AACOMAS Letters of Evaluation: Portal and Interfolio

AACOMAS Letters of Evaluation: Portal and Interfolio

AACOMAS takes up to 10 evaluations per applicant, and only the evaluator can submit one: through Liaison Letters, the AACOMAS recommender portal, or through Interfolio when the applicant enters an Interfolio address. A completed evaluation cannot be removed or replaced by the applicant.

That last rule decides how you should work. This page is for the physician, professor or advisor who got the request email: what the portal asks you to fill in, what the Interfolio route changes, and why you should send only the final version. If you are still drafting the letter itself, start with how a DO writes a letter for osteopathic school or the general medical school letter of recommendation guide, then come back here to submit.

Every Liaison, Interfolio, AACOM and school page quoted below was opened on November 7, 2026. The help pages state no cycle year.

The AACOMAS letter rules in one table

All of these come from the AACOMAS Applicant Help Center page on evaluations, unless the row says otherwise.

If you have seen a lower cap quoted elsewhere, the live help page says 10.

The request email comes from support@aacomas.myliaison.com, according to the same page, so check your junk folder before telling the applicant it never arrived. If the applicant typed your address wrong, they "must delete these requests and then re-add them with the correct email." A new request is the fix, not a forwarded one.

What the Liaison Letters form asks you to fill in

AACOMAS says evaluators "may complete assessments such as writing essays, completing Likert scales, and/or uploading letters." The Liaison Letters page on completing a recommendation lists the parts, and says that "Depending on the program(s) the applicant is applying to, you may be prompted to complete one or more of the following assessments."

The upload rules are on the Liaison Letters FAQ: Word, PDF, RTF or plain text; "Make sure that your document is 15 MB or smaller"; and "Your file name should be less than 95 characters." A scanned letter saved as a JPG or PNG has to be converted to PDF first.

Our recommendation: write the letter first, then fill the boxes from it. The sliders and the drop-down are read next to your letter. An invented example: a letter that says "the strongest of the 12 students I have precepted" beside a middle rating on the same quality reads as a mistake or a hidden reservation. Set each rating to what the letter shows, and if the form asks about something you never observed, say so in the comment field the form offers rather than guessing.

The due date on the request

The Requested By date is set by the applicant. The FAQ says: "It may or may not be the same date as the actual deadline. If the due date has passed, submit your recommendation and contact the applicant to confirm deadline dates." Do not abandon a request because the date passed. Ask the applicant which schools are still waiting, and see the late letter of recommendation guide for what a late arrival costs.

Interfolio: the unique email address step

Some writers keep letters in Interfolio. AACOMAS allows it: "Each letter is assigned a unique email address that you must enter in the AACOMAS application." The applicant copies that address from their Interfolio account and enters it as if it were your email. AACOMAS then sends its request to Interfolio, not to you.

What changes for you, from Interfolio's article on sending letters to medical and dental schools:

• "Evaluators do not need to include the AACOMAS ID number on their letter if they are submitting it to Interfolio."
• "Letters submitted through Interfolio cannot be updated or replaced after delivery." That line is under the AACOMAS heading.
• Delivery is not instant: "it then takes our team 1-4 business days to deliver".
• The applicant needs a paid Dossier Deliver account to send the letter on.

Interfolio's letter writer article adds two writer-side facts. For a confidential letter, "the applicant or candidate will never be able to view the content of the letter." And "the letter writer can upload their letter even after the request deadline has passed."

Liaison Letters or Interfolio: which route to use

Our view: if the applicant gives you the choice, submit through Liaison Letters. The basis is in the two help centers. Through Liaison Letters you answer the program's own questions and sliders yourself, and Liaison's edit page says "If available, you can edit completed recommendations by clicking Edit in the top right of your completed recommendation." Through Interfolio, the AACOMAS copy cannot be updated after delivery, and Interfolio's article on uploads to online application systems says it "will attempt to complete any additional fields or questions required by that system. If possible, these fields will be marked as “N/A.”" Neither help center says which AACOMAS fields that affects, so we cannot tell you what a school sees in those boxes.

The countercase: a premed advisor or a PI writing for many students, to MD, DO and dental schools in the same cycle, may still be better served by one stored Interfolio letter. It is also the route when a school wants letters outside AACOMAS. In that case, make the stored letter final before you upload, because the AACOMAS copy is fixed once delivered.

Letters sent outside AACOMAS

AACOM's admissions requirements page says: "All medical schools require letters of evaluation/recommendation. Letters may be submitted electronically through the AACOMAS application or directly to the schools using alternative services indicated by each school…" It lists Interfolio, VirtualEvals and U.S. Mail, and adds: "Many programs have strict guidelines for submitting letters and requirements vary from school to school."

One school's version: Campbell University's osteopathic admissions page says "All letters of recommendation must be typed on official letterhead and signed." and "Letters are accepted through AACOMAS, Interfolio, and mail at any time in the application process." Which schools require a letter from a DO is a separate question, covered in which DO schools require a DO letter.

Delegates, declines and committee letters

Delegates. You can add an assistant as a delegate who prepares or submits letters. The Liaison delegate page says "You are still responsible for writing an applicant’s letter of recommendation." and "When your delegate performs the upload, your name will appear as the author to programs – the delegate’s name will not appear." A delegate handles the upload. The letter is still yours.

Declining. If you cannot write a useful letter, decline in the portal. The decline page says you can add an optional note and "Please note that you cannot undo this action." If you clicked it by accident, the FAQ says to ask the applicant to delete the request and add a new one.

Committee letters. If you chair a premed committee, the applicant lists you as the evaluator and you upload one letter carrying all members' assessments. How committee packets work at each service is in the medical school committee letter, explained.

Constructed example: the request note an applicant types into AACOMAS

AACOMAS asks the applicant to "Enter a brief message for the evaluator." Here is what a useful one looks like, and what to check in yours.

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's message. Context (invented): Asha Whitlock shadowed Dr. S. Brandvold, DO, in a family medicine clinic.

Dr. Brandvold, thank you for agreeing to write for me. This request is for AACOMAS. I have waived my right to see the letter. I am applying to 14 DO schools; my earliest secondary is due December 1, 2026, so I set the requested-by date to November 24. Two schools ask for a letter from a physician (DO or MD). I have attached my CV and a one-page list of the clinic days I shadowed you, with the two patients we discussed afterwards. If Interfolio is easier for you, tell me and I will send that address instead.

That message is 98 words. It tells the writer the route, the waiver, the real deadline behind the requested-by date, and what the letter is for. If the note you received lacks the real deadline or the school requirement, ask before you write.

Before you click Preview & Submit

1. The request is for the right applicant and lists AACOMAS (or the Interfolio request names AACOMAS).
2. The letter is the final version. Assume you cannot change it later.
3. It is on letterhead, signed and dated, and saved as PDF or Word under 15 MB with a short file name.
4. Your relationship answers match the first paragraph of your letter.
5. Each slider matches what the letter shows, and the overall recommendation matches your closing sentence.
6. You know the real deadline, not only the Requested By date.
7. If you were part of this applicant's committee letter, you are not also submitting as a separate evaluator.

Questions about AACOMAS letters

How many letters of recommendation does AACOMAS allow?

Ten. The AACOMAS help page says applicants can enter "a maximum of 10 evaluations" and send any more directly to programs. Each school sets its own minimum and its own rules about who writes.

Can the applicant submit my letter for me?

No. AACOMAS says evaluations "cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant or another party on behalf of the evaluator." A delegate you add in Liaison Letters can upload for you, and your name appears as the author.

Can I fix a letter after I submit it?

Through Liaison Letters, possibly: the edit option appears "If available". The applicant cannot remove or replace a completed evaluation. Through Interfolio, the AACOMAS copy "cannot be updated or replaced after delivery."

Do I put the applicant's AACOMAS ID on the letter?

Not for Interfolio: Interfolio says evaluators do not need it. The AACOMAS help page sets no ID rule for letters uploaded in Liaison Letters, so follow the school's instructions if one asks.

Can the applicant read my letter?

Only if they did not waive access, and even then not through AACOMAS: the help page says choosing No "does not allow you to view your evaluation via the application." If the applicant asks you for a copy, see what to do when an applicant asks to read your letter.

Get a free review of the letter

Get a free Quick Review of your recommendation letter against GradPilot's medical school letter of evaluation rubric before you click Preview & Submit, since the AACOMAS copy is the one schools keep. It checks that each comparison carries its own yardstick and that the endorsement is as strong as the evidence, the same two things your sliders and overall recommendation have to agree with. More letter types are on the recommendation letter review page.

More DO and medical school letter guides, from the medical school essays hub:

• What AACOMAS is and how the application works: the whole DO application, of which letters are one section.
• Extra letter of recommendation after an interview: which schools take a new letter once the applicant has interviewed.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026. None of the help pages states a cycle year.

• Liaison, AACOMAS Applicant Help Center: Evaluations: 10-evaluation cap, evaluator-only submission, no removal or replacement, committee letter rule, waiver, Interfolio address, request sender, message field.
• Liaison, Liaison Letters: Complete a Recommendation: form parts, overall recommendation drop-down, one upload.
• Liaison, Liaison Letters: FAQs: file types, 15 MB, file name length, Requested By date, accidental decline.
• Liaison, Liaison Letters: Edit Completed Recommendations: edit "If available".
• Liaison, Liaison Letters: Delegate: delegate responsibility and author name.
• Liaison, Liaison Letters: Decline a Recommendation Request: declines cannot be undone.
• Interfolio, Use Dossier Deliver to Apply to Medical or Dental Schools: no AACOMAS ID needed, no replacement after delivery, 1–4 business days, paid account.
• Interfolio, Submit a Letter of Recommendation (For Letter Writers): confidentiality, uploads after the request deadline.
• Interfolio, Send/Upload Recommendation Letters to an Online Application System: extra fields marked "N/A" where possible.
• AACOM, Admissions Requirements: letters through AACOMAS or alternative services.
• Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine admissions: letterhead, signature and accepted routes.