Author: Dr SMH Nadir, NHS Consultant

The MCCQE format since April 2025 is 230 multiple-choice questions in two sections of 115, with up to 2 hours 40 minutes for each section and an optional 45-minute break between them. There are no clinical decision-making (CDM) questions any more. The whole appointment at the Prometric test centre lasts about 6.5 hours, including check-in and a short tutorial.

This guide covers how the exam is laid out, what the questions look like, how the MCC decides which topics appear, and how to use that blueprint to plan your study.

Exam information checked against mcc.ca on 1 November 2026. The MCC can change the exam, so check the linked MCC pages before you book.

MCCQE format at a glance

Sources: MCC MCCQE exam page, Exam day, Multiple-choice questions and Results.

Does the MCCQE still have CDM?

No. The MCC removed the short-menu and short-answer write-in questions, which made up the clinical decision-making component, when it introduced the new exam model in April 2025. Clinical decision-making is still tested, but through multiple-choice questions. The MCC also gave candidates more time per question and shortened the overall appointment.

Because the format changed, the MCC says scores from before 2025 cannot be compared directly with scores from 2025 onwards. Our guide to the MCCQE pass score explains the new scale.

How many questions are on the MCCQE?

There are 230 questions, 115 in each section. Some of them are pilot questions (the MCC also calls them pre-test items) that it is trying out for future exams. They do not look any different, so treat every question as if it counts.

Candidates in the same session may also see different versions, or “forms”, of the exam. The MCC builds each form to the same specifications and then adjusts statistically for small differences in difficulty, so scores can be compared fairly across forms.

How long is the MCCQE?

Each section allows up to 2 hours 40 minutes, so the exam itself is up to 5 hours 20 minutes. With check-in, the tutorial, the security video and the optional break, the MCC describes the appointment as about 6.5 hours.

• The break. The optional 45-minute break starts when you submit the first section. You must leave the exam room, and you can use your phone, food and drinks. If you return early you do not gain extra exam time.
• Unscheduled breaks. You can take them, but the exam clock keeps running.
• Time warnings. You get warnings at 30, 15 and 5 minutes before the end of each section.
• Notes. You can write notes on a dry erase board at the test centre.

What do MCCQE questions look like?

Each question is a short clinical case followed by a single question, such as “What is the most likely diagnosis?” or “What is the next best step?”. You choose one answer from three to five options. One option is the best answer and the others are distractors.

• Images and data. Some questions include photographs, diagrams, radiographs, electrocardiograms or tables.
• Lab values. When they are relevant, normal lab values are given in the question. The MCC publishes its list of normal lab values, so practise reading results against it.
• Navigation. You can move freely between questions inside a section, flag questions and come back to them. Once you submit a section, you cannot return to it.
• Answering. There is no penalty for a wrong answer and unanswered questions are marked incorrect, so answer every question before you submit.

The MCC shows a sample question on its multiple-choice questions page and offers free practice questions, which are worth doing early to get used to the style.

The MCCQE blueprint: where the marks are

Every form of the exam is built to the same blueprint. The content comes from the MCC Examination Objectives, which are organized under the CanMEDS roles. Each question is classified on two axes: the dimension of care it involves and the physician activity it tests.

Source: blueprint grid on the MCC MCCQE exam page, read 1 November 2026.

On a 230-question exam, those shares work out to roughly 80 acute care questions, about 100 assessment and diagnosis questions, and about 23 each on communication and professional behaviours. These are approximate, because each share can move by up to 5 percentage points between forms.

The same eight domains appear as subscores in your results report, so this is also how your feedback will be organized if you need to write the exam again.

Blueprint domains are not the same as disciplines

Most question banks and textbooks are organized by discipline: medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and population health, ethics, law and organization of care (PHELO). The blueprint is organized differently. A single pediatrics question can be acute care and management at the same time, and a question on consent can sit in any discipline.

That has two practical consequences.

• Cover every discipline, then check the blueprint. Use disciplines to make sure you have covered the content, then check that your practice includes enough acute presentations, enough “next best step” management questions, and enough communication and professional questions.
• Do not leave Canadian law and ethics to the end. Professional behaviours and communication are 20% of the exam between them, and health promotion and illness prevention is another 20%. These are the areas where international graduates most often meet unfamiliar Canadian rules.

For reference, our MCCQE question bank has 3,310 questions organized by discipline: 1,084 in medicine, 495 in surgery, 480 in pediatrics, 468 in obstetrics and gynecology, 405 in PHELO and 378 in psychiatry. Each question is tagged to the MCC objectives. That is a discipline split, not a blueprint split, so we suggest using it alongside the blueprint table above rather than instead of it.

How to prepare for the current format

• Practise at exam pace. About 1 minute 23 seconds a question. Do timed blocks of 115 well before exam day.
• Write at least one full mock. Two sections of 115, with a break, under exam conditions. Stamina is part of the test.
• Use resources written for the current exam. Anything that teaches CDM technique or quotes a pass score of 226 is out of date.
• Study Canadian sources. Screening, immunization, first-line treatment, law and ethics follow Canadian guidance on this exam.

When you are ready to pick a session, our MCCQE 2027 exam dates guide lists every session with booking and results dates.

Frequently asked questions

Does the MCCQE still have CDM questions?

No. Since April 2025 the MCCQE has been multiple-choice only. The MCC removed the short-menu and short-answer write-in questions and now assesses clinical decision-making through multiple-choice questions.

How many questions are on the MCCQE?

230 multiple-choice questions in two sections of 115. Some are pilot questions the MCC is trying out, and they look the same as the others.

How long is the MCCQE?

Each section allows up to 2 hours 40 minutes, with an optional 45-minute break between them. Including check-in and a tutorial, the MCC describes the appointment as about 6.5 hours.

Is there negative marking on the MCCQE?

No. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, and unanswered questions are marked incorrect, so answer every question.

What does the MCCQE blueprint cover?

Two axes. Dimensions of care: health promotion and illness prevention 20%, acute 35%, chronic 30%, psychosocial 15%. Physician activities: assessment and diagnosis 45%, management 35%, communication 10%, professional behaviours 10%, each plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Sources

• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE (format, delivery and blueprint grid)
• Medical Council of Canada, Exam day (timing, breaks and navigation)
• Medical Council of Canada, Multiple-choice questions (options, images, lab values, pilot questions, no penalty)
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE results (2025 changes and score scale)
• Medical Council of Canada, Score interpretation (exam forms)
• Medical Council of Canada, List of normal lab values
• Medical Council of Canada, Examination Objectives

If you failed the MCCQE, you can apply to write it again, up to a maximum of four attempts in total. The only waiting period the MCC lists comes after a third attempt: you must wait one year from that result before you can apply for the fourth. The most useful thing you have right now is your Supplemental Information Report, because it shows which parts of the exam pulled your score down.

This guide explains what your two results documents tell you, how to read your subscores without over-reading them, how to choose your next session, and how to turn your weakest domains into a six-week study plan.

Exam information checked against mcc.ca on 1 November 2026. The MCC can change its policies, dates and fees, so check the linked MCC pages before you apply.

What happens after you fail the MCCQE?

You receive two documents in your physiciansapply.ca account:

• Statement of Results. Your final result, your total score and the pass score of 439. The total is on a scale from 300 to 600.
• Supplemental Information Report. Your subscores for each domain of the exam, shown as a chart, with a comparison to other candidates.

Your fail counts as one of your four attempts. The MCC counts an attempt as soon as you start the exam, even if you do not finish. A “No Standing” does not count, but a fail or a “Denied Standing” does. Attempts made before 2018 do not count towards the limit.

How many times can you take the MCCQE?

Source: MCC Eligibility and application, “limited exam attempts” section, 1 November 2026.

Because you only have four attempts, the question to ask is not “how soon can I rewrite?” but “how soon can I be ready?”. Rebooking the next available date without changing how you study is the most common way to lose a second attempt.

Something went wrong on exam day?

If an illness, a family emergency or a problem at the test centre affected your exam, you may be able to ask for a reconsideration. The rules are strict:

• You must have reported the incident to the MCC through physiciansapply.ca within 7 days of your exam.
• You must send your reconsideration request within 15 calendar days of receiving your result.
• The only possible outcomes are no change, or a “No Standing”, which does not count as an attempt. The MCC cannot award a pass or extra marks, and you cannot ask for a reconsideration because of the exam’s content.

You do not have to wait for the outcome before applying to write again.

How to read your MCCQE subscores

Your Supplemental Information Report shows a subscore for each of the eight domains in the MCC blueprint. Four describe the type of care and four describe what the doctor is doing.

Source: MCC MCCQE exam page (blueprint grid). Each weighting can vary by plus or minus 5 percentage points between versions of the exam.

Read the chart with two cautions from the MCC itself:

• Subscores are less reliable than your total. They are based on far fewer questions, so a small difference between two domains may be noise. The MCC describes them as formative feedback on relative strengths and weaknesses.
• Look for clear gaps, not small ones. A domain well below your others is a signal. Two domains a few points apart are not.

Then weigh each gap by how much of the exam it covers. A weak Acute subscore (35% of the exam) costs you more marks than an equally weak Communication subscore (10%). Assessment and diagnosis alone is close to half the exam.

Turn each weak domain into a study block

The table below translates each domain into what it usually means in practice and what to change. Pick your two or three weakest domains, weighted by their share of the exam, and build your plan around them.

The MCC has said that international graduates “can struggle to understand Canadian cultural expectations and professional ethics”. If your Communication or Professional behaviours subscores are low, treat that as a content gap to study, not as a personality problem.

A six-week retake plan

Six weeks is a sensible block for a focused retake, and the plan stretches easily to eight or twelve. It assumes you already covered the full syllabus before your first attempt. If you did not, add four weeks of broad review at the start.

Worked example

A candidate fails with clear gaps in Management and Professional behaviours, and an Acute subscore slightly below the rest. Management is 35% of the exam and Professional behaviours is 10%, so Management leads.

• Week 1: “next best step” questions across medicine, surgery and pediatrics.
• Week 2: acute care, because it is a large share and slightly low.
• Week 3: Canadian law and ethics, including consent, capacity, confidentiality and reporting duties.
• Weeks 4 to 6: timed mixed blocks, one full mock and a final review, as in the plan above.

Choosing your next session

The 2027 sessions run from 19 January to 11 February, from 27 April to 1 June, from 10 August to 7 September and from 5 October to 26 October. You must apply again through physiciansapply.ca and have that application accepted before you can book. The MCC asks you to allow up to 4 weeks for processing.

If you received your result on 18 November 2026, the January 2027 session starts about nine weeks later. You would need a new application accepted and an appointment still free, so January suits only candidates who were close to the pass score. April 2027 gives you a full study block and booking for it should open around Friday 27 November 2026. Our MCCQE 2027 exam dates guide has every booking and results date.

If this was your third attempt, the one-year wait applies before your fourth. Use the year to study the domains your three reports have in common, and write only when your practice scores are consistently comfortable.

What changes your result next time

• Do questions, then study your errors. Reading notes feels productive but does not train the decisions the exam tests. Keep an error log and review it weekly.
• Practise at exam pace. 115 questions in 2 hours 40 minutes is about 1 minute 23 seconds each. If you ran out of time, timed blocks are part of your plan, not an extra.
• Study Canadian guidance, not general medicine. Screening ages, first-line treatments, law and ethics follow Canadian sources on this exam.
• Answer every question. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, and the MCC marks unanswered questions as incorrect.

Frequently asked questions

How many times can you take the MCCQE?

Up to four times. A fail or a Denied Standing counts as an attempt, a No Standing does not, and attempts before 2018 do not count. After a third attempt you must wait one year from that result before applying for the fourth.

How soon can I retake the MCCQE after failing?

The MCC lists a waiting period only after a third attempt. Before that, you can apply again once you have your result, but you need a new application accepted in physiciansapply.ca, which can take up to 4 weeks, before you can book a session.

What is the MCCQE pass rate for repeat candidates?

In 2024, 41% of international medical graduates and 83% of Canadian graduates passed on a repeat attempt (MCC Annual Technical Report 2024, Table 10). These figures are from the exam before the 2025 changes.

Are MCCQE subscores reliable?

Less reliable than the total score. The MCC says subscores are based on much less data and are given as formative feedback on relative strengths and weaknesses, so look for clear gaps between domains rather than small differences.

Can I appeal an MCCQE fail?

You can request a reconsideration only if an exam day incident, such as illness or a test centre problem, was reported to the MCC within 7 days of the exam, and you apply within 15 days of your result. The outcome is either no change or a No Standing, never a pass.

Sources

• Medical Council of Canada, Eligibility and application (attempt limit, waiting period, processing time)
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE results (Statement of Results and Supplemental Information Report)
• Medical Council of Canada, Score interpretation (subscores)
• Medical Council of Canada, Reconsideration and appeal
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE (blueprint)
• Medical Council of Canada, Exam day and Multiple-choice questions
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE scheduling
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE Part I Annual Technical Report 2024 (PDF), Table 10
• Medical Council of Canada news, Webinar: preparing for practice in Canada (4 February 2026)

The MCCQE exam dates for 2027 are four sessions: Tuesday 19 January to Thursday 11 February, Tuesday 27 April to Tuesday 1 June, Tuesday 10 August to Tuesday 7 September, and Tuesday 5 October to Tuesday 26 October. You book a single day inside one of those windows at a Prometric test centre. Booking for each session opens about 5 months before it starts, so April 2027 appointments should open around Friday 27 November 2026.

This guide lists every 2027 session with its booking and results dates, explains how the 12-month eligibility window works, and helps you choose the session that fits your study time and your residency plans.

Exam information checked against mcc.ca on 1 November 2026. The MCC says its dates are subject to change, so check the linked MCC pages before you book anything.

MCCQE 2027 exam dates at a glance

*Estimates. The exam windows are from the MCC scheduling page. The MCC announced on its news page that January 2027 booking opened on 26 August 2026. The other booking dates are 5 months before each session starts, and the results dates apply the MCC’s rule of 4 weeks after the last day of the session (5 weeks for April). The MCC does not publish these as calendar dates, so treat them as close estimates and watch MCC news for the exact day.

When is the next MCCQE?

The next MCCQE session is January 2027, from Tuesday 19 January to Thursday 11 February. Booking for it opened in August 2026, so popular test centres may already be full. If you cannot find a January date, the next session is April 2027, which runs from Tuesday 27 April to Tuesday 1 June.

The 2026 sessions ran from 20 January to 17 February, from 22 April to 30 May, and from 19 August to 21 October. The MCC combined the August and October 2026 sessions into one extended session and is releasing its results in three batches. The last batch covers exams written from 30 September to 21 October 2026, and those results are due 4 weeks after 21 October, which is Wednesday 18 November 2026.

How MCCQE booking works

Booking is a two-step process, and the first step is the slow one.

1. Apply to the MCC. You apply through your physiciansapply.ca account and pay the exam fee, which is CA$1,500 on the MCC fees page at the time of writing. The MCC asks you to allow up to 4 weeks for your documents and application to be processed. You will get a message in your account when you are eligible.
2. Book with Prometric. Once you are eligible, you book your appointment on the Prometric website. Appointments open about 5 months before a session starts and are only available inside the session windows. The MCC does not book or change appointments for you.

The MCC also says it cannot guarantee you a date in a particular session. If you have a deadline, such as a residency application, it recommends taking the exam early enough to allow for problems.

Your 12-month eligibility window

When your application is accepted, you get a 12-month eligibility window to book and write the exam. The window closes after 12 months, or earlier if you write the exam, withdraw or miss your appointment. You can extend it once, by another 12 months, but only when it is within 60 days of expiring. If your window runs out without an exam or an extension, the MCC withdraws you and gives a partial refund.

Students work differently. You can apply up to 15 months before your expected graduation date, and your window starts 12 months before that date.

Can you write the MCCQE online?

No. The MCCQE is now delivered only in person, at Prometric test centres in Canada and in more than 70 other countries. Remote proctoring is no longer offered. Plan for a long day at the centre: the MCC describes each appointment as 6.5 hours, which covers check-in, a tutorial, two sections of 2 hours 40 minutes each and an optional 45-minute break.

Changing or cancelling your appointment

You reschedule or cancel on the Prometric website, and the fee depends on how close you are to your exam.

Source: MCC scheduling page, 1 November 2026. You cannot make changes online in the last 120 hours before your appointment.

Which 2027 session should you choose?

The right session depends on three things: how much study time you need, when you need your result, and how many attempts you can afford to use. The MCC allows a maximum of four attempts, and a fail counts as one, so booking a session you are not ready for has a real cost.

If you are aiming for a CaRMS match, check the CaRMS timeline for your match year before you pick a session. As an example of how the timing works, the MCC says every candidate in the August to October 2026 session will have a result in time for the 2027 R-1 Main Residency Match.

How long does it take to get MCCQE results?

Results come 4 weeks after the last day of the January, August and October sessions, and 5 weeks after the last day of the April session. The wait is counted from the end of the session, not from the day you wrote, so a candidate who writes on the first day of a session waits longer than one who writes on the last day.

You will get an email and a message in physiciansapply.ca when your result is ready. Two documents follow: a Statement of Results with your final result, your total score and the pass score, and a Supplemental Information Report with your subscores. Our guide to the MCCQE pass score explains what the numbers mean.

Add the 2027 dates to your calendar

We have put every 2027 exam window, estimated booking date and estimated results date into one calendar file that works with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook. Download the MCCQE 2027 calendar (.ics). The booking and results entries are marked as estimates, so check MCC news when each one comes close.

Planning your study around the date

Most candidates plan backwards from the session they book. Two practical points help whatever session you choose.

• Study to the blueprint, not the textbook. The MCC weights the exam by dimension of care and by physician activity. Acute care is 35% of the exam, and population health, ethics, law and organization of care topics run through all of it. Our guide to the MCCQE pass score includes the full blueprint table.
• Book the exam before you lose momentum. A booked date turns a vague plan into a weekly one. If you are not ready, moving your appointment more than 30 days ahead costs much less than a late change.

Frequently asked questions

When is the next MCCQE?

The next MCCQE session runs from Tuesday 19 January to Thursday 11 February 2027. After that, the April 2027 session runs from Tuesday 27 April to Tuesday 1 June 2027. The MCC says its dates are subject to change.

When can I book the April 2027 MCCQE?

Appointments open about 5 months before a session starts, which for April 2027 is around Friday 27 November 2026. The MCC announces the exact day on its news page. You must have an accepted application in physiciansapply.ca before you can book.

When are MCCQE results released in 2027?

Results come 4 weeks after the last day of the January, August and October sessions and 5 weeks after the April session. That gives about Thursday 11 March, Tuesday 6 July, Tuesday 5 October and Tuesday 23 November 2027.

Can I write the MCCQE online from home?

No. The MCCQE is delivered in person at Prometric test centres in Canada and more than 70 other countries. Remote proctoring is no longer offered.

How much does the MCCQE cost?

The MCC fees page listed the MCCQE application fee as CA$1,500 on 1 November 2026. Prometric charges extra if you reschedule or cancel, and the MCC says all its fees are subject to change.

Sources

• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE scheduling (2026 and 2027 session dates, booking, changes and fees)
• Medical Council of Canada, Eligibility and application (processing time, eligibility window, attempt limit)
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE results (results timing and the August to October 2026 batches)
• Medical Council of Canada, Exam day (appointment length and breaks)
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE (delivery in Canada and over 70 countries)
• Medical Council of Canada, Fees
• Medical Council of Canada, News (booking announcements)

The MCCQE pass score is 439, on a scale that runs from 300 to 600. It has applied to every session since April 2025, when the exam became multiple-choice only. A total score of 439 or higher is a pass, whatever other candidates score in your session. The old pass score of 226 belongs to the exam as it ran up to October 2024 and no longer applies.

This guide explains how the score works, why you cannot turn it into a percentage, what a good score looks like, when 2027 results come out, and what the Medical Council of Canada’s own figures say about pass rates for Canadian and international medical graduates.

Exam information checked against mcc.ca on 1 November 2026. The MCC can change dates and fees, so check the linked MCC pages before you book anything.

What is the MCCQE pass score?

The MCCQE pass score is 439. The MCC reports your total score on a scale from 300 to 600, with a mean of 450 and a standard deviation of 30. It fixed that mean and standard deviation using the April 2025 results, then set the pass score through a standard-setting exercise in July 2025. The pass score stays at 439 until the MCC runs its next standard-setting exercise.

Passing depends only on reaching 439. There is no curve and no quota, so a strong group of candidates in your session cannot push you below the line.

Sources: MCC MCCQE results page, MCCQE exam page and MCCQE Part I Annual Technical Report 2024.

What percentage do you need to pass the MCCQE?

There is no official percentage. The MCC scores the exam with a statistical model (the Rasch model) that takes account of how hard each question is, then places your result on the 300 to 600 scale. Its guidance says scaled scores should not be converted to percentages, and it does not publish a number of correct answers needed to pass.

Two things follow from that. Candidates who write different versions of the exam can get the same number of questions right and still receive different scaled scores, because the versions are not equally hard and the scale corrects for it. And any “you need 60 to 65 percent” rule you read on a forum is a guess, not an MCC figure.

Each section also contains pilot questions (pre-test items) that the MCC is trying out. You cannot tell which ones they are, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so answer every question.

What is a good MCCQE score?

For licensure, any score from 439 upwards is a pass, and a pass is what counts. Since 26 January 2026 the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) needs two things: a pass on the MCCQE and a source-verified medical degree.

Beyond passing, read your score against the scale. The mean was set at 450 with a standard deviation of 30, so 480 sits one standard deviation above the April 2025 mean and 510 sits two above it. The MCC also warns against reading too much into small differences. The scale is built to be most precise around the pass score, and a few points either way can fall within measurement error.

If you are an international medical graduate applying for residency, the programs that look at MCCQE results set their own expectations. Read the program descriptions for the places you are applying to, rather than chasing a target number from a forum thread.

Can I compare my score with the old 100 to 400 scale?

Not directly. The exam changed in 2025, and the MCC says there is no official crosswalk between the old and new scales. What you can compare is distance from the pass score. The MCC’s own example: a score of 469 on the new scale and a score of 256 on the scale used from 2018 to October 2024 both sit one standard deviation above their pass scores, so they reflect similar relative performance.

MCCQE pass rates: the official numbers

The most recent pass rates the MCC has published are in its MCCQE Part I Annual Technical Report 2024. They describe the exam before the 2025 changes, so use them to see the gap between groups rather than as a forecast for the new format. The MCC had not published a report covering 2025 when we checked.

Source: MCC, MCCQE Part I Annual Technical Report 2024, Table 10 (pass rates April 2020 to October 2024). Column headings are the MCC’s reporting periods. Canadian graduates are graduates of Canadian medical schools.

In 2024, 3,523 international medical graduates wrote the exam for the first time and 53% of them passed. By session, the first-attempt pass rate for international graduates was 52.3% in April, 60.7% in August and 46.1% in October 2024. Canadian graduates writing for the first time passed at 94%.

The field is also getting bigger. The MCC reports that 5,274 candidates wrote the new exam in April 2025, compared with 4,040 in April 2024.

Why the gap? Canadian graduates write the exam straight out of a Canadian curriculum. Many international graduates are meeting Canadian guidelines, the Canadian health system and Canadian law and ethics for the first time. The MCC itself has said that international graduates “can struggle to understand Canadian cultural expectations and professional ethics”. Those topics are part of the exam blueprint, so plan for them from the start rather than leaving them to the last week.

Where the marks come from: the MCCQE blueprint

The MCC builds every version of the exam to the same blueprint, which has two dimensions. The domain subscores in your results report follow these headings, so this is also how your feedback will be organized.

Source: the blueprint grid on the MCC MCCQE exam page. The content itself comes from the MCC Examination Objectives.

Two points stand out. Assessment and diagnosis plus management make up about 80% of the exam, so most questions ask what is going on and what you would do next. Communication and professional behaviours make up about 20%, and psychosocial aspects about 15%. Questions on consent, capacity, confidentiality and reporting duties are likely to fall in these areas, and they are where unfamiliarity with Canadian practice costs marks.

In our MCCQE question bank, 405 of the 3,310 questions cover population health, ethics, legal and organizational aspects of medicine (PHELO), the part of the MCC objectives where Canadian rules matter most.

When will I get my MCCQE results?

MCCQE results come out 4 weeks after the last day of the January, August and October sessions, and 5 weeks after the last day of the April session. Applying that rule to the 2027 sessions gives the dates below. The MCC announces each release, so treat them as a guide rather than a promise.

Exam windows from the MCC scheduling page (“Dates are subject to change”). Results dates are our arithmetic from the MCC’s 4 and 5 week rule.

If you wrote in the combined August to October 2026 session, results come out in three batches, each 4 weeks after the last exam date in that batch. The session ended on Wednesday 21 October 2026, so the final batch is due around Wednesday 18 November 2026.

You will receive a Statement of Results with your final result and total score, and a Supplemental Information Report that shows your relative strengths and weaknesses by domain. The MCC says subscores are less reliable than the total score, because each one rests on far fewer questions. Use them to steer your next round of study, not to compare yourself with other candidates.

What if I do not pass?

You can write the MCCQE up to four times. After a third attempt you must wait one year before applying for the fourth. Each attempt needs a new application through your physiciansapply.ca account and a new fee, currently CA$1,500 and non-refundable. The MCC notes that its fees can change without notice.

Start with your Supplemental Information Report. A weak result in one area, such as psychosocial aspects or professional behaviours, points to a specific gap. Work on that area in timed blocks of questions before you go back to mixed practice. In 2024, 41% of international graduates passed on a repeat attempt, so changing how you prepare matters more than adding hours to the same routine.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MCCQE pass score?

The MCCQE pass score is 439 on a scale from 300 to 600, with a mean of 450 and a standard deviation of 30. It applies to every session from April 2025 onwards. A total score of 439 or higher is a pass.

What percentage do I need to pass the MCCQE?

There is no official percentage. The MCC scores the exam with the Rasch model, which accounts for how hard each question is, and says scaled scores should not be converted to percentages. It does not publish a number of correct answers needed to pass.

Does the MCCQE still have CDM questions?

No. Since April 2025 the MCCQE has been 230 multiple-choice questions in two sections of 115, with up to 2 hours 40 minutes per section. The clinical decision-making (CDM) section was part of the exam only up to October 2024.

How long does it take to get MCCQE results?

Results are released 4 weeks after the last day of the January, August and October sessions, and 5 weeks after the last day of the April session.

What is the MCCQE pass rate for international medical graduates?

In 2024, 53% of international medical graduates passed on their first attempt, against 94% of Canadian graduates (MCC Annual Technical Report 2024). These figures are from the exam before the 2025 changes; the MCC has not yet published rates for the new format.

How many times can you take the MCCQE?

Up to four times. After a third attempt you must wait one year before applying for the fourth.

Sources

• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE (format and blueprint grid)
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE results
• Medical Council of Canada, Score interpretation
• Medical Council of Canada, Multiple-choice questions
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE scheduling
• Medical Council of Canada, Eligibility and application and Fees
• Medical Council of Canada, MCCQE Part I Annual Technical Report 2024 (PDF), Tables 8 and 10
• Medical Council of Canada news, Important update to LMCC eligibility and issuance starting January 26, 2026
• Medical Council of Canada news, November 2025 update (April 2025 candidate numbers)
• Medical Council of Canada news, Webinar: preparing for practice in Canada (4 February 2026)