Residency Letter of Intent: 2027 NRMP Rules
A residency letter of intent is allowed under NRMP rules, but some specialties ask you not to send one. The 2027 rules, dates, and what to write.
Residency Letter of Intent: 2027 NRMP Rules, Dates, and What to Write
A residency letter of intent is a short email you send to a program after your interview and before the rank order list deadline. It tells the program where your interest stands and why. NRMP allows it. The 2027 Match Participation Agreement says "Applicants may voluntarily communicate their interest to a program(s)". The same sentence forbids asking the program for a ranking commitment. Nobody requires you to send one, and several specialties ask applicants not to.
For the 2027 Main Residency Match, the last day a letter can reach a rank list is Wednesday, March 3, 2027. Rank order lists are certified by 9 p.m. ET that day. Some internal medicine, pediatrics and vascular surgery programs will lock their lists earlier, with a target date of February 8, 2027.
| Question | Short answer (2027 Main Residency Match) |
|---|---|
| Is a letter of intent allowed? | Yes. NRMP lets you volunteer your interest. You may not ask a program to commit to ranking you |
| Is it required? | No. NRMP protects your right to keep ranking preferences confidential |
| Last useful date | Rank Order List Certification Deadline, Mar 3, 2027, 9 p.m. ET |
| Earlier cutoff | Programs in the voluntary lock pilot (IM, pediatrics, vascular surgery), target Feb 8, 2027 |
| During SOAP (Match Week) | No unsolicited contact. Wait until the program contacts you |
| Specialties that say don't send, or discourage it | Dermatology and plastic surgery ask applicants not to. Family medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry discourage letters |
| Length | No official limit. The advising guidance says "brief and direct" |
This guide covers physician residency programs in the NRMP Match. If you are applying to pharmacy residencies through PhORCAS, you need a different document: a program-fit letter submitted with the application. The pharmacy residency letter of intent guide covers that one. For the med school version, sent to a school after an interview or from a waitlist, see letter of intent vs update letter for medical school.
What a residency letter of intent is (and what the label doesn't tell you)
Applicants and advisers use three names for this email:
- Letter of intent. Tells one program you plan to rank it first.
- Letter of interest. Says you are strongly interested and gives specific reasons, without a ranking position.
- Update letter. Reports something new since you applied or interviewed, such as a publication, award, released score or completed rotation.
The labels are loose. NRMP's Match Participation Agreement and Code of Conduct don't use any of these terms. They regulate what the letter says: volunteering your own interest is allowed, and asking about the program's ranking intentions is not. Published advice and program-director surveys also use "intent" and "interest" loosely. So judge your draft by its commitment sentence, not by the subject line. An email titled "letter of interest" that says "I will rank you first" is a first-choice letter. A "letter of intent" that says "I will be ranking you highly" makes a weaker claim, and it should.
The NRMP rules, verbatim
The binding document is the Match Participation Agreement (MPA) you accept when you register. For the 2027 Main Residency Match, §6.4 says this about the period "Before the Rank Order List Certification Deadline and/or the start of SOAP Offer Rounds":
"1. Applicants may voluntarily communicate their interest to a program(s); however, applicants may not solicit verbal or written statements from a program(s) implying a commitment to rank the applicant.
- A program may voluntarily communicate to an applicant that they are viewed favorably and will be ranked by the program; however, programs may not solicit verbal or written statements from an applicant implying a commitment to rank the program."
The same section says applicants have the right to "Keep confidential all information pertaining to ranking preferences and SOAP preferences." Under §6.5, programs may not "Request that applicants reveal their ranking preferences" or "Suggest or inform applicants that placement on a rank order list or a SOAP preference list is contingent upon submission of a verbal, electronic, or written statement indicating the applicant's preference".
Accuracy matters too. Under §6.3, you are responsible for the accuracy of "All written, electronic, and verbal information provided to programs and program representatives throughout recruitment," and the agreement adds: "Applicants who submit incomplete, misleading, false, or plagiarized information may be deemed to have violated this Agreement." A post-interview letter is information you give a program during recruitment. Don't write a sentence you would not stand behind.
Source: NRMP 2027 Match Participation Agreement for Applicants, checked 2026-09-28.
The Code of Conduct sounds stricter, and the difference matters
NRMP also publishes a Match Code of Conduct for Applicants (checked 2026-09-28). Under the heading "Limit post-interview communication," it says:
"Applicants may request and exchange clarifying information with programs following the interview but must not solicit or engage in post-interview communication for the purposes of influencing or ascertaining a program's ranking intentions."
It also says: "Applicants may freely express their interest in a program, but they must not request a program director or any member of the recruitment team to disclose program ranking preferences or intentions." And: "Applicants should create rank order lists based on their true preferences."
These two documents pull in different directions. The MPA says you "may voluntarily communicate" interest. The Code says you must not "engage in post-interview communication for the purposes of influencing ... a program's ranking intentions." Read literally, that phrase could cover a letter whose only purpose is to move you up a list.
NRMP doesn't seem to read its code as a ban on letters of interest. Its September 2026 newsletter for U.S. seniors summarizes the clause as "do not solicit feedback about how or whether you will be ranked." Its Rank Your Programs page links a video, "Letters of Interest and the Match," in which program directors and NRMP's policy team discuss the practice (both checked 2026-09-28).
Our reading, not NRMP's words: write the letter to inform the program, not to lobby it. Tell the program accurately where your interest stands and why. Don't ask it anything about ranking, and don't write the letter as a bid. The MPA, the Code, and the newsletter all agree on one rule: never ask where you stand. If you have a compliance question about your situation, NRMP's newsletter points applicants to policy@nrmp.org.
2027 Match dates that decide when a letter can matter
| Date | What happens (NRMP 2027 calendars) |
|---|---|
| Mon, Feb 1, 2027, 12 p.m. ET | Ranking opens for applicants and programs |
| Mon, Feb 8, 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET | Target lock date for programs in the voluntary rank order list lock pilot |
| Wed, Mar 3, 2027, 9 p.m. ET | Rank Order List Certification Deadline for applicants and programs; also the applicant withdrawal deadline |
| Mon, Mar 15, 2027 | Match Week begins; SOAP begins. "Applicants and their representatives CANNOT communicate with a program until contacted by that program." |
| Thu, Mar 18, 2027, 9 p.m. ET | SOAP ends |
| Fri, Mar 19, 2027, 12 p.m. ET | Match Day results |
Sources: 2027 Main Residency Match calendar and 2027 Match Week and SOAP calendar, checked 2026-09-28. For the earlier part of the cycle, see the 2027 ERAS timeline.
Locked lists (internal medicine, pediatrics, vascular surgery). Under NRMP's voluntary program rank order list lock pilot, participating programs, according to the 2027 process and timeline, "must certify and lock their ROLs at least 24 hours before the first post-interview visit and by 11:59 pm EST on Monday, February 8," and "Once certified and locked, programs cannot uncertify and edit their ROL under any circumstance." NRMP says the R3 system shows each program's locked status to applicants. The pilot's first year was the 2026 Match. NRMP's year-one report found that 29% of program tracks in the three specialties opted in: pediatrics 57%, vascular surgery 36%, internal medicine 22%. Before you write to a program in one of these specialties, check R3. A letter sent after a program locks its list can't change that list. At that point it's a courtesy, not a factor.
SOAP is a different regime. During Match Week, MPA §9.2 says SOAP-eligible applicants may not "initiate any verbal, written, or electronic communication with any program until and unless specifically contacted by a program representative". An unsolicited SOAP letter of intent is not permitted.
After March 3 at 9 p.m. ET, no letter can affect a rank list, and the MPA says applicants cannot withdraw from the Match after that deadline.
Fellowship applicants in NRMP's Specialties Matching Service sign an agreement with the same sentence about communicating interest. Their calendars differ by fellowship; see the ERAS fellowship timeline.
Should you send one? Start with your specialty
Advising sources agree on the first rule: a program's or specialty's instruction outranks general advice. The University of Maryland School of Medicine's residency manual puts it plainly: "You should NOT send a letter of intent if it has been discouraged by the program."
Each specialty's program-director association published guidance for the 2026–27 cycle, most through the Organization of Program Director Associations (OPDA) guides. Here is what they say about post-interview letters. All were checked 2026-09-28.
| Specialty | What the 2026–27 guidance says (verbatim) | Who it addresses |
|---|---|---|
| Dermatology | "Post-interview communication of preference – including “letters of intent” and thank you letters – should not be sent to programs." (APD statement, May 1, 2026) | Applicants: don't send |
| Plastic surgery (integrated) | "There will be NO communication between faculty and applicants after the interview except for faculty communicating with their own advisees." (ACEPS policy, updated Feb 2026). The OPDA guide says post-interview communications "are against the policy set forth by ACEPS and should not be done." (OPDA plastic surgery) | Both directions; ACEPS describes an enforcement process |
| Family medicine | "Applicants are discouraged from sending letters of interest or intent to rank." (OPDA family medicine) | Applicants: discouraged |
| Pediatrics | "Letters of intent are not expected and, if sent, should only be sent to one program. Programs are not expected to reply to such communications." (APPD letter, June 2026) | Applicants: discouraged; one program only |
| Psychiatry | "No post-communication aside from a simple thank-you is recommended. The overall goal is to limit post-interview communication." (OPDA psychiatry) | Applicants: discouraged |
| Neurology | "Applicants are not expected to engage in post-interview communication but may contact programs with specific questions." (AAN statement) | Not expected |
| Anesthesiology | "If an applicant would like to send a thank you note or a letter of interest, they are welcome to do so. Applicants should understand that the Program Director may not respond, and this correspondence will not be utilized to influence interview/rank list outcomes." (OPDA anesthesiology) | Permitted; said not to affect ranking |
| General surgery | "Thank you letters or post-interview communication is acceptable but not required." (OPDA general surgery) | Permitted |
| Emergency medicine | "There is no requirement nor suggestion that post-interview communication be sent to programs." (OPDA emergency medicine) | Neutral |
| OB-GYN | Programs are asked "to be transparent about the program's preferences around and use of post-interview communication such as thank you notes and letters of intent." (OPDA OB-GYN) | Check each program |
| Diagnostic radiology | "Somewhat program specific, but generally post-interview communications are not required. Usually, programs will give guidance." (OPDA radiology) | Check each program |
| Orthopaedic surgery | "Orthopaedic Surgery strongly discourages any post-interview communication from the Program Director, Department Chair, or faculty on the Selection Committee." (OPDA orthopaedics) | Programs only; applicants are not told not to send |
| Urology (separate match, not NRMP) | "Applicant letters of intent are permitted, but cannot be required by programs. Programs are NOT to contact applicants after the interview and should not respond to letters of intent." (SAU match policy) | Permitted; runs under the SAU/AUA Urology Match, so the NRMP dates above don't apply |
If your specialty says don't send, don't send. Nothing on this page is advice to work around a specialty's or program's instruction. If your program has published its own preference, it controls for that program. Check the program's website, interview-day materials and application portal.
Where a letter is allowed, three conditions from advising sources are worth keeping:
- Only if it is true. The Maryland manual: "You should only send a letter of intent if you are certain of your rank list." EMRA's advising guide: "Do NOT play games with any post-interview communication (ie, don't tell every program they're your No. 1 program)."
- One first-choice letter. Pediatrics says so in its statement, and the advising sources quoted here assume a single first-choice letter. A surgical-residency guide in Annals of Surgery Open (2024) warns: "Program directors talk and if they find out you sent multiple “you are my top choice” letters, you could be removed from those programs' rank lists."
- Silence is a legitimate choice. You have a right to keep your preferences confidential. The AAFP's residency-interview advice notes that "Minimal communication does not indicate a lack of interest from the program."
Whether a letter changes anything is a separate question. The evidence is thinner than most advice suggests, and we lay it out without spin in does a letter of intent change your rank list?
What to say
Maryland's manual says the letter "should be brief and direct" and "should be addressed to the Program Director and cc'd to the Program Administrator". Email is the usual channel. In one survey of emergency medicine program directors about thank-you messages, 78.2% said they preferred email. A letter that does its job usually covers four things, in about this order:
- Who you are and when you interviewed. Give your name, medical school, interview date and anything the program asks you to include, such as an applicant ID. Don't make the reader search for who you are.
- Your interest, at the strength that is true. This is the commitment sentence, and you choose it. You might say you will rank the program first, that it is among your top choices, that you will rank it highly, or you might make no ranking statement at all. State it once, in plain words, with no conditions attached.
- Why this program, from what you learned there. An emergency medicine associate program director in an AMA interview advised applicants to say "what the things were that stood out in your interview and in your discussion about the program that are unique and meet your needs." Name the conversation, the conference, the clinic structure or the rotation. Then say what you would do with it. If the paragraph would still read true with another program's name in it, it is not specific enough yet.
- Anything new, only if it is new. Maryland: "If allowed, you may follow up with programs to provide updates after your interview – e.g., a new publication or award." Your ERAS application isn't news, and a restatement of it doesn't count as an update.
Close with thanks and your contact details. That's the whole letter. For three complete, annotated drafts (first-choice, interest-only, and update), see residency letter of intent examples.
What never to say
- Anything that asks about the program's ranking. "Please let me know where I stand," "I would love to know if I am ranked to match," or "Can you tell me if I have a good chance?" all ask about the program's ranking intentions. The Code of Conduct says applicants "must not request a program director or any member of the recruitment team to disclose program ranking preferences or intentions."
- A conditional or reciprocal commitment. Don't write "If you can assure me I will match, I will rank you first," or "I will rank you first if you rank me highly." This bargains for a commitment, which §6.4 prohibits.
- A first-choice claim that isn't true or final. Don't send it to two programs, and don't send it while you're still deciding. Don't mix "you are my first choice" with "I am still weighing my options" in the same letter.
- The wrong program, person or conversation. The same EM program director called it "really bad form" to "send a note to Dr. Smith about a conversation you had with Dr. Jones." Check every name against the addressee.
- A hidden condition. If your commitment depends on a couples match or a partner's placement, say so in the commitment sentence itself, so the commitment you state is the one you mean.
- A second personal statement. Programs already have your application. Long retellings of your path to the specialty add length without adding information.
- Unsolicited SOAP contact. During Match Week the rule is no contact until the program contacts you.
How long should a residency letter of intent be?
No NRMP rule, specialty statement or program-director association sets a word or page limit. The advising guidance says "brief and direct." For thank-you notes, the EM program director in the AMA interview said a long letter is "not as effective as three or four sentences". A letter of intent carries a little more: an interest sentence, one or two program-specific reasons and perhaps an update. Our suggestion, not a rule: a few short paragraphs that fit on one screen without scrolling. If a program sets its own limit, follow it.
Get a second read before you send
A letter of intent is short, which makes every sentence carry weight. You can check your draft against the residency letter of intent rubric before you send it. You get qualitative feedback on whether your reason for the program is specific and based on what you learned there, and whether your interest sentence is stated once and consistently. The review also flags anything that reads as asking about ranking, and whether an update is actually new. If your specialty or program has published a communication instruction, paste it above your draft so the feedback takes it into account.
The review responds to what you wrote. It doesn't write the letter, choose your commitment for you, or predict how any program will rank you. It also can't see what you've sent to other programs. The honesty of your commitment is yours to keep. For other residency documents, browse the residency rubric collection.
If you are also deciding whether to send a note right after the interview, that is a different, shorter message. See residency interview thank-you emails.
Sources
All checked 2026-09-28.
- NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement for Applicants: §6.3, §6.4, §6.5, §9.2
- NRMP, Match Code of Conduct for Applicants
- NRMP, 2027 Main Residency Match calendar and Match Week and SOAP calendar
- NRMP, Voluntary program ROL lock pilot, 2027 process and timeline, year-one report
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Residency Application Manual: The Interview
- EMRA, Making the Most of Interview Day
- AAFP, Residency interviews
- AMA, Meet Your Match: what to do after your residency interview
- "Find Your Perfect Match for Surgical Residency," Annals of Surgery Open, 2024, Table 1
- Specialty statements as linked in the table above
Does your letter say why this program, clearly and honestly?
Get feedback on your program-specific reasons, how you state your interest, and any update. Paste your specialty's or program's communication instructions above your draft.