Opening your own clinic is a big moment. Maybe you've just finished your FCPS, or you're
tired of earning for someone else's practice, or you simply want to serve your own
neighbourhood. Whatever the reason, the medicine is the part you already know. The
paperwork, rent negotiations and "which register do we use?" questions are the parts
nobody teaches you.
This checklist puts everything in the right order, so you don't sign a rent agreement for
premises that can't be licensed, or open your doors before your regulator has even
registered you. Each step links to a deeper guide when you need the detail.
The 10 steps to open a clinic in Pakistan
1. Make sure your PMDC registration is valid
No one can practise without current registration with the Pakistan Medical and Dental
Council. In August 2026, PM&DC directed all doctors and dentists to renew their
registration certificates under the PM&DC Act 2022 within six months (PM&DC). Check
your status first. Every later step asks for it, and an expired registration stalls everything.
2. Register with your provincial healthcare commission
Every clinic must be registered and licensed by the province's healthcare regulator. This
licence covers the premises, separate from your personal PMDC registration. In Punjab,
online registration with PHC is free and a GP clinic's five-year licence costs Rs10,000
(PHC). Start this as soon as you have premises, because registration and licensing take
weeks. See the province-by-province table below.
3. Plan your budget
List your one-time costs (advance rent, renovation, furniture, equipment, licence fee,
signboard) and your monthly costs (rent, salaries, utilities, consumables, software). Keep
at least three to six months of running costs in reserve, because a new clinic takes time to
build regular patients.
4. Choose the right location and premises
Look for visibility, parking and a ground floor or lift access for elderly patients. Before you
sign anything,
- check two things: Is medical use allowed at that address? In many residential areas, using a house or flat as a clinic needs commercial-use approval from the local development authority (such as LDA, CDA or KDA).
- Can the space meet your regulator's standards? You need a waiting area, a consultation room with privacy, a washroom, and space for waste storage
5. Set up the space and equipment
You need a consultation and examination area, a hand-washing point, a sharps box and
colour-coded waste bins, basic diagnostic equipment for your speciality, a fridge for any
vaccines or cold-chain medicines, a UPS for load-shedding, and a fire extinguisher.
Dispensing medicines? If you plan to run a pharmacy counter or medical store with the
clinic, you need a Drug Sale Licence from the district health authority (in Punjab, under
the Punjab Drug Sale Rules). Check with your district drug inspector before stocking
medicines.
6. Register for tax
Get an NTN if you don't have one and file your income tax return every year to stay on
FBR's Active Taxpayers List. Keep a receipt for every fee from day one. FBR has been
pushing POS e-invoicing for clinics in 2026, and clean billing records will make any future
requirement easy to meet.
7. Arrange medical waste disposal
Clinics produce sharps and infectious waste, and the rules apply to them too. Punjab's
Environmental Protection Department, for example, defines a "hospital" for waste
purposes to include clinics, labs and dispensaries (EPD Punjab). Segregate waste at
source, use a sharps box, and arrange regular collection by an authorised waste
contractor. Keep the receipts, because inspectors ask for them.
8. Put your systems in place before day one
Decide how you'll register patients, give appointments and walk-in tokens, keep records
and prescriptions, and bill. It is far easier to start a new clinic on a proper system than to
move a year of paper registers later. Inspectors will ask to see patient records, and
patients notice a clinic that knows their history.
9. Hire and train your staff
A small clinic usually starts with a receptionist and a nurse or dispenser. Keep copies of
their qualifications and training on file, because regulators check staff credentials. Train
the receptionist properly: they shape the patient's first impression and manage your
queue.
10. Launch and tell your neighbourhood
Create your Google Business Profile so patients find you on Maps, put a clear signboard
up with timings, and get a simple clinic web page with booking. Consider a soft launch
week to iron out problems before word spreads. Ask your first happy patients for a
Google review.
Which regulator licenses your clinic?
It depends on where the clinic is. Each province has its own healthcare regulator, and the
licence is for the premises, on top of your PMDC registration.
| Where | Regulator | What to know |
| Punjab | Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) | Free online registration; licence valid 5 years; GP clinic fee Rs10,000 (PHC) |
| Sindh | Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) | Online registration and licensing for private clinics, launched June 2025 through the Sindh Business One Stop Shop (Bloom Pakistan) |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | KP Health Care Commission | Over 21,000 facilities registered; 1,650 sealed in three months of inspections in late 2025 (APP) |
| Islamabad (ICT) | Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) | Licence forms published on IHRA's website |
| Balochistan | Balochistan Healthcare Commission | Registration form published by the provincial health department (form, PDF) |
Enforcement is real in every province. Regulators seal unregistered facilities in regular
drives, so register before you open, not after.
Opening-day checklist
Print this and tick it off in the week before you open.
Paperwork
- PMDC registration valid for every doctor
- Healthcare commission registration done (and licence applied for)
- Rent agreement or ownership papers, and commercial-use approval if needed
- NTN in place
- Waste collection arranged with an authorised contractor
- Drug Sale Licence, if you dispense medicines
- Staff qualification copies on file
Premises and equipment
- Waiting area with seating and a visible fee and timings board
- Consultation room with a curtain or door for privacy
- Hand-washing point, sharps box and colour-coded waste bins
- Examination couch and the core equipment for your speciality
- UPS or backup power for lights, computer and printer
- Fire extinguisher and a first-aid / emergency tray
Systems
- Patient registration and record system ready
- Appointment and walk-in token method decided
- Prescription format (printed, with Urdu dosage instructions)
- Receipt for every fee
- Google Business Profile live on Maps
Register or software: choose your system on day one
A new clinic is the cheapest moment to start on software. There is no backlog of paper
records to move, and your staff learn one way of working from the start.
| Task | Paper register | Clinic software |
| Find a returning patient's history | Flip through months of pages | Search by name or phone in seconds |
| Walk-in queue | Shouting names, "kis ka number hai?" | Numbered tokens in order |
| Prescriptions | Handwritten, hard to read | Printed, with dosage instructions in Urdu |
| Fees and daily total | Cash book, totalled at night | Receipt per patient, totals automatic |
| Inspection day | Hunting for missing pages | Records ready to show |
| Cost | Low upfront, high in staff time | Monthly fee |
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Frequently asked questions
What licences do I need to open a clinic in Pakistan?
You need valid PMDC registration for each doctor and a licence from your province's healthcare regulator for the premises. You also need an NTN for tax and an arrangement for medical waste disposal. If you dispense medicines, you need a Drug Sale Licence too.
Can I open a clinic in my house?
Often, but not automatically. In many residential areas, using a house as a clinic needs commercial-use approval from the local development authority, and the space must meet your healthcare regulator's standards. Check both before you spend money on renovation.
How long does it take to open a clinic?
Start the paperwork at least a month or two before your opening date. In Punjab, for example, PHC usually issues the registration certificate in about two weeks. You can then operate on a provisional licence while you meet the standards for a regular licence.
Do I need a clinic licence if I only practise in the evenings?
Yes. The licence is for the premises where you see patients, not for how many hours you work. An evening clinic needs the same registration as a full-time one.
Clinic kholne ke liye kaun se licence chahiye?
Har doctor ki PMDC registration valid honi chahiye, aur clinic ki jagah ke liye apne soobe ke healthcare commission (Punjab mein PHC) ka licence chahiye. Saath mein NTN aur medical waste ka intezam zaroori hai, aur agar dawaiyan dete hain to Drug Sale Licence bhi.
Kya ghar mein clinic khol sakte hain?
Aksar haan, lekin pehle check karein. Kai residential ilaqon mein development authority se commercial use ki ijazat chahiye hoti hai, aur jagah healthcare commission ke standards par poori utarni chahiye.