Overview
Belgium runs two separate, independent entrance procedures for medicine and dentistry, one per language community, because the country's medical and dental student numbers are capped by a government quota system. In the French-speaking part of the country, the Académie de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur (ARES) organises a competitive exam ("concours d'entrée en médecine et en dentisterie") on behalf of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. In Flanders, the Flemish Community organises its own "toelatingsexamen arts en tandarts" (entrance exam for doctors and dentists), with separate sittings for the medicine and dentistry tracks. Both are held once a year, in a single language (French or Dutch respectively), and both feed into a government-set quota that limits how many students may start the degree.
Note
The official exam sites (ares-ac.be / concoursmd.be for the French Community, and the Flemish Community's toelatingsexamen.vlaanderen.be / toelatingsexamenartstandarts.be) could not be reached directly from this research environment. The facts below are drawn from ARES's own published results page, Belgian news coverage (L'Avenir, VRT NWS) of the 2026 cycle, and exam-preparation sites that summarise the official regulations. Confirm the current year's dates, fees and quota figures on the official sites above before relying on them.
Who can apply
French Community concours
Candidates must hold, or be in the process of obtaining, the Certificate of Upper Secondary Education (CESS) or a diploma recognised as equivalent. Non-resident candidates with a foreign diploma do not need to supply a diploma equivalence at the time of registration — it is only required if they pass the concours, and since the equivalence process can take several months, applicants are advised to start it early. Registration is done exclusively online through the concours website.
Flemish Community toelatingsexamen
Candidates register separately for the doctor (arts) exam and the dentist (tandarts) exam, and must register and pay again for each one if they want to attempt both. A secondary-school diploma (or equivalent) is required before enrolling in the degree programme itself, though the entrance exam can generally be attempted before that diploma is finalised; applicants should check the current year's exact eligibility wording on the official registration page.
Exam pattern
French Community concours
The concours has two equally weighted parts, 80 multiple-choice questions in total, each with four options and exactly one correct answer.
| Part | Subjects | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 — Scientific knowledge | Biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics (10 questions each) | 40 |
| Part 2 — Communication and critical analysis | Reasoning and information analysis (10 questions); communication (30 questions) | 40 |
Marking is +1 for a correct answer, -1/3 for a wrong answer, and 0 for a question left blank, for a maximum overall score of 160.
Flemish Community toelatingsexamen
Each sitting (doctor or dentist) is a written, pen-and-paper exam in two parts, 40 multiple-choice questions each, held at a single central location (Brussels Expo). Formula sheets and periodic tables are allowed for the science questions.
| Part | Covers | Questions | Max score |
|---|---|---|---|
| KIW (Kennis en Inzicht in de Wetenschappen) | Mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology | 40 | 120 |
| GC (Generieke Competenties) | VAARDIG (reading, reasoning, analysing data and graphs) and EMCO (empathy and communication) | 40 | 120 |
Marking for each part is +3 for a correct answer, -1 for a wrong answer, and 0 for a question left blank.
Marking and results
French Community concours
To pass, a candidate needs at least 8/20 in each of the eight individual subject components and an average of at least 10/20 in each of the two parts. Because this is a "concours" (competitive exam) rather than a pass/fail test, there is no fixed exclusion score beyond those minimums — ARES ranks every candidate who clears them by total score (out of 160), separately for the medicine track and the dentistry track, and offers places in that order until each track's government-set quota is filled. For the 2026 cycle, results were due to be published on 4 September 2026.
Flemish Community toelatingsexamen
A candidate must score at least half of the available points on both the KIW part and the GC part to be considered for ranking at all. Among candidates who clear that bar, the exam board ranks everyone by total score and sets a cut-off ("cesuur") at the position matching that year's quota — for example, in the 2024 sitting the cut-off fell at rank 1,723 for the doctor exam and rank 252 for the dentist exam. Candidates ranked at or above the cut-off are admitted; the exact cut-off rank and score move each year with the number of candidates and the quota set for that year.
Important dates
Dates move every year; the figures below are for the 2026 cycle and are given only as a guide to the typical timing.
| French Community (ARES) | Flemish Community | |
|---|---|---|
| Registration opens | 18 May 2026 | 2 March 2026 |
| Registration closes | 5 July 2026 (23:59) | 18 May 2026 (noon) |
| Exam date | 27 August 2026 (medicine and dentistry together) | 2 July 2026 (doctor); 3 July 2026 (dentist) |
| Results | 4 September 2026 | Not confirmed in sources reviewed — check the official site |
Fees
For the 2026 cycle, the French Community concours registration fee was EUR 30, paid online during the registration window and non-refundable. The Flemish Community charged EUR 65 per exam sitting for 2026; a candidate attempting both the doctor and dentist exams registers and pays separately for each, and the fee is not refunded once paid.
How to apply
Decide which community's exam to sit — the French Community (ARES) concours for a French-language medicine or dentistry degree, or the Flemish Community toelatingsexamen for a Dutch-language one — since they are run, scored and quota-managed independently.
Register online during the published window: via the concours website for the French Community, or via the Flemish Community's toelatingsexamen portal (separately for the doctor and/or dentist sitting).
Pay the registration fee for each sitting you register for.
Sit the exam on the published date at the designated venue (Brussels Expo for both communities in recent cycles).
If successful and ranked within that year's quota, complete enrolment at your chosen university, including diploma-equivalence paperwork if you hold a foreign secondary-school qualification.
After the exam
Both communities operate under a government quota (sometimes called a "numerus clausus" or "numerus fixus") that fixes, each year, how many students may start medicine and how many may start dentistry. For the 2026 French Community cycle, the quota was reported at 1,947 places in total — 1,675 in medicine and 272 in dentistry — against nearly 6,900 candidates who had registered; non-resident candidates are capped at 15% of admitted places in each track (around 251 in medicine and 40 in dentistry for that quota). Candidates are ranked separately for medicine and dentistry and offered places in rank order until the quota for their track is filled.
On the Flemish side, candidates who clear the minimum score on both KIW and GC are ranked by total score, and places are awarded down the ranking until that year's quota is reached (illustrated by the 2024 cut-off ranks noted above). A candidate who registered for both the doctor and dentist exams is ranked separately in each.
Preparation tips
Revise upper-secondary biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics early in both systems, since the science component (Part 1 for the French Community concours, KIW for the Flemish toelatingsexamen) is the broadest and most content-heavy part of either exam. Practise timed multiple-choice questions with the exam's own penalty rules in mind — both exams subtract points for a wrong answer but not for a blank, so guessing at random is not free, while an educated guess between two options usually still is. For the communication/reasoning components (Part 2 in the French Community concours, VAARDIG and EMCO in the Flemish exam), practise reading unfamiliar passages, tables and graphs quickly and answering comprehension-style questions under time pressure, since these skills improve mainly through repeated timed practice rather than content review.
Is there one entrance exam for the whole of Belgium?
No. The French-speaking community and the Flemish community each run their own exam, in their own language, with their own registration process, fee, dates, and quota. They are not interchangeable: passing one does not give access to a programme taught under the other community.
Does the exam have negative marking?
Yes, in both systems. The French Community concours deducts 1/3 point per wrong answer (0 for a blank); the Flemish toelatingsexamen deducts 1 point per wrong answer out of a +3 per correct answer (0 for a blank). Neither exam penalises a question left unanswered.
What happens if I am not ranked within the quota?
You are not offered a place in that track for that academic year. Candidates may generally register again in a later year, though this guide has not verified whether either community limits the number of attempts — check the current official regulations before planning around a retake.
Can non-resident candidates apply?
Yes, but the French Community caps non-resident admissions at 15% of the places awarded in each track (medicine and dentistry). This guide did not find a confirmed equivalent cap for the Flemish Community toelatingsexamen; check the official site for the current rule.