The official PMDC passing criteria
For MDCAT 2026 (180 MCQs, no negative marking), the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council sets the qualifying threshold at 55% for MBBS — that is 99 correct answers out of 180 — and 50% for BDS (90/180). Scoring below the threshold means you cannot be admitted to any HEC/PMDC-recognised medical or dental college that cycle, public or private.
In the 2025-26 cycle PMDC additionally allowed a one-time relaxation of up to 3% (52% MBBS / 47% BDS), applied only to seats still vacant after all standard-threshold candidates were placed. That relaxation did not change the standard pass mark and mainly affected lower-tier private-college seats. Treat 55% as the real floor.
Why passing is not the same as getting admitted
Admission is decided by your weighted aggregate, not by clearing the test. The standard PMDC formula is 10% Matric + 40% FSc + 50% MDCAT. Because MDCAT carries half the weight, a bare-pass score caps your aggregate hard:
- Matric 85% + FSc 78% + MDCAT 99/180 (55%) → aggregate ≈ 67% — no government college; second/third-tier private only
- Same academics + MDCAT 120/180 (66.7%) → aggregate ≈ 73% — mid-tier private MBBS / BDS range
- Same academics + MDCAT 150/180 (83.3%) → aggregate ≈ 81% — still short of the government cutoff
- Government-college reality: Punjab public colleges closed ≈93.5%–94.9% aggregate on the 2025-26 UHS final open-merit list
How many candidates actually pass?
Historically, roughly 55–65% of MDCAT candidates clear the MBBS qualifying mark in a given year, but only around the top 12% secure a public MBBS seat after aggregate weighting — Pakistan has ~18,000 public MBBS seats against 130,000+ candidates. The gap between 'passed' and 'placed' is the single most misunderstood number in Pakistani admissions.
What to do with each score band
- Below 99/180 — you cannot join MBBS/BDS this cycle. Consider allied health (DPT, Pharm-D, BS Nursing), a gap-year retake, or a Plan-B field from our career guides.
- 99–130/180 — eligible but government merit is out of reach. Shortlist private colleges early (their merit closes lower) and verify each college's PMDC recognition status.
- 130–160/180 — competitive for lower-band public colleges depending on your Matric/FSc, and strong for top private colleges. Run the exact aggregate before deciding where to spend application fees.
- 160+/180 — genuine government-college range. Compare your aggregate against last cycle's college-wise closing merits and order your preference list accordingly.