Punjab Notifies MBBS and BDS Admission Policy 2026-27: Public Fee Rs 50,000 a Year
Punjab notified its MBBS and BDS policy on 14 October 2026: merit 50, 40, 10, Rs 50,000 public tuition, Rs 6 lakh private deposit 4,391 public seats. Read it.
Punjab has notified its MBBS and BDS admission policy for 2026-27. Merit is 50 per cent MDCAT, 40 per cent FSc and 10 per cent matric. Public college tuition is Rs 50,000 a year, and a private college seat needs a Rs 6 lakh deposit within three working days of the merit list.
The Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department signed the notification on 14 October 2026, after cabinet approval on 11 October. We opened the notification PDF on the University of Health Sciences (UHS) site on 15 October 2026 and read every page. The numbers below come from that document.
Punjab notified the 2026-27 admission policy on 14 October
The notification covers all public and private medical and dental colleges in Punjab. UHS Lahore is the admitting university and runs one central online process for both sectors. Each candidate applies separately for a medical or a dental programme.
The policy sets the merit formula, the pass marks, the eligibility rules, the fees and the seat counts. It does not give the application dates. Those will come from UHS and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), so watch the UHS website for the prospectus.
Merit is 50 per cent MDCAT, 40 per cent FSc and 10 per cent matric
The policy fixes merit at MDCAT 50 per cent, FSc Pre-Medical or equivalent 40 per cent and matric or equivalent 10 per cent. MBBS needs 55 per cent in MDCAT and BDS needs 50. An MDCAT result stays valid for three years.
This matches the formula we already explained when working out an MDCAT 2026 aggregate, so the worked examples there still hold. One line matters for Punjab residents: the policy says candidates with a Punjab domicile shall appear in the MDCAT of Punjab.
| Item | Rule in the notification |
|---|---|
| MDCAT weight | 50 per cent |
| FSc or equivalent weight | 40 per cent |
| Matric or equivalent weight | 10 per cent |
| MBBS pass mark | 55 per cent |
| BDS pass mark | 50 per cent |
| MDCAT validity | Three years from the test date |
You need MDCAT, 60 per cent in HSSC, and Biology and Chemistry
To be eligible you must pass MDCAT and hold an HSSC or equivalent 12th grade certificate recognised in Pakistan with at least 60 per cent marks. Biology and Chemistry are compulsory, and Physics or Mathematics must be one of your subjects.
If your certificate is foreign, such as an A level, the policy says an IBCC equivalence certificate is mandatory. The steps to get an IBCC equivalence certificate take time, so start before the application window opens. The policy also says marks for Hifz-e-Quran will not be granted for medical and dental admission.
Public tuition is Rs 50,000 a year and the private deposit is Rs 6 lakh
Open merit seats in public colleges carry tuition of Rs 50,000 per annum. A private college seat needs Rs 600,000 paid into the UHS account within three working days of the merit list. UHS also charges Rs 2,000 from each applicant.
The private deposit is part of the college fee. UHS passes it to the college after admissions close, and you pay the rest straight to the college, quarterly, six monthly or yearly under the PMDC policy of 2025. For the private fee ceiling itself, see the PMDC tuition fee cap for private medical colleges.
| Item | Amount | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| UHS application fee | Rs 2,000 | Every candidate |
| Public college tuition, open merit | Rs 50,000 a year | Selected candidate |
| Private college first deposit | Rs 600,000 | Selected candidate, within 3 working days |
| Overseas quota seat, public college | USD 10,000 a year | Overseas Pakistani on a quota seat |
An overseas Pakistani who wins an open merit seat pays the same fee as a Pakistani student. The USD 10,000 a year applies only to seats reserved for overseas Pakistanis, on a self finance basis under a PMDC notification of 21 March 2025.
Public college preferences are locked after the last date
For public colleges you must list every college in order of preference. Private colleges have no limit on choices. You can edit the list until the closing date, but the number and order cannot change afterwards. A college you leave out cannot admit you.
This is the rule most likely to cost someone a seat, so rank all public colleges with care. The steps below follow the policy in order.
- Apply on the UHS online portal and pay the Rs 2,000 fee.
- Apply separately for medical (MBBS) and dental (BDS) if you want both.
- Rank every public college, and any private colleges you want.
- Check each merit list when UHS displays it.
- Deposit the college fee within three working days of the list.
- Report in writing to the college by the due date.
- In a private seat, choose to keep it or to move up in the next list.
A seat counts as taken only when you both pay the fee and report to the college. Miss either step and the policy says you have no vested right to admission that year.
The policy lists 4,391 public seats and 5,500 private seats
Annex I lists 4,391 seats in public colleges: 4,051 for MBBS and 340 for BDS. Of these, 3,981 are open merit. Private colleges are listed at 4,400 MBBS seats and 1,100 BDS seats. The policy says these counts are indicative and depend on PMDC approval.
Open merit and the reserved seats for disabled students, Cholistan and under-developed districts need a domicile of any Punjab district. The other quotas, for Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, ex-FATA, Islamabad and Balochistan, are filled from applications on the UHS portal and checked by each government. Private colleges may reserve up to 15 per cent of seats for overseas Pakistanis and dual nationals.
Dates, closing merit and the number of lists are still unannounced
The notification gives no application dates, no dates for the merit lists and no closing merit. It says admissions finish after three or more merit lists, on the PMDC schedule, and that vacant seats are filled by moving candidates up on merit and preference.
Treat any date that circulates before UHS posts its prospectus as unconfirmed. If you hold an offer in a private college, you can also opt out of moving up at the time you join, and the policy says that choice is final. Students looking at other provinces can read the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MBBS and BDS admission rules for comparison.
Common questions about Punjab MBBS and BDS admission 2026-27
What is the merit formula for MBBS in Punjab in 2026-27?
Merit is 50 per cent MDCAT, 40 per cent FSc Pre-Medical or equivalent and 10 per cent matric or equivalent. The same formula applies to BDS, according to the 14 October notification.
How much is the tuition fee at a Punjab public medical college?
The notification fixes tuition at Rs 50,000 per annum for public MBBS and BDS seats. Seats for overseas and foreign quota candidates are excluded and are charged in US dollars.
How much must I deposit for a private medical college seat?
You must deposit Rs 600,000 in the UHS account within three working days of the merit list. Failing to do so withdraws the offer and the seat goes to the next candidate in merit.
Do I need a Punjab domicile?
Yes for open merit and for the reserved categories in public colleges. The policy requires the domicile of any Punjab district for those seats. Candidates with a Punjab domicile must sit the Punjab MDCAT.
Can I change my college preferences after applying?
You can edit them until the closing date of the online application. After that, neither the number nor the order can change, and a college you did not list cannot admit you.
Are Hafiz-e-Quran marks added?
No. The notification says Hifz-e-Quran marks will not be granted for medical and dental admission, citing the PMDC policy of 2025 and an order of a six member bench dated 4 April 2023.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 15 October 2026. We read the Government of the Punjab Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department notification No. SO(ME-II)2-1/2026, dated 14 October 2026, which the University of Health Sciences posts at uhs.edu.pk, including Annex I. Seat counts are marked indicative by the department. Application dates were not in the document. Confirm every date and fee on the UHS portal before you pay.
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.
