MDCAT 2026 to be held across Pakistan, Riyadh on Sept 20: PMDC

Separate provincial question papers feature 180 questions with multiple versions for fairness, says PMDC

Web Desk

Published September 19, 2026

In this file photo, candidates appear in the entry test for MBBS/BDS session 2020 conducted by the National University of Medical Sciences in Rawalpindi. — APP/File

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) will conduct the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2026 on Sunday, September 20, across 34 cities in Pakistan and at an international examination centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The examination was originally scheduled for August 16 but was postponed to September 20 at the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who instructed the relevant authorities to conduct a more transparent and organised admission test.

According to the PMDC, a total of 138,160 candidates have registered for the examination nationwide. Punjab has the highest number of registered candidates with 49,199, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 38,841 and Sindh with 34,233.

The council said 9,923 candidates have registered in Balochistan, while 2,761 candidates are registered in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 1,721 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 1,245 in Islamabad. A further 237 candidates have registered to take the examination at the Riyadh centre in Saudi Arabia.

The PMDC said separate question papers have been prepared for each province, with at least two different papers designed for every province. Each paper comprises 180 questions.