GAHAR accreditation for private clinics in Egypt: what it means and where to start

GAHAR accreditation is a certificate from Egypt’s General Authority for Healthcare Accreditation and Regulation, issued after a survey visit checks a facility against its standards. Private clinics have their own annex of 19 standards in GAHAR’s 2026 ambulatory handbook, effective 1 May 2026, and a full accreditation lasts three years (handbook, read 31 October 2026).

This guide is for clinic owners and managers. It is a general explainer, not legal advice, built on GAHAR’s own pages and handbook and on the text of the law. It cannot say what applies to your clinic.

In short:

• GAHAR sets quality standards, accredits and inspects, under Law No. 2 of 2018. Its 2026 handbook has 19 standards for private clinics.
• Article 36 of the 2018 law sets an accreditation duty on health establishments. The law was amended in 2026, so ask your lawyer or GAHAR whether and from when it applies to your clinic.
• To apply, register on GAHAR’s portal, send a sealed declaration, pay the fee GAHAR sets and host a survey. Under the handbook, a full accreditation lasts three years.

Last checked: 31 October 2026, on the pages and law text listed under Sources. Handbooks, fees and procedures change, so confirm them with GAHAR before you rely on them.

What is GAHAR, and what does it do?

GAHAR’s site describes it as a public service authority established under Law No. 2 of 2018 and its executive regulations, under the direct supervision of the President of the Republic, with a mission that includes accrediting healthcare facilities against quality standards and monitoring how they are applied (read 31 October 2026).

Law No. 2 of 2018 promulgates the Universal Health Insurance System law, called the 2018 law here. Its Article 26 creates the Authority. Article 28 gives it, among other powers, the job of setting quality standards for health services, accrediting and registering the medical facilities that meet them to work in the system, and inspecting those facilities periodically (text of the law, read 31 October 2026).

In Egypt: is GAHAR accreditation compulsory for a private clinic?

The 2018 law has a rule on this, and it may have changed. Article 36, in the text we read, says (our translation of the Arabic): “Subject to the provisions of Law No. 51 of 1981 regulating medical establishments, public and private health establishments and providers must obtain an accreditation certificate, at any of the levels GAHAR sets, within three years of the date the governorate in which the establishment is located enters the scope of this law. If an establishment does not comply, GAHAR notifies the concerned authorities to take the necessary action under the laws and regulations governing its work.”

That text comes from a legal-texts site, not the Official Gazette. Law No. 155 of 2026 amended some provisions of the 2018 law; the State Information Service reports its publication in the Official Gazette issue of Tuesday 4 August 2026 (SIS report, read 31 October 2026). That report does not list the articles changed, so we cannot say whether Article 36 reads the same today. Ask your lawyer or GAHAR whether it applies to your clinic, and from when.

Insurance contracting is separate: Article 11 says the Universal Health Insurance Authority contracts with providers according to the contracting systems, prices and controls its board approves and the quality standards GAHAR sets (text of the law, read 31 October 2026). The map of healthcare in Egypt shows where insurance sits among the routes to care.

What do GAHAR’s standards for private clinics cover?

The 2026 handbook covers facilities that care for patients for under 24 hours, and its scope lists private clinics, described as solo medical care practice (p. 7, read 31 October 2026). Annex B holds 19 standards written for them, as GAHAR’s announcement of the 2026 edition (1 January 2026) also says. Section 1, on accreditation prerequisites and conditions, names private clinics too (p. 23).

Area	Standards in Annex B
Before the visit	PCS.01 advertising of services; PCS.02 scheduling and registering patients
Rights and consent	PCS.03 patient and family rights; PCS.04 informed consent; PCS.05 complaints and suggestions
Assessment and care	PCS.06 assessment and reassessment; PCS.07 plan of care; PCS.08 consultation and referral
Tests and procedures	PCS.09 radiology and diagnostic imaging; PCS.10 point-of-care testing; PCS.11 surgery and invasive procedures
Medicines	PCS.12 medication management; PCS.13 prescribing
After hours and equipment	PCS.14 urgent inquiries after working hours; PCS.15 medical equipment management
Infection control	PCS.16 infection prevention and control; PCS.17 disinfection and sterilisation of patient care equipment
Billing and records	PCS.18 patient billing; PCS.19 patient records, privacy and confidentiality

Handbook pp. 320 to 337, read 31 October 2026. The grouping is ours; the handbook numbers the standards in order.

The standards ask for documented processes. PCS.08 (consultation and referral) asks the clinic to define what a referral request must contain, at least the diagnosis and the reason for consultation (p. 326); what a case should arrive with, seen from the receiving side, is in what makes a case “qualified” for a provider. PCS.19 (patient records, privacy and confidentiality) says the team should meet the legal requirements for protecting patient information where they apply (p. 336); Egypt’s data-protection law is covered in the data-protection law and your clinic.

How does a clinic apply for GAHAR accreditation?

This is the handbook’s sequence (pp. 12 to 16, read 31 October 2026). GAHAR sets the survey fee, and this guide prints no amount, because none was read at GAHAR’s pages.

Step	What the handbook says
1. Check the basics	Hold the licences the handbook lists (a clinic licence, for a private clinic) and have operated for at least six months before applying, as GAHAR’s update of 12 April 2026 also states for full accreditation.
2. Register online	Create an account on GAHAR’s portal, choose the service and facility type, complete the application and upload the documents.
3. Seal the declaration	Print the application, complete the declaration, seal it with the clinic’s seal, upload it again and click “Issue application”.
4. Pay the survey fee	GAHAR determines the fee and shares bank details; the clinic pays and emails back the receipt.
5. Comply for four months	The clinic complies with the standards for at least four months before the visit (the look-back period).
6. Host the survey	GAHAR sets the date. For a private clinic the handbook lists ten survey activities, from arrival and coordination to an exit meeting (p. 340).
7. Receive the decision	The accreditation committee decides, and GAHAR informs the clinic no later than 30 working days after the visit ends. The clinic has 15 days to submit an appeal; if it does not, GAHAR’s chairman approves the decision and a final certificate is issued.

What can GAHAR decide after the survey?

The handbook sets four decisions (p. 18, read 31 October 2026):

Decision	Valid for	Overall compliance the handbook lists
Accreditation	3 years	80% or more
Conditioned accreditation	2 years	70% to under 80%
Conditioned accreditation	1 year	60% to under 70%
Rejection	None	Under 60%

This table simplifies the handbook: each decision also has chapter-level and standard-level conditions, a rejection can follow from them too, and a single not-met GAHAR Safety Requirement rules out any accreditation status.

For unmet items, the handbook asks for a corrective action plan sent to GAHAR within 90, 60 or 30 days for the first, second or third decision (p. 18). An accredited clinic must report sentinel events (GAHAR’s 12 April 2026 update calls them serious events) within 48 hours, with a root cause analysis within 45 days (p. 12).

Where should a clinic start?

1. Read Annex B and Section 1 of the handbook, a PDF on GAHAR’s site.
2. Check your licences and your six months of operation.
3. Give each standard an owner and write down the processes it asks for.
4. Write to GAHAR and your lawyer (GAHAR’s contact page): does Article 36 apply to my clinic, and from when, given the 2026 amendment? What is the survey fee for a private clinic, and when is it paid? Which parts of the handbook is a clinic with several doctors scored on?

Where Medigize stands

Medigize is not part of GAHAR and does not accredit, certify or inspect clinics. Our providers page describes Medigize Dock as the provider-facing layer within the broader Medigize structure, beginning as an operating portal for Medigize-origin cases and expanding later in phases, and has a form to express interest. How we think about working alongside a clinic’s existing systems is in on top of your system, not instead of it.

Frequently asked questions

Does GAHAR accredit private clinics?

Yes. Its 2026 ambulatory handbook, effective 1 May 2026, has Annex B with 19 standards for private clinics (read 31 October 2026).

Is GAHAR accreditation compulsory for a private clinic?

Article 36 of the 2018 law, in the text we read, obliges public and private health establishments to obtain an accreditation certificate within three years of their governorate entering the law’s scope. The law was amended in 2026 and we could not confirm that Article 36 reads the same, so ask your lawyer or GAHAR whether and from when it applies to your clinic.

How much does GAHAR accreditation cost?

GAHAR sets the survey fee once the clinic applies (handbook p. 15, read 31 October 2026). This guide prints no amount, because none was read at GAHAR’s pages.

This is a general explainer, not legal advice, and GAHAR’s rules, handbook and fees may change after publication. For your situation, consult a qualified lawyer or GAHAR itself. Medigize is a non-diagnostic navigation tool.

Sources

1. General Authority for Healthcare Accreditation and Regulation (GAHAR): who we are, read 31 October 2026
2. GAHAR: Handbook for Ambulatory Healthcare Accreditation Standards, edition 2026 (PDF, effective 1 May 2026), read 31 October 2026
3. GAHAR: standards for specialised medical centres and day surgery, 2026 edition (news item, 1 January 2026, in Arabic), read 31 October 2026
4. GAHAR: updates on accreditation procedures (12 April 2026), read 31 October 2026
5. GAHAR: online registration portal, the address the handbook gives, read 31 October 2026
6. GAHAR: contact, read 31 October 2026
7. Law No. 2 of 2018 promulgating the Universal Health Insurance System law, text of the annexed law (Articles 11, 26, 28 and 36), in Arabic, as published on a legal-texts site, read 31 October 2026
8. State Information Service: the President signs an amendment to some provisions of the Universal Health Insurance System law (Law No. 155 of 2026), in Arabic, read 31 October 2026