Check a Doctor Is Registered With PMDC in 2 Minutes, Free
Check any doctor or dentist on the PMDC register for free. We tested the search: type the number with its letter suffix to see status, expiry and degrees.
You can check any doctor or dentist in Pakistan for free at pmdc.pk. Type the registration number, with its letter suffix, into "Search Doctor by Registration Number". The result shows whether the licence is Active, its expiry date and the degrees PMDC has recorded.
A clinic board can say anything. A name, a string of letters after it, a "specialist" title. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) register is the one record the law treats as proof. We ran the PMDC doctor search ourselves on 1 October 2026 to see how it behaves, and we found two things that trip people up. Both are below.
On that day the PMDC counter showed 343,510 registered medical practitioners and 43,975 dentists, 387,485 in total. If your doctor is genuine, they are somewhere in that register.
The PMDC search shows status, expiry and degrees
The PMDC doctor search shows a doctor's registration number, name, father's name, registration type, status, registration date, licence expiry date and recorded qualifications. It is free, needs no account and works on a phone browser at pmdc.pk.
The search sits on the PMDC homepage under "Search for Doctors Online". PMDC says it lets you search the Practitioners Register "to see the License Validity and Registered Qualifications". You get three boxes: registration number, full name or father's name.
Once a result appears, press "View Details". That opens the full record. Here is what each field means in plain words.
| Field on PMDC | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Registration type | Provisional (house job stage) or Permanent |
| Status | Active, or "In Active" if the licence has lapsed |
| Valid upto | The date the current licence ends |
| Qualifications | Each degree, the university and the passing year |
| Registration date | When PMDC first registered the doctor |
Checking a doctor by registration number takes five steps
Ask for the registration number, open pmdc.pk, type the number exactly as printed, including the dash and letter, then open View Details. Match the name, father's name, status, expiry date and degrees against what the clinic claims.
- Get the number. Ask the clinic, or read it from the doctor's prescription pad or certificate on the wall. A genuine doctor will not mind.
- Open pmdc.pk. Scroll to "Search for Doctors Online".
- Type the full number. Include the dash and the letter, for example 12345-P. In our test, a number typed without its suffix returned nothing at all.
- Press View Details. Check that the name and father's name match.
- Read status, expiry and degrees. Status should say Active, and the "valid upto" date should be in the future.
Capital or small letters made no difference in our test. The dash and the letter did.
A name search can miss the right doctor
Searching by name is less reliable than searching by number. When we searched very common names such as Muhammad Ali, the result showed a single record, so a different doctor with the same name may not appear. Always use the registration number.
Pakistan has thousands of doctors who share a name. If the name search shows one Active doctor, that proves nothing about the person in front of you. The father's name helps, but the registration number is the only field that belongs to one person.
If a doctor refuses to give the number, treat that as your answer. Under section 38 of the PMDC Act, the register is a public document, so there is nothing secret about it.
Practising without registration is a crime under the PMDC Act
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act 2022, published in the Gazette on 16 January 2023, punishes practising without registration with six months to two years in jail, a fine of Rs 100,000 to Rs 200,000, or both.
We read the Act on PMDC's own site. Four sections matter to patients.
- Section 39. Falsely claiming to be registered, or using the word "doctor" without legal basis, can bring a fine up to Rs 100,000, jail up to six months, or both. It applies even if nobody was actually fooled.
- Section 40. Only a registered medical or dental practitioner may practise. The penalty is set out above.
- Section 43(2). A registered doctor may not display a title or qualification that is not recognised under the Act. So a "specialist" claim should match the degrees on the register.
- Section 41. These cases go to the Medical Tribunal, on a written complaint by PMDC's authorised officer. You report to PMDC, and PMDC takes the case forward.
Report a fake or lapsed doctor to PMDC
Report a doctor who is not on the register, or who claims degrees PMDC does not show, through PMDC's complaints portal or its helpline. For a clinic or hospital problem, the provincial healthcare commission is the right body instead.
PMDC's complaints portal is at complaints.pmdc.pk. You sign in with your email or CNIC, and you first need an account on PMDC's main portal. The homepage describes it as the place to complain of "professional negligence/misconduct against any licensed Doctor".
PMDC's helpline page lists these contacts:
- Call centre: 033-1100-6191, Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 9 pm.
- Head office: 051-9190000, then extension 601 for negligence cases or 103 for verification.
- Verification email: verification@pmdc.pk.
An "In Active" status is not always fraud. It can mean a doctor missed a renewal. Ask the doctor first. If they cannot show a current licence, stop treatment there and report it.
Complaints about the clinic itself, such as hygiene, wrong billing or refused records, go to the provincial body. In Punjab that means following the steps to complain against a hospital or doctor in Punjab. Medicines have their own register too: you can check a medicine is registered with DRAP using the number on the pack. In Islamabad, a separate bill on making doctors' fees public is still going through Parliament.
Common questions
Is the PMDC doctor search free?
Yes. It needs no login and no fee. It is on the pmdc.pk homepage.
Why does my doctor's number show no result?
The most common reason is a missing suffix. Type the dash and letter, such as 12345-P. If it still fails, ask the doctor to confirm the number.
What does "In Active" mean on PMDC?
It means the licence is not current. Often the renewal is overdue. A doctor should not practise on a lapsed licence.
Can I check a dentist on the same search?
Yes. Dentists are on the same PMDC register and the same search.
Does the PMDC search show a doctor's specialisation?
It shows recorded degrees, with the university and passing year. A specialist title should match a degree listed there.
Where do I complain about a fake doctor?
Use complaints.pmdc.pk or call PMDC on 033-1100-6191. PMDC takes cases to the Medical Tribunal.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked at 8:30 pm PKT on 1 October 2026. We ran the doctor search on pmdc.pk with sample names and registration numbers, which is how we found that a number without its suffix returns nothing and that a common name returned one record. We read the PMDC helpline page, the PMDC homepage counter and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act 2022 as published on PMDC's site (Gazette of Pakistan, 16 January 2023), sections 38 to 43. We did not file a complaint, so complaint handling times are not known to us.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
