National Medical Licensing Examination in China: what it is and who sits it

The national medical licensing examination in China is formally the Physician Qualification Examination (医师资格考试). Passing it leads to a qualification certificate. Registration with a health authority then leads to the practice certificate. This page describes the examination from the Physicians Law and the national candidate guide.

What the examination is for

The National Medical Examination Center's candidate guide calls the examination an industry entry examination. It says the examination assesses whether an applicant has the professional knowledge and skills needed to work as a physician.

The Physicians Law says the state runs a physician qualification examination system. A candidate who passes obtains the qualification of practising physician or practising assistant physician and receives the qualification certificate (医师资格证书).

Two levels and four categories

The guide says the examination has two levels and four categories. The two levels are practising physician and practising assistant physician. The four categories are clinical, traditional Chinese medicine, dental and public health. The guide says the traditional Chinese medicine category includes traditional Chinese medicine, integrated medicine and ethnic minority medicine.

Who organises it

The Physicians Law says provincial-level or higher health authorities organise the examination, and the national health authority sets the categories and detailed methods.

The guide says the National Medical Examination Center and the TCM Physician Qualification Certification Center of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine set the practical skills papers. It also says provincial examination leading groups organise the practical skills examination on the ground.

Two parts

The guide says the examination has two parts, the practical skills examination and the comprehensive written examination.

The practical skills part

The guide describes the practical skills examination as a multi-station examination. Candidates move through stations in one examination base and complete every station in the same base.

For the clinical category, the guide lists three stations. The first tests clinical thinking, the second tests physical examination on standard examinees and models, and the third tests basic procedures on medical simulators or models.

The guide gives the total score for the practical skills examination as 100 points and the passing score as 60 points.

The comprehensive written part

The guide says the comprehensive written examination uses multiple-choice questions only and is a unified national examination. For the Western-medicine categories, the content follows the examination syllabus approved by the National Health Commission's physician qualification examination committee.

Who may sit it

The Physicians Law sets two alternative conditions for the practising physician examination, and meeting either one is enough:

• A holder of a bachelor's degree or above in a relevant medical field who has completed one year of professional practice in a medical institution under a practising physician's guidance.
• A holder of a junior-college diploma in a relevant medical field who has held a practising assistant physician's practice certificate and practised in a medical institution for two years.

The law opens the practising assistant physician examination to a holder of a junior-college diploma or above in a relevant medical field who has completed one year of professional practice under a practising physician's guidance.

The Physicians Law gives traditional Chinese medicine its own entry for people who learned by apprenticeship or through years of practice.

What candidates register with

The guide lists documents that candidates submit at an on-site qualification check.

The documents in the guide's list include:

• the registration success notice printed from the online system;
• the candidate's valid identity document and a copy;
• the graduation certificate and a copy, with an official foreign degree certification for candidates whose qualification is not from the mainland;
• the probation period assessment certificate issued by the candidate's probation or internship institution;
• a copy of the medical institution's practice licence, for candidates working at a medical institution.

For identity, the guide lists the second-generation resident identity card, the permit or identity card for residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the passport for foreign candidates. The guide adds that foreign candidates and candidates from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan submit an internship application form of their own.

After the examination

The Physicians Law says a candidate who passes receives the qualification certificate. The law then says the holder may apply for registration, and that nobody may practise as a physician without a registered practice certificate. The step is described in our guide to the doctor licence.

Unknowns

• The candidate guide read here is an earlier yearly edition, so its schedules and pilot arrangements are not treated as current.
• The pass mark for the comprehensive written part is unknown, because the guide text read here states none.

Questions people ask

Is there one national medical licensing examination in China?

The guide describes one national physician qualification examination with two parts, two levels and four categories.

Does passing the examination allow someone to practise?

No. The Physicians Law says nobody may practise as a physician without a registered practice certificate, and registration comes after qualification.

Can foreign or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan candidates take part?

The guide lists identity documents for foreign candidates and for candidates from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, so the guide provides for their examination sign-up and on-site check.

Sources

• Law of the PRC on Physicians, adopted 20 August 2021 (Standing Committee of the National People's Congress), read 26 October 2026
• Physician Qualification Examination candidate guide, 2024 edition (National Medical Examination Center), read 26 October 2026

Each source above was read on the date shown. This page is an unofficial summary of general administrative information. It is not published by the bodies named above, and it is not medical advice. If it differs from the official texts, the official texts prevail, and rules may change after the check date.