
3. Professional classification in Mumaris Plus, which sets your grade and can be done from outside the Kingdom; usually after passing the psychology licensing exam. SCFHS FAQ
4. Professional registration, which needs legal residence in Saudi Arabia and lasts two years. SCFHS FAQ

1. Two steps: classification, then registration

The SCFHS lists psychology among the health specialties it regulates. SCFHS Professional classification gives you your grade and can be applied for from abroad; professional registration needs lawful residence in the Kingdom and is valid for two years. Both are done in Mumaris Plus; if your degree is not on the list of recognised qualifications, it first goes through a qualification study. SCFHS FAQ

2. Grades under the 2025 rules

On 7 March 2025 the SCFHS announced a new membership regulation, replacing the 2017 classification regulation and all earlier classification guides. SCFHS, in Arabic Its standards give one table for these specialties (not one for psychology alone):

• Bachelor's: Specialist, with one year of experience for non-Saudis, and a licensing or classification exam.
• Master's: Senior Specialist, with two years' experience.
• Doctorate: Consultant, with three years' experience. SCFHS standards, in Arabic

The SCFHS still links its older, cancelled table for psychology, in which a foreign bachelor's started one grade lower, at Assistant Specialist. old SCFHS rules Check which one Mumaris Plus applies to you.

3. The licensing exam

The Saudi Psychology Licensure Examination has 200 multiple-choice questions in two parts of two hours each, in English and Arabic, and a pass mark of 500 on a 200–800 scale. It covers assessment and clinical decision-making (30%), treatment and prevention (20%), the biological, social and cognitive bases of behaviour (15%), psychopathology (15%), lifespan development (10%) and ethics (10%). SPSLE guide

The 2026 sittings include 1–22 October and 1–24 November. After a failed first attempt, two more attempts are allowed. SCFHS Decisions take about 7 working days when made directly, 30 after a written exam and 35 after a practical evaluation. SCFHS FAQ

4. Documents and verification

Qualifications from outside the Kingdom need a verification report from the company the SCFHS approves. If you apply on a bachelor's alone, the bachelor's is verified; if you apply on a postgraduate degree, only that degree is. SCFHS The FAQ names the company as DataFlow and asks for its final report to be attached. SCFHS FAQ

A refund of half the service fee is possible if you cancel within a month and before any assessment; administration fees are never refunded. SCFHS

5. If you trained in Pakistan

The SCFHS says it judges a qualification by its content and the competencies it gives, not by its title. Distance-learning degrees are not accepted where classification requires clinical or practical training, unless that training was done at an accredited centre. SCFHS standards, in Arabic

• Experience: non-Saudis with a foreign basic qualification need at least 12 months' experience; this does not apply to those whose qualification is equivalent to at least a master's. SCFHS standards, in Arabic SCFHS
• No psychologist regulator at home: where your country has no official registration body, attach an official letter from its Ministry of Health. SCFHS
• Attestation: attest your degrees with Pakistan's Higher Education Commission (Rs 3,000 per document). HEC
• Supervised training: the SCFHS asks for an internship year or at least 12 months of supervised practical training with the degree, which may be more than a Pakistani BS placement provides. SCFHS

What we could not confirm

• Which grade table Mumaris Plus applies to psychology today: the 2025 general table or the older psychology table.
• Whether a foreign psychology graduate sits the SPSLE or a separate classification exam, and the exam fee.
• Current classification and registration fees for psychologists (the fee sheet we found predates the 2025 rules and does not name psychology).
• Whether a non-Saudi with a Pakistani degree needs Saudi Ministry of Education equivalency; SCFHS pages disagree.
• How a Pakistani MPhil, the older BA/BSc plus MSc route, or a short BS internship is classified, and which Pakistani authority issues the "no registration body" letter.

Know something here is out of date? Tell us through the contact page with a link, and we will check it. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice.