By Dr. Bilal Akil, MD — Emergency Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University · founder of mccQbank
Short answer: The NAC Examination is scored from 500 to 700, and 577 is a pass, whatever other candidates score (MCC: NAC results). Results come about 8 weeks after the session: late November 2026 for the 19–20 September 2026 sitting, and late June 2027 for the 1 May 2027 sitting (MCC: NAC scheduling). A 602 is one standard deviation above the pass score, and 83% of candidates passed in the MCC’s 2025–26 year.
The National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Examination is the MCC’s clinical-skills exam for international medical graduates (IMGs). CaRMS requires IMGs to have written and passed it, along with the MCCQE, to enter the R-1 match, though some provinces allow exceptions (CaRMS: eligibility criteria). Most candidates only look at pass or fail. This guide explains the rest of the result: how the score is built, what the two reports show, what counts as a strong score, and when the next results arrive.
When do NAC results come out?
The MCC releases results about 8 weeks after the last day of a session. You get an email and a message in your physiciansapply.ca account; the MCC never gives results over the phone or by email (MCC: NAC results).
- September 2026 session (19 and 20 September 2026): results expected late November 2026.
- May 2027 session (Saturday 1 May 2027): results expected late June 2027. Applications run from 18 November to 9 December 2026.
The MCC says all dates are subject to change, and if you need results by a deadline it strongly recommends taking the earliest exam date offered (MCC: NAC scheduling). Centres and booking steps for 2027 are in our NAC OSCE dates 2027 guide.
How the NAC score works
Since May 2023, the total score has been reported on a scale from 500 to 700, with a pass score of 577. A score of 577 or more is a pass; anything below is a fail. The exam is criterion-referenced: you are compared with the standard, not with the other candidates, so everyone who reaches 577 passes.
Physician examiners score each of the 10 scored stations with a checklist, oral questions and rating scales covering up to seven competencies: history taking, physical examination, investigations, data interpretation, diagnosis, management and communication skills (MCC: NAC results). The pass score was set in May 2023 from the examiners’ overall ratings, calculated station by station and averaged across the 10 stations, then approved by the MCC’s Exam Oversight Committee (MCC: score interpretation; MCC: NAC results).
What is in your NAC result
Shortly after the release message, two documents appear in your account.
Statement of Results (SOR)
Your final result (pass or fail), your total score, and the score needed to pass.
Supplemental Information Report (SIR)
Your subscores, shown as a graph, and a comparison with other candidates. The seven competencies are grouped into three domains: assessment and diagnosis, management, and communication skills (MCC: NAC results). The MCC describes subscores as formative feedback on relative strengths and weaknesses, says they should not be used to compare candidates, and notes they are less reliable than the total score and can’t be compared across exam sessions (MCC: score interpretation). If you have to resit, the SIR is still a useful starting point for what to practise.
What is a good NAC score?
There is no official “good” score above the pass mark, but the MCC publishes reference points for the current scale. When it was introduced in May 2023, the mean was 600 and the standard deviation 25 (MCC: score interpretation):
- 577: the pass score
- 602: one standard deviation above the pass score
- 622: about 1.8 standard deviations above, roughly where the MCC places the “pass with superior performance” result it used once, in September 2020
- 627: two standard deviations above the pass score
Two cautions from the MCC itself. Scores are most precise around the pass mark, so small differences between scores should not be over-read. And the pass score is meant to screen out IMGs who are not ready for residency, so the MCC expects IMGs applying to practice-ready assessment (PRA) programs to score above the pass mark.
What your result means for CaRMS
For the match, the pass is what counts: CaRMS requires IMGs to have written and passed the NAC, with some provincial exceptions (CaRMS: eligibility criteria). The MCC adds that its results are best used alongside other information, such as another MCC exam, medical school transcripts and reference letters, rather than on their own (MCC: score interpretation). Treat a high score as one part of your file, not a substitute for the rest of it.
NAC pass rates
In the MCC’s 2025–26 fiscal year (April 2025 to March 2026), 2,415 candidates took the NAC and 83% passed: 83% of 2,131 first-time takers and 79% of 284 repeat takers. The year before, 82% of 1,741 passed (MCC Annual Report 2025–26, p.31).
By calendar year, the pass rate has stayed between 80.5% and 85.8% since 2021, and repeat takers have passed at a lower rate than first-time takers every year since 2021. The May session has also run lower than September every year from 2022 to 2025: 75.8% against 85.0% in 2025 (MCC NAC Annual Technical Report 2025, Table 8).
| Year | Candidates | Pass rate | First-time takers | Repeat takers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,705 | 64.8% | 63.9% | 67.5% |
| 2020 | 1,672 | 78.2% | 76.7% | 82.5% |
| 2021 | 1,305 | 82.5% | 83.5% | 79.2% |
| 2022 | 1,716 | 85.8% | 86.1% | 84.6% |
| 2023 | 1,559 | 80.5% | 80.7% | 79.2% |
| 2024 | 1,741 | 81.7% | 82.0% | 79.8% |
| 2025 | 2,413 | 82.6% | 83.0% | 78.9% |
The MCC’s annual report counts 2,415 for 2025–26; the technical report’s 2,413 excludes one No Standing candidate and two who completed fewer than nine stations. For the written exam, see our MCCQE1 pass rate data by CMG and IMG.
Retakes and how long a result lasts
A NAC result has no expiry date. If you take the exam more than once, though, only your most recent result is valid, and the MCC leaves it to you whether to retake it for a higher score (MCC: NAC results). A retake is a bet: a lower score replaces the higher one, and a fail would replace an earlier pass. If you did fail, our guide on what to do after a NAC OSCE fail covers the retake limits and timing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NAC passing score in 2026?
577, on a scale from 500 to 700. It has been the pass score since the May 2023 session (MCC: NAC results).
When will I get my September 2026 NAC results?
The MCC expects to release them in late November 2026, about 8 weeks after the 19–20 September sitting (MCC: NAC scheduling).
What does NAC OSCE stand for?
NAC is the National Assessment Collaboration, and OSCE means objective structured clinical examination: timed stations where examiners watch you work with standardized participants. The MCC calls it the NAC Examination (MCC: NAC results).
Can I compare my score with an older NAC score?
Not directly. The MCC has changed the scale more than once, so it compares scores by their distance from each scale’s pass mark: a 602 from May 2023 onward reflects similar relative performance to a 1,399 from October 2021 to September 2022 or a 423 from March 2019 to March 2020, each one standard deviation above its pass score (MCC: score interpretation).
Can I take the NAC in French?
Yes, at selected centres. Every centre offers English, and centres that also offer French are marked; for the 1 May 2027 session, only Ottawa is, and centres can change (MCC: NAC scheduling).
Preparing for your next attempt
The competencies above are the marking scheme: history, physical examination, investigations, data interpretation, diagnosis, management and communication. Practise full timed stations out loud, with a partner when you can, and say what you are checking as you examine. Our free NAC OSCE station checklist needs no sign-up, and our paid OSCE-R station bank has timed history and physical-exam practice stations.
