Opening an OB/GYN clinic in Egypt: the licence, shared clinics and the ultrasound
Your first clinic, or your second branch: before the first patient, there's a licence from the Medical Syndicate and the Ministry of Health, a flat that has to be fit for a clinic, and an ultrasound machine that takes the biggest share of the budget. We've collected what the Syndicate and the Ministry have published, what's settled in the law and what isn't, and ultrasound prices as we saw them, with a date on every fact. Where we found no official source, we say so.
Which licence? A private clinic or a specialty clinic
Clinics are governed by Law 51 of 1981 on private medical establishments and its amendments (Law 153 of 2004). These are the two types that apply to a doctor opening a clinic:
| Private clinic (عيادة خاصة) | Specialty clinic (عيادة تخصصية) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | One doctor, who owns or manages it | At least two different specialties, under one management with a technical director |
| Beds | Up to 3 observation beds, not for stays | Up to 5 beds |
| Syndicate registration fee | EGP 100 | EGP 250 |
Under Article 6 as amended, a doctor may own more than one private clinic, so a second branch is a second private clinic with its own licence. (One newspaper reported the opposite in 2025, citing a Ministry guide, so check with your Syndicate branch before you sign for a second flat.)
In February 2025 the Cabinet approved a draft law on private medical establishments that adds a "multi-specialty clinic". In June 2025 the chair of the House health committee said it had constitutional problems. We found nothing showing it has passed, so Law 51 is still the one that applies.
The steps: the Syndicate first, then the free-practice office
- Register with the Medical Syndicate. The clinic's file goes to your Syndicate branch, with an identical second file handed to the area's free-practice office (إدارة العلاج الحر).
- Apply to the Ministry of Health for the licence. Since 28 February 2025, private and specialty clinics apply online on the Ministry's portal,
psdigit.mohp.gov.eg: the application, then a document review and site inspection, then the result on the portal, then online payment, then a digital licence with a QR code delivered by Egypt Post. Renewals, converting a paper licence to digital and updating details are on the same portal. - The inspection. Your sign has to be up before it.
Running a clinic before it's licensed is punishable under the law by closure and a fine of EGP 1,000 to 50,000.
The paperwork
What the Syndicate asks for to register a private clinic (from the Syndicate's website, as we saw it on 14 October 2026):
- A date-certified lease, or a notarised title deed, in the doctor's own name, with an electricity bill in the doctor's name.
- A recent Syndicate card, with the last year's dues paid.
- The specialist or consultant certificate from the Syndicate, if you have one.
- An original printed prescription pad in the clinic's name.
- A colour photo of the sign on the building's front, showing only the name and specialty.
- The data-update form.
What the Ministry asks for on top of that, as the press reported it from the health-sector investment guide and the Ministry's website (June 2025 and July 2026):
- The district office's (الحي) approval of the clinic's location.
- An engineering drawing of the clinic.
- A contract with an approved provider for hazardous medical waste (an incinerator), and the licence to handle it.
- Civil protection approval.
- A list of equipment, and a signed undertaking.
- The doctor's papers: graduation certificate, national ID, Syndicate card and specialty certificate.
The list changes, so call the Ministry's hotline (15530) before you put the file together.
A clinic in a residential building
This is the question doctors in Egypt search for most before opening a clinic, and for good reason. In 2024, some governorates demanded that clinics in residential units settle their status and change their use from residential to administrative, threatening closure and cutting off utilities. The Syndicate said clinics are governed by the medical establishments law, not the building law. In November 2024, the chair of the House health committee relayed a promise from the Prime Minister not to require licensed clinics to settle, with unlicensed ones "under study". We found no official decision issued since then that settles the matter.
What this means in practice: the district's approval of the location is part of the licensing file, so it's the real gate. Ask the district about the unit before you sign the lease, not after.
Old-rent leases: Law 164 of 2025 (issued 4 August 2025) multiplies the rent on units leased to individuals for non-residential use by five, raises it 15% a year, and ends the lease five years after the law takes effect. Contracts signed on or after 31 January 1996 are outside it. If the clinic you're taking over is on an old lease, do your sums on that basis.
A "shared clinic"?
The term is common, but it isn't a type in Law 51 or on the Syndicate's website today. The two legal options are a private clinic for one doctor, and a specialty clinic for at least two different specialties with a technical director. As for two OB/GYNs sharing one flat in shifts, and whether each needs a licence in her own name, we found no official text. That's a question for your Syndicate branch before the lease, because the lease has to be in the name of the doctor who applies.
The ultrasound
We found no separate licence required for an ultrasound machine, from the Ministry or from the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority; that authority covers X-rays, and ultrasound involves no radiation. The Syndicate's list asks for extra certificates only for a laser. As for price, these are the prices listed by one Egyptian seller, as we saw them on 14 October 2026, with the date each product page was last updated:
| Machine | Listed price | Condition | Page updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindray DP-20, two probes (abdominal and transvaginal) | EGP 95,000 | not stated | Aug 2026 |
| Mindray DP-20, two probes and two ports | EGP 130,000 | new | Nov 2025 |
| Mindray DP-18, abdominal and transvaginal | EGP 140,000 | not stated | Jun 2026 |
| Chison Q5, abdominal | EGP 105,000 | not stated | Jun 2026 |
| GE Voluson 730 Pro, four probes | EGP 400,000 | not stated | Aug 2026 |
| Mindray Z60, abdominal and transvaginal (3D/4D) | EGP 440,000 | not stated | Jun 2026 |
| Mindray DC-60 4D, 2018 model | EGP 586,600 | used | Nov 2025 |
An OB/GYN clinic needs at least an abdominal probe and a transvaginal one, and the biggest jump in price is the move to 4D. Compare more than one seller, and ask about the warranty and the availability of replacement probes; prices move with the exchange rate.
Your fee, the price sign and the receipt
- Your consultation fee is your decision. The figures that circulated in May 2026 (EGP 500 for a specialist and 1,000 for a consultant) were a personal view of one Syndicate council member, and in June 2026 the head of the Syndicate called them "general estimates, not official decisions".
- The price sign and receipt: in February 2023 the Tax Authority recalled circular No. 18 of 2018, which requires doctors to post a sign with the prices of the consultation and follow-up, and to write the fee on the patient's receipt. The Syndicate objected to the circular.
- The e-receipt: since 15 March 2025, clinics in Greater Cairo and Alexandria have been part of one of its phases, and the obligation applies to those named on the Authority's lists. Look your clinic up on the inquiry page of the Authority's website.
- The simplified tax regime (Law 6 of 2025): for a turnover of up to EGP 20 million, a tax of between 0.4% and 1.5% of turnover, and the head of the Tax Authority said it covers doctors. Ask your accountant before you open your tax file.
From the first patient: the file and booking
A new clinic has no archive, and that's an advantage you won't get twice: every patient who walks in starts one tidy file from day one. What's worth deciding before you open, not after:
- A visit sheet for each service: a pregnancy follow-up isn't a fertility consultation, and neither is an ultrasound. Write each one once, on your own sheet.
- A WhatsApp number for the clinic, not the doctor, where patients book, shown on the clinic's Google Maps profile.
- Who sees what: the secretary sees bookings and payments, and the visit is yours.
- And the software that carries all of this: ten questions to ask before you choose a clinic system.
Questions
Do I need a separate licence for an ultrasound machine in the clinic?
We found nothing that requires one, from the Ministry of Health or from the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority, which covers X-rays. The Syndicate's list of papers asks for extra certificates only for a laser.
What's the Syndicate's fee to register a clinic?
EGP 100 for a private clinic and EGP 250 for a specialty clinic, according to the Syndicate's website in October 2026. That's separate from the Ministry's licensing fees.
Can I open a clinic in a residential flat?
Many clinics operate in residential units, but no published official decision has settled the question so far, and the district's approval of the location is part of the licensing file. Ask the district about the unit before you sign the lease.
A new clinic that starts on its own sheet, from the first patient.
In the demo we'll show you your clinic before it opens: your visit forms for each service, and booking on the clinic's WhatsApp number.
Sources
- Law 51 of 1981 on private medical establishments and its amendments (Law 153 of 2004 and Law 141 of 2006), articles 1, 2, 3, 6 and 16 bis: Manshurat.
- Egyptian Medical Syndicate, facilities committee: clinic types, required papers and registration fees, ems.org.eg, as we saw it on 14 October 2026.
- The launch of the Ministry's online licensing system for medical establishments: Youm7 and Egypt Telegraph, 28 February 2025.
- Licensing papers as reported from the health-sector investment guide and the Ministry's website: Masrawy, 8 June 2025; Egypt Telegraph, 20 July 2026.
- The draft law on private medical establishments: Youm7, 13 February 2025; Al Mal, 16 June 2025.
- Clinics in residential units: Youm7, 23 October and 17 November 2024.
- Old-rent Law 164 of 2025: Masrawy, 4 August 2025.
- Ultrasound prices: product pages on almatgaraltebi.com, as we saw them on 14 October 2026, with each page's last-updated date.
- Consultation fees: Egypt Telegraph, 26 May and 1 June 2026.
- The price sign and receipt (circular No. 18 of 2018): Egyptian Tax Authority, 27 February 2023, eta.gov.eg.
- The e-receipt, phase seven: Maspero, 13 March 2025. The simplified tax regime (Law 6 of 2025): Banker News, 9 July 2025.