PMDC NRE Step 1 2026 is the theory paper foreign medical graduates must pass before they can register to practise medicine in Pakistan. It is 200 MCQs in 3 hours 30 minutes, with no negative marking and a pass mark of 60 percent in each step. The 8 November 2026 sitting has passed.
PMDC NRE Step 1 2026: who sits it and who runs it
PMDC NRE Step 1 2026 is run by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council under the PMDC Act 2022, and conducted by the National University of Medical Sciences, NUMS, in Rawalpindi. It is for Pakistani nationals who studied medicine abroad and want full registration to practise in Pakistan. Graduates of Pakistani medical colleges do not sit the NRE. The exam is held at least twice a year. If you studied abroad, check your eligibility on the PMDC notice for your session before you book travel or study leave, because the eligibility rules and the list of recognised institutions can change.
The NRE was formerly called the National Licensing Examination, or NLE. You will still see both names online, and some older pages use NLE for the same exam. Do not let the two names confuse you. The structure in this guide, 200 MCQs in Step 1 and a 20 station OSCE in Step 2, is the current NRE structure from the PMDC syllabus and recent PMDC notices. If a page you read gives a different structure, check its date and check it against pmdc.pk.
Step 1 pattern in full
Step 1 is a computer based theory paper of 200 single best answer MCQs. Sixty questions come from applied basic sciences, which is 30 percent of the paper, and 140 come from clinical sciences, which is 70 percent. You get 3 hours 30 minutes, which works out to just over one minute per question. There is no negative marking, so answer every question. A blank answer scores the same as a wrong answer, zero, so a guess costs you nothing and can gain you a mark.
The clinical share is where most of the paper lives, so your revision should follow the same split. Spend most of your time on clinical vignettes: a short case, a few findings, and a question about the most likely diagnosis, the next investigation, or the best first step in care. Basic science questions in this paper are applied, not pure recall. They ask how a basic science fact changes what you do for a patient, so revise them through cases, not through lists alone.
| Part | Questions | Share | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied basic sciences | 60 | 30 percent | Part of 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Clinical sciences | 140 | 70 percent | Part of 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Step 1 total | 200 | 100 percent | 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Step 2 | 20 stations | OSCE | Clinical skills exam |
The pass mark: 60 percent, and the older 70 percent figure
The pass mark is a point where sources disagree, so read this part with care. The newer PMDC and NUMS based source, Tigertest, citing PMDC and NUMS, says the pass mark is 60 percent in each step, with no negative marking. PMDC press releases since 2024 also give 60 percent for both steps. Older pages still say 70 percent, and that figure comes from a 2023 syllabus document. The newer source says 60 percent, and that is the figure this guide uses, but you should confirm it in the PMDC notice for your own session before you plan around it.
Do not treat 60 percent as a low bar. Sixty percent of 200 questions is 120 correct answers, and the clinical vignettes are written to test judgment, not recall. A candidate who only memorised facts will struggle. A candidate who practised cases, read the question stem twice, and ruled out the wrong options will do far better. Aim well above the pass mark in your mock tests, because exam day nerves and a few hard questions will pull your score down from your practice average.
Step 2: the 20 station OSCE
Step 2 is a clinical skills exam, run as an OSCE with 20 stations. You can only sit Step 2 after passing Step 1. A Step 1 pass stays valid for five years, and you must clear Step 2 within that time. The OSCE tests what Step 1 cannot: how you take a history, examine a patient, explain a plan, and carry out a basic clinical task safely. Each station has a set task and a set time, and you move from station to station until the circuit is done.
One detail to confirm in the notice for your session is the rule on mandatory stations in Step 2. The PMDC syllabus says you must pass all three mandatory stations in Step 2, as well as reaching 60 percent overall in the step. That rule matters, because a strong overall score does not save a candidate who fails a mandatory station. When you prepare, find out which stations are mandatory for your session and give them extra practice time.
What the syllabus covers
The syllabus follows the MBBS curriculum in Pakistan. Clinical sciences cover medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and the shorter clinical subjects, with questions built around common presentations. Applied basic sciences cover anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, pharmacology, and microbiology, tied to clinical cases. You do not need to revise every rare disease. You need to know the common ones well, and you need to know the first step when a patient is unwell.
A simple weekly plan for the next sitting
Give yourself a fixed number of questions per day, not a fixed number of hours. Questions with explanations teach faster than hours of reading. A workable week is 100 to 150 MCQs a day, split across two subjects, with one timed full paper each week. Review every wrong answer the same day, while the question is still fresh in your mind. Keep one day a week for revision only, with no new questions, so the older topics get a second pass.
For Step 2, practise with a partner from the start, not only in the last month. Take turns as the candidate and the patient. Practise a full history in under ten minutes, a focused examination, and a clear closing line that tells the patient what happens next. Record yourself once a week if you can, and watch for mumbled findings, missing safety checks, and long pauses. Those small habits cost marks at more stations than a gap in knowledge does.
Dates: what has passed and what to watch for
The most recent sitting per the PMDC notice of 5 October 2026 was 8 November 2026, and that date has already passed by the time you read this on 11 November 2026. Do not plan around 8 November as a future date. The next sitting has not been given a date in the sources used for this guide. Watch pmdc.pk for the next notice, and check the NUMS pages linked from it. The NRE is held at least twice a year, so a new notice should follow, but this guide does not guess its date.
How to use Ominsol for NRE preparation
Ominsol is built for MBBS students, and its tools fit NRE revision well. Textbook chat can answer a stuck topic with a cited answer from your own book, so you can check a fact without leaving your desk. AI MCQs give you practice questions from your own material, with explanations that show why the right answer is right. Flashcards on a spaced schedule bring a topic back just before you would forget it, which is how long term recall is built.
Start with the method, not the tool. Read our guide to NLE Pakistan preparation in your final year for the study habits that carry over to the NRE, and see how Ominsol is set up for NLE preparation in Pakistan. For the flashcard schedule itself, read spaced repetition for MBBS and the 1-4-7 flashcard rule. You can also try the platform at Ominsol, and read its NLE Pakistan exam preparation guide for final year students for a fuller plan.
The bottom line for the next sitting
PMDC NRE Step 1 2026 is 200 MCQs, 60 basic and 140 clinical, in 3 hours 30 minutes, with no negative marking and a pass mark of 60 percent in each step, on the newer PMDC and NUMS based source. Step 2 is a 20 station OSCE, to be cleared within five years of passing Step 1. The 8 November 2026 sitting has passed, so plan for the next one: cases first, timed papers every week, and Step 2 practice with a partner from the start. Confirm the pass mark and the next date on pmdc.pk before you apply.