A PMT score check is one of the most searched things in Pakistani welfare, and it is also one of the most misunderstood. This guide explains what a PMT score actually is, whether you can really check it, and what genuinely affects your eligibility.
The short answer first: PMT stands for Proxy Means Test, and it is a poverty score the government calculates about your household. There is no official page where you type your CNIC and see the number.
What a PMT score is
Governments giving cash support face a hard problem. Most low-income households in Pakistan work informally, so there are no salary slips or tax records to prove who is poor.
The Proxy Means Test solves this by using proxies, meaning visible signs of living standards that a surveyor can record. Instead of asking your income, the survey records things like:
- How many people live in your household, and how many are children
- What your house is made of, and how many rooms it has
- Whether you own land, livestock, a vehicle, or a motorcycle
- What household items you own, such as a fridge or air conditioner
- The education level of household members
- Whether anyone has a disability, and whether the household is headed by a woman
A statistical formula converts these answers into a single score, normally on a 0 to 100 scale.
A lower score means greater need. This is the part people get backwards. A low PMT score is what qualifies you for support, not a high one.
Where your score comes from
Your score is not created when you apply for a scheme. It comes from a household survey that was already recorded. There are two main surveys:
- The National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER), run by BISP. It gives the score used by federal programs such as Benazir Kafaalat. Our what is NSER guide explains this registry.
- The Punjab Socio-Economic Registry (PSER), run by the Punjab government. Its data is turned into a PMT score after PSPA checks wealth and assets with other departments. See what is PSER.
Here is the part many guides get wrong: Punjab schemes do not all use the PSER score. Some use the BISP (NSER) score instead. So the survey that matters depends on the scheme.
If your household was never surveyed, you normally have no score at all, which is why many people get a “not found” reply rather than a rejection.
Which score does your scheme use?
As of September 2026, official scheme pages say this:
| Scheme | Score it uses | Official rule |
|---|---|---|
| Benazir Kafaalat (BISP) | NSER | 32 or below, or 37 or below if a family member has a disability |
| Himmat Card (Punjab) | NSER, the “PMT score issued by BISP” | 45 or below |
| Minority Card (Punjab) | NSER | The portal sends applicants to BISP (NSER) centres |
| Apni Chhat Apna Ghar (Punjab) | PSER | 60 or below |
| Rehmat Card (Punjab) | PSER | Final selection uses the PSER PMT score |
So a family in Punjab may need a correct NSER record for one scheme and a correct PSER record for another. Always read the scheme’s own official rules.
Can you check your PMT score online?
Not the number itself. This needs saying plainly, because dozens of websites claim otherwise.
The score is used internally by BISP and by Punjab departments to rank households. It is not published to applicants, and there is no official portal that displays it.
What you can check officially is your eligibility result, which is the outcome of the score:
| What you want | Where to check |
|---|---|
| BISP eligibility | Send your CNIC to 8171, or use the BISP portal |
| BISP in person | Your nearest BISP Tehsil Office |
| Punjab scheme status | The scheme’s own official portal or office. The Kisan Card uses SMS 8070 to apply |
| PSER record | Log in at portal-pser.punjab.gov.pk, the official PSER login page, with your CNIC and password. The main PSER website is pser.punjab.gov.pk |
Our 8171 check online guide and 8070 SMS check guide walk through both codes, and our PSER registration check guide explains the PSER login. The PSER record shows your application, not your PMT number.
What cut-off score is used
Each program sets its own threshold. As of September 2026, BISP’s official page for Benazir Kafaalat gives a PMT cut-off of 32, approved by the BISP Board in September 2021. For families with a member who has a disability, the cut-off is 37. Households at or below the cut-off qualify for the quarterly stipend.
Other programs use different cut-offs. In Punjab, the Social Welfare Department’s Himmat Card rules ask for a BISP score of 45 or below, while Apni Chhat Apna Ghar asks for a PSER score of 60 or below. Education stipends, nutrition programs and card schemes may also add extra conditions such as district, age, disability status, or school enrolment.
These thresholds are policy decisions and they change. Treat any number you read, including the one above, as accurate “as of” its date and confirm the current rule with the programme itself.
How to actually change your situation
Since you cannot edit the score, focus on the thing the score is built from: your survey data.
Ask for a fresh survey or a correction if any of these have changed:
- A death in the family, especially the earning member
- A disability that was not recorded
- Loss of a job, land, or livestock
- A change in household size
- Your household was surveyed years ago and the details are now wrong
- Your household was never surveyed at all
Match the survey to the scheme:
- For BISP, and for Punjab schemes that use the BISP score such as the Himmat Card, visit your BISP Tehsil Office with your CNIC to update your NSER record.
- For Punjab schemes that use PSER, such as the Rehmat Card and Apni Chhat Apna Ghar, call the PSER helpline 0800-02345 and ask how to update your household. The government called the PSER survey complete in June 2026, while a PSPA official put it at 92 percent in September, so check the current process first. Our PSER last date guide tracks it.
Warning: PMT score scams
This topic attracts fraud because people are desperate for the number. Be firm about these rules:
- No agent can change your PMT score. The formula is applied to survey data centrally.
- The government never charges for an eligibility check. There is no government fee on 8171 or 8070.
- Never share an OTP with anyone, even someone claiming to be from BISP.
- Never pay to “get your name added” to a list.
- Websites promising an instant PMT score for a fee are collecting your data, not helping you.
If someone asks you for money, that is fraud. You can report it through the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal.
The practical summary
- Your PMT score is calculated from a household survey, not from an application form.
- Lower means needier, and each program sets its own cut-off.
- You cannot look up the exact number officially, only your eligibility result.
- Punjab schemes use different surveys: some the BISP (NSER) score, some the PSER score.
- If your circumstances changed, get the right survey updated. That is the only genuine route.
To see which Punjab and federal programs your household may qualify for, try our free eligibility checker. It gives an estimate based on your answers and stores nothing.
GoPunjab is an independent information website. We cannot see, calculate, or change your PMT score, and we cannot register you for any programme. We only explain how the official process works.