PM&DC Finalizes Arrangements for MDCAT 2026 Nationwide

Islamabad: (Staff Reporter) The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) has completed preparations for MDCAT 2026, which will be conducted simultaneously across the country on August 16.

According to officials, 136,081 candidates have registered to compete for nearly 22,000 seats in public and private medical and dental colleges nationwide.

The three-hour, 180-mark multiple-choice examination will begin at 10:00am on Sunday. PM&DC expects to announce the results by August 22.

The minimum qualifying score has been set at 55% for MBBS admissions and 50% for BDS admissions. Officials also confirmed that there will be no negative marking, while the answer key will be uploaded after the examination.

To enhance transparency, candidates will receive carbon copies of their answer sheets, enabling them to verify their responses after the test.

The University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore will conduct the examination in Punjab, Sukkur IBA will oversee the test in Sindh, and Khyber Medical University (KMU) will manage it in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In Sindh, more than 33,000 candidates will compete for 5,100 seats, including 2,300 MBBS and 2,800 BDS seats.

The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) has been assigned responsibility for candidates from Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Additional MDCAT centres have also been established in Islamabad for students from Balochistan and Azad Kashmir. The Bolan University of Medical Sciences will facilitate candidates from Balochistan at the new centre.

PM&DC advised students facing registration issues to contact the council, assuring that no eligible candidate from Azad Kashmir will be deprived of the opportunity to appear in MDCAT 2026.