Check Your MS, MD or FCPS Is PMDC Recognised Before You Enrol: The 1 October 2026 List
PMDC's 1 October 2026 list names every recognised MS, MD, MPhil and FCPS programme. Check your programme, hospital and university before you enrol, free.
Before you join an MS, MD, MPhil, diploma or FCPS programme, open PMDC's list of recognised Pakistani postgraduate qualifications, updated on 1 October 2026, and find your exact programme, hospital and awarding university on it. PMDC warns that anyone who enrolled after 16 January 2023 in a programme not on that list will not be registered for that qualification.
The list is a free 20 page PDF on pmdc.pk. We opened the 1 October 2026 version on 9 October and read it through. The main list runs to 1,747 numbered entries. A second block of 858 entries has been recommended to the federal health ministry for Gazette notification.
PMDC updated the recognised postgraduate list on 1 October 2026
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) keeps one list of Pakistani postgraduate medical and dental qualifications it recognises under section 25 of the PM&DC Act, 2022. The current file is dated 1 October 2026. It names each qualification, the teaching institute and the awarding university.
Recognition matters because PMDC says it will not consider an unlisted postgraduate qualification for registration. Years of training can end without the qualification being registered against your name.
The list has three parts, and you need to know which one your programme sits in.
| Part of the list | What it means | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Amnesty qualifications | Registered from seven institutions under an amnesty from 16 October 2020 to 27 September 2022, now lapsed | A short list |
| Main recognised list | Accredited or recognised; doctors can pursue careers in these specialties | 1,747 entries |
| Recommended for Gazette | Recommended by PMDC to the health ministry for Gazette notification | 858 entries |
The 16 January 2023 rule decides most cases
PMDC's caution at the top of the list is plain. Anyone who enrolled after 16 January 2023, the date PMDC gives for the promulgation of the PM&DC Act 2022, in a postgraduate programme not on the list "shall not be considered for PM&DC registration".
That makes the enrolment date the first thing to check. If you started before 16 January 2023, older rules may apply to your case, so write to PMDC with your admission letter. If you are starting now, the programme must be on the list, at that institute, under that university.
The amnesty part is closed. It covers MPhil, MS, master's and PhD qualifications from seven places: Times Institute in Multan, NUR International University in Lahore, Gomal University, the University of Faisalabad, Hazara University, Kohat University of Science and Technology, and the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The window ended on 27 September 2022. Nobody new can use it.
How to check your programme, step by step
The check takes about five minutes on a phone or laptop. You need the exact programme name, the hospital or college where you will train, and the university that will award the degree.
- Go to pmdc.pk and open the "Accreditation Standards" page under Publications.
- Press the link "Pakistani PG Qualifications". It opens the PDF dated 01.10.2026.
- Use your browser's search (Ctrl+F, or "Find in page" on a phone) for the programme, for example "MS - Orthopaedics".
- Go through every match and look for your hospital or college in the "Institute" column.
- Check the awarding university in the last column matches your admission letter.
- Note which part of the list the row is in: main list or recommended for Gazette.
- Save a copy of the PDF with the date, in case the list changes after you enrol.
All three columns must match. The same programme can be on the list at one hospital and missing at another. In the PDF, rows for one institute are grouped, and the institute name is printed once for a group, so read the rows above and below your match.
Who awards most recognised qualifications
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (CPSP) appears most often in the main list, on about 567 rows, for FCPS and MCPS training at named hospitals. The University of Health Sciences, Lahore, follows with about 274 rows of MD, MS and MPhil programmes.
| Awarding body | Rows in the main list (approximate) |
|---|---|
| College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan | 567 |
| University of Health Sciences, Lahore | 274 |
| Dow University of Health Sciences | 70 |
| King Edward Medical University | 47 |
| Khyber Medical University | 42 |
These counts are ours, taken from the PDF text, and are rounded because some rows wrap across lines. They show where training is concentrated. They do not rank quality.
If your programme is missing, or you studied abroad
If your programme, institute or university is not on the list, ask the university in writing to show PMDC's recognition letter for that exact programme at that site. Do not accept a verbal promise. Then confirm with PMDC before you pay fees.
Foreign postgraduate qualifications sit on a separate PMDC list called "Foreign PG Qualifications", on the same page. Use that one for a UK, US, Irish or Gulf degree.
Entry tests are a separate step from recognition. Punjab's UHS PGET on 25 October and the NUMS postgraduate admissions for Spring 2027 both lead to listed programmes, but check each seat's hospital anyway. Your basic licence is a different record, and you can check a doctor's PMDC registration by name or number.
Common questions
Where is PMDC's list of recognised postgraduate qualifications?
On pmdc.pk, under Publications, Accreditation Standards, as "Pakistani PG Qualifications". The current file is dated 1 October 2026.
What if I enrolled in an unlisted programme after 16 January 2023?
PMDC says that qualification will not be considered for registration. Contact PMDC and the university before continuing.
Is every FCPS programme recognised?
CPSP programmes are listed by specialty and by training hospital. Check that your specialty and your hospital appear together.
What does "recommended for Gazette notification" mean?
PMDC has recommended those 858 entries to the federal health ministry for notification in the Gazette of Pakistan, the government's official record.
Does the list cover foreign degrees?
No. PMDC keeps a separate list of notified foreign postgraduate qualifications on the same page.
Is the amnesty for unrecognised qualifications still open?
No. It ran from 16 October 2020 to 27 September 2022 and has lapsed.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 9 October 2026. We read the PDF "PM&DC Recognized/Accredited Pakistani Postgraduate Medical & Dental Qualifications Under Section 25 of PM&DC Act, 2022", dated 1 October 2026, linked from PMDC's accreditation standards page. Entry totals come from the list's own row numbers. Awarding body counts are our own approximate tally of the PDF text. We did not contact PMDC about individual cases.
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.
