Has MDCAT 2026 been postponed?

Yes. PMDC rescheduled the exam from 16 August to Sunday, 20 September 2026 at 10:00 AM. The notice was published on the official PMDC website on 6 August 2026.

Are MDCAT 2026 admit cards available?

KMU admit cards are available for KP candidates and UHS admit cards are available for Punjab candidates. Candidates in other regions should check their conducting university's official page.

What should I bring to the MDCAT exam?

Your original photo ID (CNIC, NICOP, B-form, passport, FRC, or an original SSC/HSSC result card with photo — photocopies are not accepted), your printed admittance card on plain A4, a blank transparent clipboard, two blue ballpoint pens, and a small transparent water bottle. Carry a little cash for the NADRA biometric fee (around Rs 120–150) where it applies.

What time should I reach my MDCAT centre?

Centres open at 8:00 a.m. and gates seal at 9:00 a.m. sharp — after that no one is admitted under any circumstances. Plan to be inside the gate by 8:30; the paper itself runs 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Are mobile phones or smartwatches allowed in the MDCAT?

No. Any electronic or communication device — phone, smartwatch, smart band, earphones — counts as unfair means even if you never use it, and possession alone can end your attempt. Leave devices at home or with someone outside.

When does the MDCAT answer key come out?

The official answer key is posted the same day on the conducting university's site, and you keep the carbon copy of your answer sheet, so you can score yourself before the result — which typically follows within about a week.

MDCAT test day: what to bring and the rules

Q: Can I change an answer on the MDCAT answer sheet?

No. The OMR bubble sheet is marked in blue ballpoint and once a bubble is filled it cannot be changed — no erasers, no correction fluid, no overwriting. Fill each bubble completely and darkly; a faint or half-filled bubble reads as invalid.

Exam day has a lot of rules, and breaking one by accident — a phone in your pocket, the wrong pen, arriving at 9:05 — can end your attempt before the paper starts. This page lays out the conduct rules so none of that happens to you.

These rules come from the official MDCAT 2025 conduct guide published by UHS (the Punjab admitting university). PMDC has kept the same conducting universities and the same exam pattern for 2026, and these conduct rules are stable year to year — but always read the specific instructions printed on your own admittance card and your admitting university’s 2026 guide when they appear.

Update — 6 August: PMDC has rescheduled the exam from 16 August to 20 September 2026. KMU and UHS admit cards are available for KP and Punjab candidates. See the province-by-province admit-card tracker for official links and the status of all regions.

Your admittance card

Download your admittance card (roll-number slip) only through PMDC or your region’s conducting university. Start with our verified status guide rather than a link forwarded in a group.
KP candidates: KMU’s 2026 lookup is live and asks for your CNIC and an on-screen captcha. Other regions can use different lookup details, so follow the instructions on their own official page.
Print it on plain white A4 paper. A candidate who cannot show a printed admittance card is not allowed to sit — no exceptions.

Timing: the 9:00 a.m. gate is the one that matters

Centres open at 8:00 a.m.
Gates close and seal at 9:00 a.m. sharp. After that, no one is admitted “under any circumstances.”
The paper runs 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (3 hours).
So the hour from 9:00 to 10:00 is frisking, ID verification and form- filling — not wasted time. Plan to be inside the gate by 8:30. Missing the 9:00 seal is the single most common way capable students lose their attempt.

What to bring

Your original photo ID — CNIC, NICOP, B-form/Juvenile card, passport, Family Registration Certificate, or your original SSC/HSSC result card with your photo. Photocopies are not accepted.
Your printed admittance card.
A transparent clipboard, blank and unmarked.
Two blue ballpoint pens. Only blue ballpoints — no gel pens, markers, pencils, or ink/fountain pens.
A small transparent water bottle.

What you must NOT bring

Any of these can end your attempt as “unfair means” — even if you never use it, just having it on you counts:

Any electronic or communication device — mobile phone, smartwatch, smart band, earphones/Bluetooth, camera, pen drive, digital pen, pager.
Calculators, geometry boxes, log tables, rulers, extra stationery.
Books, notes, or any printed/written material other than your admittance card and ID.
Bags, wallets, jewellery, caps, goggles.

Leave devices at home or with someone outside — centres have jammers and metal detectors, and there is nowhere safe to “just switch it off” in your pocket.

Identity and biometric check

Every candidate is frisked, identity-verified and seated by roll number between 9:00 and 10:00 (sitting in the wrong seat cancels your candidature). Where NADRA biometric verification is required, you pay a small cash fee (around Rs 120–150) to the NADRA staff at the centre — carry a little cash for this.

The answer sheet and your carbon copy

This is the part students most often don’t know, and it matters:

You mark answers on a printed OMR bubble sheet (a “Response Form”) in blue ballpoint. It’s a double sheet: your marks press through onto a lower carbon copy.
At the end you hand in the upper sheet (and the first page of the question paper) and you keep the lower carbon copy and the rest of the question paper.
That carbon copy is your record. When the official answer key is published the same day, you can score yourself against it before the result is declared.

Marking rules: fill the bubble completely and darkly, one bubble per question. Once marked it cannot be changed — no erasers, no correction fluid, no overwriting. A faint or half-filled bubble is read as invalid by the machine.

The paper itself

180 MCQs in 180 minutes — about one minute per question. Keep moving; don’t sink five minutes into one item.
No negative marking. A wrong answer costs nothing and a blank earns nothing, so never leave a question empty — mark your best guess.
Papers come in codes A, B, C, D — the same questions in a different order, to prevent copying. See our exam format guide for the subject split and difficulty mix.

Unfair means: what it costs

The rules define unfair means broadly — possessing a barred item, impersonation, tampering with the answer sheet or question paper, or falsifying your carbon copy to dispute a score. The consequence is immediate: the exam is cancelled, and cases can lead to disqualification and legal action. In past KP years, cheating has led to multi-year test bans and police cases (FIRs). It is not worth the risk — carry nothing you should not.

After the exam

The official answer key is posted the same day on the university’s site, and the result typically follows within about a week. For the KP process specifically — where to check, and how retotalling works — see our result-checking guide.