Final preparations for the MDCAT 2026 have been completed, with thousands of medical college aspirants set to appear in the entrance test on Sunday, September 20.
The examination will be conducted at centres in 34 cities across Pakistan, while an additional international centre has been established in Riyadh. As many as 138,160 candidates have registered for the test nationwide.
Punjab has the highest number of registered candidates at 49,199, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 38,841 and Sindh with 34,233. Balochistan has 9,923 candidates, while 2,761 are registered from Azad Kashmir, 1,721 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 1,245 from Islamabad. The Riyadh centre has 237 registered candidates.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) stated that approximately 8,000 questions were compiled for the MDCAT question bank with contributions from experts representing around 80 academic disciplines. Separate question papers have been prepared for each province, with at least two sets developed for every province.
Each paper will comprise 180 questions. The PMDC clarified that the respective universities may retain the question papers once the examination has concluded. While the provincial authorities and designated universities are responsible for administering the test, the PMDC oversees the examination framework, procedures and standards under its statutory mandate.
The Sindh Testing Service has also issued instructions for candidates ahead of the examination. The MDCAT will begin on September 20 and will have a duration of three hours.
Students have been directed to follow all examination rules strictly. After entering the examination phase, candidates must remain in their designated seats until the test is over and will not be allowed to leave the examination centre or their seats before the prescribed time expires.
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