The MIR is the medicine stream of Spain's annual competitive process for entry to Formación Sanitaria Especializada. It ranks eligible medical graduates for the later choice and allocation of residency posts. It is not a stand-alone medical licence, automatic specialist recognition or guarantee of a chosen specialty.
As of 8 August 2026, the latest complete official baseline is the 2025 selection call for access in 2026 under Orden SND/928/2025. A future call can change dates, places, application documents and procedural rules, so prepare from this baseline but apply from the new order when it is published.
Every figure in this guide is checked against the official Ministry and BOE sources linked below — last verified 8 August 2026.
What the MIR pathway is for
MIR candidates compete for accredited specialist-training posts in Spain. The sequence is:
- meet the admission conditions in the annual call;
- submit the official application and evidence;
- appear on the final admitted list;
- sit the medicine examination;
- receive a total score and, where applicable, a número de orden;
- participate in the separate electronic choice and allocation process; and
- take up the allocated training post under the published conditions.
An examination result does not itself confer a specialist title. The title follows successful completion of the accredited residency and its assessments. Nor does an overseas medical degree become recognised merely because its holder prepares for or sits MIR.
Check the qualification and application boundary
For the medicine stream, the current call requires a Spanish medical qualification that enables practice as a doctor, or the required recognition, homologación or equivalence of a foreign qualification.
The right to the Spanish qualification or the relevant recognition of a foreign qualification must be obtained before the application deadline. An overseas applicant should not treat a pending homologación application as completed eligibility.
The annual order also governs:
- accepted identity and nationality or residence evidence;
- language evidence where applicable;
- treatment of academic records issued in different systems;
- reserved places and applicant turns;
- disability adjustments;
- electronic filing and correction of defects; and
- any limits applying to particular foreign-applicant categories.
These conditions are candidate-specific and cycle-specific. Read the complete new call rather than copying an earlier applicant's document list.
Current official examination format
In the latest completed call, the objective test contained:
- 200 ordinary questions plus 10 reserve questions;
- four answer options per question, with one correct option; and
- four hours and 30 minutes of examination time.
The reserve questions replace ordinary questions if the final answer-key process annuls items. Do not add all 210 to the final scoring denominator automatically.
The raw valoración particular is:
- 3 points for each correct answer;
- minus 1 point for each incorrect answer; and
- 0 points for each unanswered question.
With 200 ordinary scored questions, the raw maximum is 600. That raw figure is not the candidate's final score, and the final ranking calculation is not capped on a 0-to-100 scale.
How the raw result becomes a ranking
The current official calculation has two scaled components. The familiar 90 and 10 figures are reference anchors based on top-decile means, not maximum scores.
Examination component
After the papers are evaluated, the Ministry calculates the arithmetic mean of the top 10% of raw medicine examination valuations. That reference mean corresponds to 90 points. The Ministry divides 90 by the reference mean to obtain a correction factor, then multiplies each candidate's raw valuation by that factor. A candidate above the reference mean can therefore receive more than 90 examination points; 90 is not a cap.
Academic component
The Ministry separately calculates the arithmetic mean of the top 10% of eligible academic records in the medicine stream. That reference mean corresponds to 10 points. It divides 10 by that mean and multiplies each candidate's academic record by the resulting factor. An academic record above the reference mean can therefore receive more than 10 points; 10 is not a cap.
Total and número de orden
The total individual score is the sum of the scaled examination and academic components, subject to the minimum condition in the annual order. Because the 90-point and 10-point values are reference anchors rather than ceilings, the total is not capped at 100. Candidates are ordered by total score. The stronger score receives the lower, better número de orden.
The system gives the examination and academic record their 90/10 weighting through those top-decile reference means, but neither component is capped at its anchor. It is also inaccurate to describe raw points out of 600 as the final ranking score. Historical “cut-off” numbers cannot guarantee a specialty or hospital because available posts, candidate choices and the score distribution change each cycle.
How answers and results are published
The Ministry publishes the provisional answer key after the examination and provides the official challenge process. Annulled questions are replaced from the reserve set in order.
The current call provides for provisional result lists in the month after the examination. Those lists report candidate identification details, correct, incorrect and unanswered counts, the raw valuation, scaled examination score, academic record, total score and número de orden where awarded.
After the claim stage, the Ministry publishes definitive results. The 2026 definitive results were published on 10 March 2026. A later resolution opened the separate post-choice and allocation process.
Use the Ministry's Formación Sanitaria Especializada portal as the source of record. Coaching dashboards and score calculators can estimate raw net performance, but they cannot reproduce the official correction factors or final allocation.
What to study without inventing a blueprint
The governing regulation describes an objective examination of theoretical and practical knowledge and, where relevant, clinical and communication skills. The annual call does not publish a guaranteed percentage by specialty.
A defensible medicine plan covers:
- internal medicine and urgent clinical decisions;
- surgery and peri-operative care;
- paediatrics;
- obstetrics and gynaecology;
- psychiatry;
- family, community and preventive medicine;
- epidemiology, biostatistics and critical appraisal;
- pharmacology and treatment safety;
- ethics, law and communication; and
- interpretation of clinical data and images.
Use official released papers to see how these areas are sampled. Do not turn the topic distribution of one paper into a promised distribution for the next.
Build a practical study workflow
Start with a measured diagnostic
Complete a recent official paper under generous time. Record correct, wrong and blank answers, then calculate the raw valuation as:
3 × correct answers − incorrect answers
Keep raw performance separate from any unofficial rank estimate.
Build system blocks
For each clinical system, revise:
- common presentation and dangerous alternative;
- first stabilising step;
- most useful next investigation;
- treatment threshold;
- contraindication or adverse-effect trap;
- follow-up or prevention; and
- one guideline change that could make an old answer obsolete.
Combine content review with questions immediately. A fact that cannot be applied to a vignette is not yet examination-ready.
Mix topics and train the penalty
After the first coverage pass, use mixed sets. Record two metrics:
- raw knowledge accuracy; and
- net points after the minus-one penalty.
Because the current item has four options, elimination changes the risk of guessing. Decide from evidence and remaining options, not from a universal “always answer” or “always leave blank” rule.
Rehearse full papers
In the final phase, complete 200-question scored blocks plus reserve questions within four hours and 30 minutes. Practise answer transfer, planned checkpoints, food and hydration strategy, and recovery after a difficult run of questions.
Review errors for net-point gain
For every wrong, guessed or slow question, record:
- Area: system and subtopic.
- Task: diagnosis, test, treatment, complication, prevention or principle.
- Missing clue: the phrase, image or value that should have driven the answer.
- Distractor: why the selected option looked plausible.
- Penalty decision: answer, eliminate and answer, or leave blank.
- Correction: one concise rule with a current source.
- Re-test: an unseen question and review date.
Classify the loss as knowledge, update gap, interpretation, overthinking, risky guess or time pressure. Rank revision by recoverable net points, not by how comfortable a subject feels.
Application, booking and readiness checklist
- I am reading the annual BOE order for the cycle I will enter.
- My medical qualification enables access under that order.
- Any required recognition, homologación or equivalence is complete before the application deadline.
- My identity, nationality or residence, language and academic-record documents meet the current rules.
- I filed through the official process and checked provisional admission status.
- I corrected any exclusion reason within the official correction process.
- I checked the definitive admitted list and examination venue notice.
- I understand the 200-question plus 10-reserve structure.
- I score practice as plus 3, minus 1 and zero for blank.
- I keep raw points separate from the official scaled total and número de orden.
- I can complete a full paper in four hours and 30 minutes.
- I have a method for clinical images, calculations and uncertain items.
- I know that results, post choice and residency completion are separate stages.
Quick answers
Is MIR a medical licensing exam?
No. It is the medicine selection route for specialist training posts. Qualification recognition, professional practice requirements, residency allocation and completion are separate matters.
What was the latest official paper format?
The 2025 selection call for 2026 access used 200 ordinary questions plus 10 reserve questions, four options each, in four hours and 30 minutes.
How are answers marked?
A correct answer adds 3 raw points, an incorrect answer subtracts 1 and a blank adds 0.
Is the final MIR score out of 600?
No. Six hundred is the maximum raw valuation for 200 scored questions. The Ministry uses 90 examination points and 10 academic points as top-decile reference anchors when calculating correction factors. They are not component caps, so the final total is not capped at 100.
Does one score guarantee a specialty?
No. Allocation depends on the official total, número de orden, available posts and choices made by candidates ahead in the order.
Can I apply while foreign-degree recognition is still pending?
The current call requires the right to the relevant recognition, homologación or equivalence before the application deadline. Check the new call for the exact evidence.
When are results published?
The annual order sets the publication stages. In the latest cycle, provisional results followed the examination and definitive results were published on 10 March 2026.
