NAC OSCE Exam Dates 2027: What the MCC Has Published

By Dr. Bilal Akil, MD — Emergency Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University · founder of mccQbank

Short answer: The Medical Council of Canada has published one 2027 NAC OSCE session so far: Saturday, May 1, 2027. Applications open November 18, 2026 and close December 9, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and results are expected in late June 2027. The MCC’s scheduling page does not list a September 2027 session yet (checked October 15, 2026), and it states that all dates are subject to change.

This post sets out the May 2027 deadlines, the 2026 sessions for comparison, what is still unpublished, and how to plan for the 2028 CaRMS match. We will add the September 2027 session the day the MCC posts it.

What the MCC has published: May 2027 and the 2026 sessions

Source: MCC NAC Examination scheduling page, read October 15, 2026. Centres listed for May 2027: Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, London, Ottawa (also offered in French), Toronto, Windsor and Saskatoon; the exam is offered in English at all centres. The MCC notes: “Specific session dates are not guaranteed.” It also states: “Dates and centres are subject to change.”

May 2027 deadlines, step by step

September 2027: what is not published yet

The scheduling page lists only the May 2027 sitting so far. The MCC describes the NAC as offered twice a year, in the spring and fall (typically in May and September), so a fall 2027 session would follow the usual pattern, but no September 2027 exam date, application window or result date has been published. For comparison, the September 2026 application window ran March 4 – 25, 2026 and reopened May 11 – 15 to meet CaRMS timelines. Treat that as the shape of the calendar, not a date: the MCC’s page is the only authority, and it notes that specific session dates are not guaranteed.

A few practical rules follow. Create your physiciansapply.ca account early, because the NAC application is made through it. Before starting your application, check who is eligible and how to apply for the NAC to understand the requirements, documents and application process. If May 2027 is your session, put November 18 to December 9, 2026 in your calendar now: the window is three weeks long, and missing it means waiting for a later session. And if you are aiming at the 2028 match, check the NAC result deadlines of the provinces and programs you are targeting on CaRMS before choosing a session: May 2027 results are expected in late June 2027, while the September 2027 result date has not been published (September 2026 results are expected in late November 2026). Whichever session you choose, the NAC cannot be taken in consecutive sessions, so a May 2027 candidate cannot take it again in the session that follows, and the MCC’s own example is that a candidate who took it in May 2024 can retake it only in May 2025 or later (MCC: NAC eligibility and application).

The rules that shape your 2027 plan

The NAC Examination is a half-day OSCE of ten scored stations and two pilot stations, eleven minutes each, in English or French, with standardised patients; examiners score up to seven competencies per station: history taking, physical examination, investigations, data interpretation, diagnosis, management and communication skills (MCC: NAC Examination). The fee is $3,320, with a $538 withdrawal fee before the deadline, a $130 charge for scheduling requests and a $1,660 administration fee for an absence with extenuating circumstances. You may sit it a maximum of three times in your life, never in consecutive sessions, and only your most recent result counts — the one rule that should make anyone hesitate before sitting a session they are not ready for. Every province requires it for IMGs in the CaRMS match except Quebec, where the universities still ask for it even though the Collège des médecins no longer does; most Practice-Ready Assessment programs require it as well.

NAC OSCE results: when and what

Results for the September 2026 sitting are due in late November 2026, posted to physiciansapply.ca. You receive a pass/fail decision, a total score and a supplemental feedback report showing your performance against the pass standard by competency. In 2025, 85.0% of September candidates passed and 75.8% of May candidates did; overall first-time pass rates were 81–82% in 2023 and 2024, with repeat candidates passing at about 79–80%. That is a much higher pass rate than the MCCQE’s, and it misleads people: the NAC is failed by candidates who knew the medicine but had never practised an eleven-minute station with a clock running, and a fail costs a year and a third of your attempts. If you sat in September 2026, our post on reading NAC scores explains the report; if the result is not what you hoped, the earliest re-sit is the fall 2027 session, because the NAC cannot be taken in consecutive sessions.

How to use the time before your NAC

Candidates who pass the NAC comfortably have usually done three things that do not depend on the calendar. They have rehearsed the station format until the timing is automatic: two minutes reading the door, focused history or exam, a closing summary and plan, all inside eleven minutes, with a partner playing the patient and holding the stopwatch. They have covered the breadth — the NAC samples across every system, so a candidate strong in medicine and weak in paediatrics, obstetrics or psychiatry will meet a station they cannot handle. And they have practised Canadian communication norms: consent before an examination, plain language, checking understanding, and the ethics scenarios that appear as stations rather than questions.

OSCE-R, mccQbank’s NAC OSCE preparation tool, has 122 timed history and physical-examination stations across 16 systems, in English and French, built to be run solo or with a partner exactly as the exam runs them. Ninety days of it fits the gap between an application window and an exam date. See how OSCE-R works, or book a call with our faculty to plan a 2027 sitting.

Frequently asked questions

When is the NAC OSCE exam in 2027?

The MCC has published one 2027 session: Saturday, May 1, 2027. A September 2027 session has not been posted yet; the MCC says the NAC is offered twice a year, typically in May and September (MCC scheduling page).

When is the application for the May 2027 NAC?

Applications open November 18, 2026 and close December 9, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET, through your physiciansapply.ca account. The deadline to withdraw with a partial refund is January 5, 2027.

When do NAC OSCE results come out?

The MCC says results are available about 8 weeks after your exam date, in your physiciansapply.ca account: late November 2026 for the September 2026 session and late June 2027 for May 2027.

How much is the NAC exam fee?

As of October 15, 2026, the MCC fee schedule lists the NAC application fee as $3,320. Withdrawing before the withdrawal deadline means a $538 withdrawal fee is charged, and a scheduling request costs $130. The MCC reviews fees annually, so confirm the fee when you apply.

Can I take the May 2027 NAC if I sat it in September 2026?

No. The NAC cannot be taken in consecutive sessions, so a September 2026 candidate’s next possible sitting is the session after May 2027. You can take the NAC at most three times, and only your most recent result remains valid. Our guide to retaking the NAC after a fail sets out the next steps.

Sources: MCC — NAC Examination scheduling page (2026 and May 2027 sessions, centres, deadlines, results timing; read October 15, 2026), NAC eligibility and application page (attempts, consecutive sessions, validity), fee schedule; MCC Annual Report 2025–26; NAC Examination Annual Technical Reports 2024 and 2025; CaRMS R-1 Summary of MCC Examination Requirements. The September 2027 session is not yet published; this post will be updated when it appears.