NMAT Philippines

Overview

The National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) is the standardised test required of applicants to medical schools in the Philippines. The Board of Medical Education required it for admission to all medical schools from school year 1986-1987, and the Center for Educational Measurement, Inc. (CEM) has run it since its first administration in December 1985. Since August 2020 it has been an online computer-based test that candidates take remotely.

Who must take it

CEM lists these groups:

• college graduates

• graduating college students at the end of the school year

• second-year students in certain integrated pre-medical programmes (UP INTARMED, UST LEAPMed, Cebu Institute of Medicine APMed, Davao Medical School Foundation APMed, UE Ramon Magsaysay ACCEL MED)

• people who took the NMAT before but did not reach the cut-off

• people with valid eligibility who want a better score

Foreign applicants should read the CHED rules on foreign students named on the CEM site.

Exam pattern

The Online NMAT has 240 multiple-choice questions with four or five options each.

There is a 10-minute break between the parts, plus short reminder and end-of-test pages.

Syllabus

Verbal covers word analogies and reading comprehension. Inductive Reasoning uses number, letter and figure series. Quantitative covers computation, problem solving and data interpretation. Perceptual Acuity uses visual tasks such as hidden figures and mirror images. Part 2 questions stay within basic concepts from introductory college courses for premedical programmes, and Social Science covers psychology, sociology and anthropology.

Marking and results

CHED Memorandum Order No. 18, s. 2016 sets the rule that the NMAT must be taken no more than two years before admission to medical school, with a percentile score at or above what the school or the Commission prescribes, whichever is higher.

Important dates

Test administrations are usually in October to November, January to February, and April to May.

Fees

As listed on the official site in 2026, the total is Php 1,900: a registration fee of Php 500 and a test fee of Php 1,400. NMAT-International applicants pay USD 60 in total (USD 15 registration and USD 45 test fee). Payment goes through the Dragonpay online payment facility, with service charges on top. The registration fee cannot be refunded, and missing the scheduled test forfeits both fees. The refund rules for the test fee appear on the payment page in more than one version, so read the current policy there before cancelling.

How to apply

Create an account, verify your email, register and pick a payment channel, then pay. You need a valid email, an unretouched digital photo, a PDF of your transcript of records (graduates) or certificate to graduate (graduating students), a valid ID, and a Philippine mailing address, as results are mailed only within the Philippines. Your name must match your ID exactly.