ERAS FAQs (10 Residency Application Questions Answered)

ERAS, the Electronic Residency Application Service, is the centralized system residency applicants use to submit their applications and supporting documents to programs. It streamlines the process for applicants, letter writers, program directors, and Designated Dean’s Offices alike.

Below, we answer 10 of the most common ERAS questions, like how to apply, what it costs, how the Match works, what happens if you don’t match, and how couples matching works.

1. How Do I Access MyERAS?

Contact your Designated Dean’s Office to get your ERAS token, a one-time access code used to register for MyERAS. A token from another school won’t upload your documents correctly, so it must come from your own institution.

Make sure your token is for the current MyERAS season. Tokens from previous seasons won’t work, and each one can only be used once to register. You’ll also need an AAMC account to complete registration.

If you’re a Canadian medical school graduate, your path depends on when you graduated. Graduates before July 1, 2025 go through CaRMS. Graduates on or after that date go through ECFMG instead.

2. How Much Do Residency Applications Cost?

ERAS fees are based on how many programs you apply to per specialty. The first 30 programs cost $11 each. Every program beyond that costs $30 each.

For example, applying to 32 Internal Medicine programs works out to $390 (30 x $11, plus 2 x $30).

There are additional one-time fees each season: $70 for your USMLE transcript, or $80 for your COMLEX-USA transcript if you’re pursuing a DO.

MyERAS calculates your total automatically, and you can pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover. ERAS does not offer refunds under any circumstances.

3. Do All Programs Participate in ERAS?

Most residency specialties match through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), with Match Day falling on the Friday of the third week in March.

A few specialties run their own separate matches outside the NRMP. Ophthalmology and Urology both hold early matches, typically landing in January or early February, and military residency programs run their own distinct process entirely.

Check AAMC’s list of ERAS participating specialties and programs to confirm whether a program you’re interested in uses ERAS at all.

4. How Does the Match Process Work?

The NRMP Match runs on a modified version of the Gale-Shapley algorithm, developed by David Gale and Lloyd Shapley in 1962 and later adapted for residency matching by economist Alvin Roth. Roth and Shapley shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for this work.

After the lengthy ERAS application process, both applicants and residency programs submit their Rank Order Lists (ROLs) in February.

A rank list orders the programs an applicant would attend, from most to least preferred. Programs build their own rank lists the same way, based on which applicants they’d most like to recruit.

The algorithm is applicant-proposing, meaning it’s designed to favor applicants’ preferences over programs’ preferences whenever a stable match allows, while still working to find the best possible outcome for both sides.

5. When Is the ERAS Residency Application Deadline?

The ERAS season opens in early June, when you’ll get your token from your Designated Dean’s Office and gain access to MyERAS. You’ll spend the next few months building your application, requesting transcripts, confirming letters of recommendation, and refining your personal statement.

Applications open in early September, though programs can’t see them until roughly three weeks later, when everything submitted lands on their desks simultaneously. Interview invitations can go out the very next day, so applying close to that release date rather than well ahead of it can cost you a spot in the first wave of interviews.

Technically, the season doesn’t close until May 31 of the following year, but treat that as a formality, not a target. Apply as soon as the September window opens for your best shot at your top programs.

One thing worth flagging if you’re applying to Emergency Medicine or OB/GYN is that both specialties have moved off ERAS entirely and now use a separate system called ResidencyCAS, so confirm your specialty’s actual application platform before assuming ERAS covers you.

6. Does Registering for ERAS Register You for NRMP?

No. ERAS and the NRMP are separate organizations, and registering for one doesn’t register you for the other. NRMP Match registration for the 2027 cycle opens September 15, shortly after ERAS applications open, so if you’re on top of your materials, you can register for NRMP soon after submitting through ERAS.

Register through the NRMP’s secure Registration, Ranking, and Results (R3) system, where you’ll create a username and password. Like ERAS, you’ll need an AAMC account to register for the Main Residency Match.

Once you’ve registered with NRMP, log back into ERAS and add your NRMP ID to your profile. This makes it easier for program directors to identify you as they build their rank-order lists.

7. How Does ERAS Differ From Medical School Applications?

The biggest difference is that you’ll only match with one program. When you applied to medical school, you likely juggled multiple acceptances and picked whichever school excited you most.

The Match doesn’t work that way. On Match Day, you’ll learn which single program you matched into, if you matched at all, and that result is binding. You can’t hold out for something better once you’re matched. You’re committed to attending. That’s exactly why carefully researching programs and building a thoughtful Rank Order List matter so much.

Your personal statement changes too. You’re no longer writing as a premed hoping to get into medical school. You’re a young professional making the case for a specific specialty, and simply reusing your old personal statement won’t cut it. Our ERAS personal statement guide covers exactly how to approach that shift.

8. How Many Letters of Recommendation Do I Need For Residency?

You can upload an unlimited number of letters to your ERAS account, but each program can only receive up to 4. Your MSPE or Dean’s Letter doesn’t count toward that limit.

ERAS letters can’t be addressed to a specific program. They’re standardized, so your letter writers only need to draft one version rather than customizing for every program you apply to. For the 2027 cycle, all letters are submitted through the AAMC Letter Writer Portal, which replaced the previous Letter of Recommendation Portal entirely. See our full breakdown of what’s new for the 2027 ERAS cycle for more on this and other changes.

Aim for at least one letter from an attending or mentor in your specialty who worked with you directly and can speak specifically to your fit for that field. Choose writers across different settings who know you well and are willing to write strong letters, as a lukewarm letter can hurt you here just like it can in medical school applications.

Some programs also want a letter from someone outside medicine entirely. Requirements vary by program, so check each one’s website carefully before deciding who to ask.

9. How Does Couples Matching Work?

Couples matching allows two applicants to link their rank-order lists so the NRMP evaluates them as a pair rather than separately. Instead of ranking individual programs, you rank paired combinations, and the algorithm matches you to the highest-ranked pair where both of you have been offered a position.

The biggest myth here is that couples matching hurts your odds. It doesn’t. Couples match rates have stayed above 90% every year since 1987, close to what individual applicants see. What it does require is real compromise and geographic flexibility, since you’re both constrained by the same cities.

Both partners register individually in the NRMP’s R3 system, then link their accounts to build a joint list. For the full strategy, including how to structure your list and coordinate interviews as a couple, see our complete guide to couples matching.

10. What Happens If You Don’t Match?

At 10 AM ET on the Monday of Match Week, you’ll find out whether you matched, but not where. If you didn’t match, you’ll need to participate in the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP).

SOAP is the NRMP’s process for connecting unmatched applicants with positions that went unfilled after the main algorithm ran. It unfolds over Match Week, from learning your status on Monday through four offer rounds on Thursday, a compressed and intense stretch of new applications and interviews.

Even after SOAP, there’s still a chance you end up without a position. That’s a genuinely hard outcome, but it’s not the end of the road, and there’s real work you can do to prepare for next cycle.

Give yourself real time to process it first. The emotions will be overwhelming, and stepping away from social media for a while isn’t a bad idea. Once you’ve worked through the initial shock, start reassessing your application honestly. Where did it fall short? Was there a clear weak point?

Almost every part of an application can be strengthened, but trying to fix everything at once isn’t realistic. Pick a couple of specific problem areas, build a concrete plan around them, and use your time deliberately this time.

Read our full breakdown of what to do if you don’t match into residency for a complete next-steps guide.

Know Where You Stand Before Match Day

These questions cover the mechanics of ERAS and the Match, but the one thing every applicant actually wants to know is simpler: How competitive am I for the programs I’m considering?

The Residency Specialty Chance Predictor gives you a data-driven read on your odds by specialty, based on real match data, so you can build your program list with a clearer sense of where you stand.