MDCAT 2026: 138,160 candidates to appear in test tomorrow

The Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2026 will be held on Sunday, tomorrow, at examination centres in 34 cities across Pakistan and at one international centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) is conducting the test after it was rescheduled from August 16 to September 20 on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

A total of 138,160 candidates have registered for this year's test, according to the PMDC.

Punjab has the largest number of applicants, with 49,199 registrations. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows with 38,841, while 34,233 candidates have registered from Sindh. The number of registered candidates includes 9,923 from Balochistan, 2,761 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 1,721 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 1,245 from Islamabad.

Another 237 candidates will appear in the test at the Riyadh examination centre in Saudi Arabia.

The PMDC said that candidates in each province would receive question papers prepared separately for that province. At least two different versions of the paper have been prepared for every province to ensure the integrity of the examination.

Each question paper will contain 180 questions. Meanwhile, IBA Testing Services (STS) has announced a change in the identity document requirement for candidates appearing in MDCAT 2026.

Candidates will no longer be required to produce a Juvenile Card as a mandatory document at the examination centre. Those who do not have a Juvenile Card can instead bring their original Matric or Intermediate marksheet carrying their photograph, STS said.

The original photograph-bearing marksheet will be accepted as a valid identity document at the examination centre.