The Ministry of University and Research in Italy (MUR) once again quite late, has FINALLY (06/08/2026) published all specifications regarding the 2026 IMAT exam for the admission into medicine in Italy in English. All of the original decrees in Italian can be found on their official website.
In this article, we have translated and summarized all of the published findings, which include:
- test registration dates
- test date
- results timeline
- test locations
- test syllabus
- grading system
- tie-breakers in the ranking
- Accepted language certifications
Summary of IMAT 2026 Important Points:
- IMAT registration will start on 26 August 2026 until 09 September 2026 15:00 (GMT + 2) WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS on Universitaly.
- The IMAT will take place on the 29th of September, with the Italian test centres starting the exam at 13:30 (GMT+2). The start time will be adjusted accordingly with the timezones of other countries that are hosting the test.
- 2026 IMAT syllabus is identical to that of 2025 and 2024.
- Only the countries that will have exam centres have been specified (there is currently no official information about the cities).
- There have been MANY CHANGES to the number of seats and universities that offer medicine in English. You can see all details in our 2026 Medicine in English Available Seats article.
When is the 2026 IMAT Exam and Registration?
The 2026 IMAT will be held on September 29, 2026 at all Italian universities as well as at the foreign locations indicated in the table below. As of writing this article (August 8th 2026, when the decree was published) we only know that there will be centres in all Italian universities, and the countries that will have test centres; there is no information about which cities as of yet. The exam for Italian venues shall begin at 13:30 (GMT+2), with adjustment for the time zones of the foreign countries where the admission test is held.
Registrations for the test will be from August 26, 2026 until September 09, 2026 3:00 p.m. (GMT+2) , which is a hard deadline with no exceptions. Registering for the admission test will be exclusively through the procedure on the Universitaly portal.
What is the 2026 IMAT Registration Process?
When registering for the IMAT exam on Universitaly candidates are required to provide, in order of preference, the list of universities that provide medicine in English they wish to apply to, as well as any possession of a language certification (if you have one, it is not a necessity, only some medical schools in Italy require it). The accepted language certifications have been added to a table at the end of this article. For Non-EU students only the first choice is important and considered. We suggest reading the articles on IMAT scrolling to understand more about what this means.
No changes to the order of preference of universities can be completed after the 9th of September at 15:00 (GMT+2).
The finalisation of the registration occurs after payment of the fee for participation in the test, according to the procedures indicated on the Universitaly portal. Payment of the exam fee is to be made in the manner published on Universitaly when registration opens. Currently the registration fee amount has not been clarified, just that €65,00 euro of the cost will be reimbursed to the universities acting as an exam centre.
This procedure is mandatory for the purposes of holding the test, under penalty of exclusion from it.
When are the 2026 IMAT results?
On October 8, 2026, the anonymous ranking will be published. The scores will be on Universitaly, in a section only accessible to candidates, following privacy rules. These scores will remain available until all procedures are finished. The anonymous ranking is essentially a massive list of every single candidates score, but with no way of identifying the owner of each score.
On October 19, 2026, candidates can check their test paper, score, answer sheet and personal candidate data sheet on their reserved page on the Universitaly portal.
On October 26, 2026 the national ranking with all names will be published in the student area of the Universitaly portal. Students will be “assigned” or “booked” based on their order of preferences, and where they have placed in the ranking starting the process of “scrolling“. Students will have 5 days to confirm their choices.
On November 03, 2026 the next round of scrolling shall take place.
If there is a tie in the IMAT scores, the ranking order will be determined by the following in order of importance:
- The scores in the following areas, in this order: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, logical reasoning, problem-solving, reading skills, and knowledge gained in studies.
- Language Certification
- Disability Certification
- Age (younger candidate higher)
IMAT Test Centres for 2026
The list of all test centres published by the MUR can be found in PDF format at this link. There is currently no further information about the cities, the exact test location addresses, or the relative starting times of the exam published. The moment it becomes available we will update this article.
| Country/Location |
|---|
|
Albania |
|
Azerbaijan |
|
Brazil |
|
Canada |
|
China |
|
Cyprus |
|
France |
|
Germany |
|
Greece |
|
Hong Kong |
|
India |
|
Italy (see other table) |
|
Ireland |
|
Kenya |
|
Pakistan |
|
Poland |
|
Portugal |
|
Saudi Arabia |
|
South Africa |
|
Spain |
|
Switzerland |
|
Tunisia |
|
Turkey |
|
UAE Dubai |
|
UK |
|
USA |
| Italian Test Locations |
|---|
|
Bari Università degli Studi di Bari |
|
Milan Università degli Studi di Milano |
|
Milan Università degli Studi Milano – Bicocca |
|
Rome Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
|
Rome Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata” |
|
Naples Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” |
|
Naples Università di Napoli Federico II |
|
Bologna Università di Bologna |
|
Turin Università degli Studi di Torino |
|
Pavia Università degli Studi di Pavia |
|
Parma Università degli Studi di PARMA |
|
Siena Università degli Studi di Siena |
|
Messina Università degli Studi di Messina |
|
Padova Università degli Studi di Padova |
|
Ancona Università Politecnica delle Marche |
|
Cagliari Università degli Studi di Cagliari |
|
Catania Università degli Studi di Catania |
Exam Specifications for IMAT 2026
The admission test includes 60 questions, each with five answer options. Candidates have 100 minutes to complete the test, during which they must choose one correct answer for each question, avoiding incorrect or unlikely conclusions. The breakdown of the exam subjects and number of questions are:
- Four (4) questions of reading skills and general knowledge questions
- Five (5) logical reasoning questions and problems
- Twenty-three (23) biology questions
- Fifteen (15) chemistry questions
- Thirteen (13) physics and mathematics questions
A maximum of ninety (90) points shall be awarded for the evaluation of the test, taking into account the following criteria:
- 1.5 points for each correct answer
- Minus 0.4 (- 0.4) points for each wrong answer
- 0 points for each omitted answer
Looking for More IMAT Practice?
Boost your IMAT preparation with 10+ fully translated TOLC-MED past papers and 1000s of practice questions. Created by MUR (who also prepare the IMAT), these exams are the closest alternative available for the IMAT which is ideal for the most realistic practice and preparation you can get.
📚 Start Practicing NowWhat Language Certifications are Accepted for the 2026 IMAT?
They have used the exact same table for accepted language certificates as in the 2024 and 2025 specification. An interesting note at the bottom of the page translates as:
Applicants who have attended a school with instruction taught in English for at least one academic year are automatically recognized as having a language certification.
How many seats are available in each Italian university for 2026?
There have been quite a few changes to the number of seats available in each university as well as what universities are offering courses in English. We recommend clicking the button below to see the detailed change.
Looking for More IMAT Practice?
Boost your IMAT preparation with 10+ fully translated TOLC-MED past papers and 1000s of practice questions. Created by MUR (who also prepare the IMAT), these exams are the closest alternative available for the IMAT which is ideal for the most realistic practice and preparation you can get.
📚 Start Practicing Now