ERAS Letters for IMGs 2027: AAMC Portal Guide

Fast answer

ERAS letters of recommendation for IMGs use a new submission system in 2027. Applicants still create, confirm, and assign letter requests in MyERAS. Authors now submit through the AAMC Letter Writer Portal; the former ERAS LoRP is no longer available.

Each letter requires its own MyERAS entry and unique request. After the applicant confirms the entry, MyERAS generates a Letter ID and request form. The writer may submit through the secure email link as a guest or use an AAMC account.

An applicant may assign up to four letters to a program, but the program can request fewer or specify author and format requirements. Once a letter is assigned to an applied program, the selection is locked. Once four are assigned, no fifth letter can replace one.

For 2027, Dermatology, Plastic Surgery-Integrated, and Urology have built-in standardized letter pilots. Those standardized forms must be completed within the AAMC portal. They cannot be uploaded as PDFs.

What changed in 2027

The central change is the author-facing portal. AAMC opened the Letter Writer Portal for ERAS 2027 on June 4, 2026 and retired the old Letter of Recommendation Portal. The request and assignment steps remain in MyERAS.

Letters successfully uploaded before the transition cutoff were moved into the new system. Incomplete old requests were not preserved indefinitely: AAMC says an unfulfilled request after the cutoff must be generated again through the new workflow.

The new portal also supports built-in standardized forms for three pilot specialties, guest submission from the secure email link, improved request status visibility, and an account dashboard for writers who manage many letters.

Who does what

Letter problems are easier to solve when each party's responsibility is explicit. The applicant controls the request description, waiver choice, and program assignment. The author controls the letter's content and owns the letter. AAMC controls the portal and transmission. ECFMG supports IMG applicants but does not write, edit, or choose the letter.

The author may use an authorized assistant for upload, subject to AAMC's restrictions. An applicant who waived the right to view cannot upload or obtain that letter. A person advising the applicant on the relevant application also cannot serve as the author's upload assistant under the general portal terms.

How many letters do you need?

There is no universal rule that every residency program wants the same number or composition. MyERAS sets a maximum of four assigned letters per program. That technical maximum is not a recommendation to send four everywhere.

Programs may request two, three, or four; require a department chair or specialty letter; accept one outside-specialty letter; or specify a standardized form. Sending an extra letter when the program asks for fewer can show poor instruction-following.

Build a requirement matrix from the program and sponsoring-institution pages. Record both the number and the author types.

Choose letter writers for evidence, not titles alone

A recognizable title cannot compensate for a writer who barely observed the applicant. Strong residency letters usually provide specific evidence about clinical reasoning, communication, reliability, receptiveness to feedback, teamwork, documentation, ownership, and readiness for supervised training.

For an IMG, the most useful combination often includes writers who understand the U.S. training context and writers who can describe longitudinal performance. But the ideal mix depends on specialty and program rules.

Ask whether the physician can write a strong letter, not merely whether they can write a letter. Give an honest opt-out and enough time.

When and how to ask

Ask while the writer can still remember concrete work. For a clinical rotation, a useful time is near the end after enough observation has occurred, not on the first day and not months later without contact.

Use a direct question: “Would you feel comfortable writing a strong letter of recommendation for my [specialty] residency application?” The word strong gives the physician room to decline if the evidence is limited.

After agreement, send a compact packet. Do not send a huge archive that forces the writer to discover the applicant's story.

• CV with accurate dates and roles.
• One-page statement of specialty goals and relevant background.
• Draft personal statement only if the writer requests or would benefit from it.
• Target specialty and whether the request is General or specialty-specific.
• The correct MyERAS Letter Request Form.
• Desired upload date and the September 23 program-access context.
• Two to five reminders of work the writer personally observed.
• Program or specialty letter requirements when a special format applies.
• Current contact information.
• A clear statement that the writer should use their own evaluation and language.

Create the MyERAS letter entry correctly

Create a separate entry for each intended letter. The entry identifies the author, author email, specialty label, letter type, department-chair role, and waiver choice.

The specialty label helps organize requests and is visible to the applicant, Designated Dean's Office, and author; AAMC says it is not shown to programs as a standalone request label. Selecting General supports a narrative letter intended for more than one specialty, but narrative-versus-standardized options are unavailable within the General choice.

Plastic Surgery-Integrated has a special interface constraint: AAMC says the narrative option is unavailable when that specialty is selected. Always inspect the live interface and specialty guidance.

Do not confirm until every field is final

Only a Not Confirmed for Upload entry can be edited or deleted. Confirmation generates the unique Letter Request ID and locks the descriptive fields.

If a confirmed request is wrong, create a new entry. Do not hand-edit the request form, reuse the old ID, or ask the author to upload under a description that no longer matches.

Before confirming, read the author name, email, specialty, format, chair flag, and waiver aloud. This 30-second check prevents a week of confusion.

What is on the Letter Request Form

After confirmation, MyERAS creates a request form containing the season, unique Letter ID, author details, specialty, chair designation, applicant identity and contact information, waiver status, requested format, and portal instructions.

The form belongs to one request. AAMC warns applicants not to copy and distribute one form to multiple authors because the Letter ID can be used only once.

Emailing directly from MyERAS can reduce transcription errors and supports the secure-link guest workflow. Downloading the PDF is useful when the author asks for a consolidated packet.

How the writer enters the AAMC Letter Writer Portal

A 2027 writer can follow the secure link in the request email and submit as a guest without creating an AAMC account. Alternatively, a writer with an existing account can log in and manage pending and completed requests from the dashboard.

An account is especially useful for a department chair, clerkship director, coordinator, or faculty member handling many requests. AAMC recommends that applicants send requests to the email associated with the writer's AAMC account so the portal can match them automatically.

If a request does not appear on the dashboard, the writer can use Add Request or open the link from the request email and log in.

Waived versus nonwaived letters

The waiver controls access, not whether the applicant likes the author. If the applicant waives the right to review, AAMC says the applicant cannot view or obtain the letter under any circumstances.

A waived letter must be submitted by the author or an authorized designee who is allowed under portal terms. The applicant cannot serve as the uploader. Only a confirmed request in which the applicant did not waive the right may be uploaded by the applicant.

All uploaded ERAS letters are watermarked with the uploader's AAMC-account name and upload date/time. An applicant upload is therefore not invisible to programs.

Who may act as the author's designee

An author may authorize another person to assist with uploading. The uploader represents that every listed author approved the submission.

AAMC's general portal terms exclude two important designees: someone advising the applicant on the relevant application, and the applicant when the applicant waived the right to see the letter.

A department coordinator may be appropriate when authorized. A paid application advisor handling the applicant's strategy is not automatically appropriate. When uncertain, the author should contact AAMC Support before delegating.

Narrative letter PDF requirements

For an ordinary narrative letter, ECFMG's current writer page requires PDF format and lists a 1 MB maximum. ZIP files are not accepted.

ECFMG recommends professional letterhead containing address, phone, and email so programs can validate the source. Program directors do not receive the contact details from the writer's AAMC account; the uploaded document should therefore carry the professional contact information.

The letter should use a general salutation such as “Dear Program Director” rather than naming one program. Black-and-white content, no active hyperlinks, and lower-resolution scanning can keep the PDF below the size limit.

What a strong narrative letter should communicate

The portal transmits the letter; it does not make the content persuasive. A strong writer explains the context of observation, the applicant's responsibilities, specific performance, improvement, comparison group, and readiness for residency.

For IMGs, vague praise can be especially costly because programs may be trying to calibrate unfamiliar schools, roles, and clinical settings. The letter should describe what the applicant was permitted to do and what the writer personally saw.

It should not inflate an observership into hands-on care, claim independent practice when supervision was required, or copy the applicant's CV without evaluation.

• Writer's role and relationship to the applicant.
• Dates, setting, and duration of observation.
• Applicant's accurate clinical responsibilities.
• Examples of history-taking, presentations, reasoning, notes, or procedures as applicable.
• Communication with patients, families, interpreters, and team members.
• Reliability, integrity, ownership, and response to feedback.
• Evidence of growth across the experience.
• Calibrated comparison with students, graduates, observers, or trainees the author knows.
• Specialty fit supported by behavior, not generic enthusiasm.
• Clear level of recommendation for U.S. residency.

Specialty-specific standardized letters in 2027

Dermatology, Plastic Surgery-Integrated, and Urology participate in the built-in standardized letter pilot. The applicant must select the correct specialty at request creation so the portal sends the correct format to the writer.

If the request is standardized, the writer completes the form inside the portal; a PDF of the standardized form cannot be uploaded. If the request is narrative and permitted for that specialty, the writer uploads a narrative PDF.

For specialties outside the pilot, AAMC permits narrative PDFs and/or specialty standardized forms subject to the relevant specialty and program rules. Do not infer that “not built in” means a specialty has no external guidance.

General versus specialty-specific requests

Choose General only for a narrative letter that genuinely works across multiple specialties. AAMC says the narrative/standardized selection is not available when General is selected.

A specialty-specific request helps the author frame the evaluation for that field and can trigger the correct standardized form. It may be inappropriate to assign that letter to an unrelated specialty even if the interface technically permits a broad choice.

If one physician agrees to support two specialties with different framing, create separate accurate requests and let the writer decide whether distinct letters are appropriate. Never send one Letter ID for two documents.

Track upload status without asking to see the letter

MyERAS shows Not Confirmed for Upload, Confirmed for Upload, Uploaded, or Imported. Applicants also receive an email when a letter is uploaded.

Following up on status does not violate a waiver. Ask whether the writer received the request and whether upload by the agreed date remains feasible. Do not ask for the confidential content.

Use respectful spacing. One reminder before the agreed date, one on or shortly after it, and one contingency message is usually more effective than daily contact.

Assign letters program by program

Only uploaded or imported letters can be assigned. Assignment can be made from the LoR page by letter or from Saved Programs and Programs Applied To by program.

Use program-specific combinations. The strongest three letters for an internal medicine program may differ from the best set for neurology or a preliminary year.

A disabled program checkbox can mean that four letters are already assigned. A withdrawn or closed program cannot accept a new assignment.

The four-letter lock

The maximum is not a flexible holding area. Once four letters are assigned to an applied program, no additional assignment can be made during the season. An assigned letter cannot be replaced.

This remains true if an author later edits or withdraws the letter: the applicant's original program selection stays locked. The author owns the letter and may contact ERAS Support about an update or withdrawal, but the applicant does not regain the slot.

Before applying, review every program's assigned letters. A fifth letter expected next week is not useful if four placeholders are already locked.

• Do not assign four merely because four are available.
• Do not use a weak letter as a temporary placeholder.
• Do not assume an author withdrawal opens a new slot.
• Do not confuse a saved-program assignment with an irreversible applied-program lock; verify before payment.
• Do not assign a specialty-specific letter to the wrong track.
• Keep one matrix showing every program and its final letter set.

Can you add a letter after applying?

Yes, if fewer than four letters are assigned and the program remains open. But late availability does not guarantee review.

Programs may screen applications on September 23, review in batches, or close interview decisions before the new letter appears. The technical ability to assign is not a promise that the program will reopen the file.

If a required letter will be late, check the program deadline and communication policy before applying. A later strong letter may be preferable to a weak placeholder, but a missing required letter can make the initial file incomplete.

Program review begins September 23

Residency applicants may begin submitting on September 2, 2026, and programs gain access September 23 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Applications submitted during the September 2–23 window appear with the same September 23 submission date.

That date should anchor the letter plan. Ask writers early enough for drafting, institutional review, technical formatting, correction of a wrong request, and portal support.

A personal target one to two weeks before program access provides a useful buffer. It is not an official universal deadline; program-specific deadlines control.

Can a submitted letter be edited or withdrawn?

Letters remain the author's property. AAMC says the author may contact ERAS Support to edit or withdraw a submitted letter.

The applicant cannot make the change and cannot remove the assigned letter from an applied program. The original selection remains locked even after an author change.

If a factual correction is needed, the author should act promptly and document the request. The applicant should not upload an altered copy under another person's name.

Repeat applicants and imported letters

Eligible applicants who certified and submitted previous ERAS applications may import LoRs from seasons since ERAS 2020. An imported letter becomes available to assign, but its descriptive information cannot be edited.

Import is technically convenient; strategic reuse requires judgment. A several-year-old letter may still be valuable if it documents a major longitudinal relationship, but a full set of old letters can signal that no recent supervisor supports the reapplication.

If the author's role, specialty framing, date, or evaluation should change, request a new submission. Do not use an inaccurate imported description because the underlying prose still sounds positive.

Transition rule for old LoRP requests

AAMC transferred letters uploaded before the 2026 cutoff into the new system for ERAS 2027. An incomplete request that was not fulfilled by the transition deadline must be created again.

Do not tell a writer to use an old pending request merely because the email still exists. Generate a current request in MyERAS, audit every field, and send the new secure link or form.

Confirm the actual Imported or Uploaded status before relying on a transferred letter.

Troubleshooting the new portal

First identify whether the problem is the applicant request, the writer's access, the PDF, or the program assignment. Those layers have different fixes.

The applicant should contact AAMC for MyERAS letter interface and assignment issues. The writer should contact AAMC for Letter Writer Portal login or upload problems. ECFMG offers IMG-specific format guidance but does not control the AAMC portal login.

A concise reminder template

A useful reminder is factual and easy to act on: “Dear Dr. [Name], thank you again for agreeing to support my [specialty] residency application. I resent the ERAS 2027 Letter Request Form today; the AAMC Letter Writer Portal secure link is in that message. Programs may begin reviewing applications September 23, and my target upload date is [date]. Please let me know if the request did not arrive or if I can provide any additional context. Thank you, [name].”

Do not attach the writer's draft, pressure the author with daily messages, or imply that the writer promised a specific endorsement. If the writer cannot meet the date, activate a legitimate backup rather than manufacture a letter.

A letter packet that helps without ghostwriting

The applicant can organize evidence without composing the confidential evaluation. A one-page memory aid is often enough.

Use headings such as setting, dates, responsibilities, three observed examples, feedback incorporated, specialty goal, and deadline. Every example should be something the writer personally observed or can verify.

Never supply a fabricated comparison statement, invented patient encounter, or a complete letter for the writer to sign. If local culture expects a draft, protect accuracy and authorship by asking the writer to independently verify, rewrite, and own every claim; confidential-process and institutional policies still control.

Common mistakes

• Using the retired LoRP instructions for ERAS 2027.
• Creating one request form and sending it to multiple writers.
• Confirming an entry before checking specialty, format, chair flag, and waiver.
• Choosing General when a specialty-specific standardized form is required.
• Uploading a PDF of a built-in standardized pilot form.
• Assuming every specialty or program wants four letters.
• Assigning four placeholders and expecting to replace one later.
• Submitting to a program before reviewing the final assignment set.
• Asking a waived-letter author to show the applicant the content.
• Letting the applicant or application advisor upload a waived letter.
• Using a PDF larger than 1 MB or without professional contact information.
• Addressing a reusable letter to one named program.
• Waiting until September 23 to discover the writer never received the request.
• Assuming a late Uploaded status guarantees program review.
• Importing an old letter without checking its specialty, description, and currency.
• Describing an observership as hands-on work in the writer packet.
• Choosing prestige over direct observation and specificity.
• Failing to thank the writer and confirm successful upload.

Master 2027 ERAS LoR checklist

• I checked each program's exact number and type of required letters.
• I selected writers who directly observed relevant performance.
• I asked whether each writer could provide a strong recommendation.
• I agreed on a realistic upload date.
• I prepared an accurate, compact evidence packet.
• I created a separate MyERAS entry for every letter.
• I verified author name and email.
• I selected General or the correct specialty deliberately.
• I selected narrative or standardized format correctly.
• I marked the chair requirement accurately.
• I made an informed waiver choice.
• I audited the entry before confirmation.
• I sent the correct unique request form to one writer.
• My pilot-specialty request opens the correct built-in form.
• My narrative writer knows the PDF and 1 MB rules.
• The letterhead includes professional contact information.
• I track Confirmed, Uploaded, and Imported states without requesting confidential content.
• I reviewed each program's letter combination before applying.
• I assigned no more than the program requests.
• I understand assignments lock after application.
• I left capacity for a pending letter when strategically appropriate.
• I do not expect a late letter to force re-review.
• I assessed imported letters for recency and specialty fit.
• I saved support evidence for any portal problem.
• I will recheck live AAMC, ECFMG, specialty, and program rules.

Bottom line

For ERAS 2027, applicants request and assign letters in MyERAS, while authors submit them through the new AAMC Letter Writer Portal. A writer may use an AAMC account or a secure guest link.

Accuracy at request creation is critical because confirmed entries cannot be edited. Verify the author, specialty, narrative-versus-standardized format, chair designation, and waiver before generating the unique Letter ID.

Up to four letters may be assigned per program, but program instructions control the ideal number and composition. Assigned letters lock after application, and a fifth letter cannot replace one of four.

The strongest IMG letter is both technically correct and evidentiary: it reaches the right program on time and describes specific, honestly represented performance from direct observation.

This guide reflects official information available July 18, 2026. Live AAMC, ECFMG, specialty-organization, program, and sponsoring-institution rules control if any format, portal, date, or assignment policy changes.