MSPE for IMGs in ERAS 2027: Complete Upload Guide

Fast answer

The MSPE for IMGs in ERAS 2027 is a medical-school evaluation, not a recommendation letter and not a transcript. It summarizes performance during medical school in institutional context.

If your school participates in ERAS Support Services through the MyIntealth Entity Portal, the school must upload the MSPE. If it does not participate and you have an official student copy issued by the school, you may upload that copy through the MyIntealth Applicant Portal.

ECFMG processes the document in up to five business days and does not expedite. For the 2027 season, ECFMG recommends submission no later than September 11 so the document can be available when residency programs begin accessing applications on September 23 at 9 a.m. Eastern.

Residency applicants do not assign the MSPE. When available, it is automatically sent to every program receiving the MyERAS application.

If the school does not provide an MSPE, select that response on the MyERAS Additional Documents page before certification. ECFMG supplies a neutral placeholder rather than leaving the slot incomplete.

MSPE, Dean's letter, transcript, and LoR

ECFMG explicitly warns that the MSPE is not an LoR and should not be finalized as a letter or assigned through the LoR workflow.

Renaming a transcript `MSPE.pdf` does not create an evaluation. The document content and issuing authority determine what it is.

What an acceptable IMG MSPE should contain

These are the current ECFMG submission expectations. They are distinct from AAMC's more detailed recommendations about ideal MSPE structure.

A document should be legible, complete, and genuinely issued by the school. A digital signature or seal should be handled according to the school's authorized process, not added by the applicant.

AAMC's recommended six-section structure

The retained AAMC task-force recommendation calls for a maximum of seven single-spaced pages in 12-point font, excluding the Medical School Information section. It recommends standardized, clear, concise presentation rather than advocacy.

The guidance also encourages the six ACGME core competencies when possible, transparent comparative data, explanation of how grades and comparisons are derived, and both deficient and exemplary professionalism information.

This national structure helps a U.S. program interpret an international curriculum. It is recommended guidance, not permission for the applicant to manufacture a school document.

Noteworthy Characteristics

AAMC recommends no more than three bulleted characteristics, each described in two sentences or fewer. They should add context that is not obvious elsewhere in the academic record.

A school may ask the learner for facts or a draft inventory. That does not transfer authorship or institutional responsibility to the applicant. Provide verifiable dates, roles, outcomes, awards, service, leadership, scholarship, challenges, and context; the school should select, verify, and issue the final language.

For the 2026 cycle onward, AAMC invited schools to add a brief statement explaining how Noteworthy Characteristics were created, such as learner contribution, institutional synthesis, or both.

Academic History should not hide adverse facts

The MSPE is designed as an honest evaluation. AAMC guidance places repeated or remediated coursework, changes in progress, adverse actions, and relevant academic history in structured context.

Applicants should verify factual accuracy, but asking a school to erase a documented failure, sanction, extension, or remediation is different from correcting an error.

A useful explanation states what happened, the institutional outcome, how remediation was completed, and the subsequent evidence. It does not use euphemism to make the record unrecognizable.

The MyERAS application also asks certain academic and professional extension questions. Shared facts should agree across MyERAS, MSPE, transcript, and interview responses.

Who must upload the MSPE?

The applicant cannot choose self-upload merely for speed when the school participates in the Entity Portal. ECFMG states that participating schools must upload and the applicant option will not be available.

Contact the Dean's office to determine participation. Do not infer it from whether the school uses MyIntealth for ECFMG credential verification; ask specifically about ERAS Support Services.

The MyERAS provider question

IMG residency applicants must indicate whether they or their medical school will provide the MSPE to ERAS Support Services at ECFMG.

If the applicant answered previously on Additional Documents, MyERAS displays the response and permits changes before certification. If not answered, the applicant must respond before certifying and submitting.

Choose the response based on the school's confirmed Entity Portal status and actual plan. The answer does not upload the document by itself.

Applicant upload through MyIntealth

ECFMG instructs applicants to scan the complete document into one file, save it as PDF, and follow the dimensions and size shown in the live ERAS Support Services upload screen.

The public ECFMG page does not publish a universal 2027 MSPE file-size number. Do not rely on an old blog's technical limit; the live MyIntealth specification controls.

School upload through the Entity Portal

School submission can still miss a deadline if it is requested late. The five-business-day ECFMG processing window begins after submission, not when the applicant first emails the school.

• Confirm the Dean's office is the responsible school unit.
• Give the school your full name and MyIntealth identification information as requested.
• Request the ERAS 2027 MSPE, not a general reference letter.
• Confirm the final document uses the correct name and graduation status.
• Ask for the planned upload date.
• Monitor MyERAS rather than assuming the school submission is complete.
• Allow five business days for ECFMG processing after receipt.
• Watch the MyERAS Message Center for discrepancies.

Official student copies and source integrity

ECFMG's current FAQ accepts official student copies when applicant upload is permitted. “Official student copy” means a genuine document issued by the school, not a document the applicant creates to imitate the school.

AAMC's source-document policy says MSPEs should be issued directly from the medical school and that printed reproductions from a prior Program Director's WorkStation are not acceptable source documents.

Do not add a missing signature, copy a seal from another document, edit grades, remove pages, change dates, or rebuild a PDF from screenshots. Ask the issuing school to correct or reissue it.

ECFMG treats falsified or altered document submission as potential irregular behavior with consequences that can include action against Certification and notification to residency program directors.

If the MSPE is not in English

Do not translate the document yourself unless you independently meet an accepted certifier category and the process is authorized. A fluent translation without certification does not meet the stated rule.

The English translation should preserve grades, dates, headings, comparative language, signatures, and seals in a way that accurately represents the source.

If the school does not provide an MSPE

First confirm that the school truly cannot issue either an AAMC-style MSPE or an acceptable Dean's letter. A brief unfamiliarity with the term “MSPE” is not necessarily refusal; explain that ECFMG accepts a school evaluation and provide the official AAMC recommendations.

If the document cannot be secured, indicate that it will not be provided on MyERAS Additional Documents before certification. ECFMG inserts a neutral placeholder.

The placeholder states: “This document is provided in lieu of the applicant’s MSPE. Please contact the applicant with any questions you may have.”

The placeholder makes the MSPE slot appear complete to programs that require a document before review. It does not supply grades, clerkship narratives, comparative performance, or a school evaluation.

Do not upload a personal statement or LoR as a substitute.

Processing time and the real deadline

September 11 is ECFMG's operational recommendation, not a promise that a rejected or discrepant file submitted that day will be repaired by September 23.

Work backward from the program-access date. Add time for the school to create or retrieve the document, translation, applicant review, upload, ECFMG quality control, and one correction cycle.

Submitting the MyERAS application does not waive a program's document deadline.

What ECFMG reviews

ERAS Support Services acts as the IMG's Designated Dean's Office. It evaluates the MSPE and medical school transcript for image clarity and confirms that each was uploaded to the correct document slot.

This quality-control review is not the same as endorsing every statement in the MSPE or rewriting the document into the AAMC structure.

ECFMG contacts applicants through the MyERAS Message Center about discrepancies. Monitor both the Message Center and the personal email notification linked to MyERAS.

How to track the MSPE

MyERAS can display when the document was made available to each program. It does not show whether a program viewed the document.

ECFMG does not provide applicants copies of received documents. Obtain and retain a copy from the original medical school before submission.

• Log in to MyERAS.
• Open Documents.
• Open Additional Documents.
• Find the MSPE status.
• Check the received or available date.
• Review the MyERAS Message Center for ECFMG discrepancies.
• After applying, check the Applied-to Programs delivery information.
• Record the date and time MyERAS made the document available.

Automatic assignment for residency

Residency applicants do not select MSPE assignments program by program. AAMC automatically sends the available MSPE to every program to which the applicant applies.

“No Available Action” is therefore expected in the residency Additional Documents page. It is not an error and does not mean the document is missing.

Fellowship applicants have different assignment controls. Do not apply an EFDO fellowship tutorial to an IMG residency application.

Repeat applicants and document reuse

An eligible applicant who participated in ERAS 2026 does not need to resubmit the stored MSPE for ERAS 2027. ECFMG uploads it within five business days after the 2027 Token is registered in MyERAS.

Do not assume immediate availability on Token day. Monitor Additional Documents through the full five-business-day window.

If the school issued a corrected or updated MSPE, submit the modified document through the current owner pathway. Once processed, it replaces the stored version.

A graduated reapplicant should not personally add post-graduation achievements to the school-issued MSPE. AAMC's retained FAQ distinguishes corrections, a school addendum, and a new MSPE based on applicant status.

Corrections, updates, and addenda

The issuing school decides how to correct or supplement its institutional evaluation. The applicant's role is to identify the exact issue and provide documentation.

When an updated document is submitted to ECFMG, allow another processing window and verify replacement.

MSPE quality audit before upload

• The full legal name matches the ERAS identity.
• The document is issued by the correct medical school.
• Letterhead is present.
• The school seal is affixed.
• The designated official signed it.
• All pages are included and ordered.
• Text is legible at normal zoom.
• No security-paper background obscures text.
• Grades and dates match the transcript.
• Graduation status and year are accurate.
• Transfer history is accurately represented if applicable.
• Academic interruptions and remediation are factually consistent.
• Comparative language is understandable or explained.
• The English translation is certified if required.
• The final PDF follows the live MyIntealth specification.
• No page, seal, signature, grade, or date was altered by the applicant.

Common mistakes

• Treating the MSPE as a recommendation letter.
• Uploading it through the AAMC Letter Writer Portal.
• Trying to assign it to selected residency programs.
• Submitting a transcript in the MSPE slot.
• Assuming the school participates in the Entity Portal without asking.
• Self-uploading when a participating school must upload.
• Waiting for five business days before asking the school to submit.
• Expecting expedited ECFMG processing.
• Counting calendar days instead of business days.
• Using an outdated public PDF size rule instead of the live portal.
• Uploading pages as separate files.
• Uploading an unofficial document created by the applicant.
• Adding a copied seal or signature.
• Removing an unfavorable page or evaluation.
• Submitting a non-English original without certified translation.
• Uploading both original and translation when ECFMG says submit only English.
• Failing to answer the MyERAS provider question before certification.
• Leaving the field unanswered when the school does not provide an MSPE.
• Assuming a neutral placeholder contains performance evidence.
• Ignoring the MyERAS Message Center.
• Assuming reuse is immediate after Token registration.
• Updating a repeat-applicant MSPE without the school's involvement.
• Expecting MyERAS to show whether the program opened the document.

Final 2027 checklist

• I confirmed whether my school participates in ERAS through the MyIntealth Entity Portal.
• I identified the correct upload owner.
• I obtained an authentic school-issued MSPE or Dean's letter.
• The document evaluates performance rather than merely recommending me.
• My full name is correct.
• School letterhead, seal, and official signature are present.
• I reviewed all pages for accuracy and legibility.
• I secured a certified English translation if needed.
• I followed the translation submission rule.
• I answered the MyERAS MSPE provider question.
• If no document exists, I selected the no-MSPE response for the neutral placeholder.
• The complete MSPE is one PDF.
• The file follows the live MyIntealth technical specifications.
• The upload was placed in the MSPE slot.
• The upload was submitted, not merely previewed.
• The document reached ECFMG by the planned date.
• I allowed five business days for processing.
• I did not expect an expedite.
• I monitored the MyERAS Message Center.
• I verified the MSPE became available in Additional Documents.
• I understand residency MSPE delivery is automatic.
• I checked availability to applied programs.
• If reusing, I allowed five business days after Token registration.
• If replacing, the school-issued new version was processed.
• I retained my original school copy and submission evidence.

Bottom line

An IMG's MSPE is a school evaluation that gives programs academic context; it is neither an LoR nor a transcript. A participating MyIntealth school must upload it, while an applicant at a nonparticipating school may upload an official student copy.

ECFMG needs up to five business days, does not expedite, and recommends September 11 submission for the September 23, 2026 program opening. Earlier submission leaves room to repair discrepancies.

For residency, MyERAS sends the available MSPE automatically to all applied programs. If the school cannot provide one, the applicant must select that response before certification so ECFMG can supply the neutral placeholder.

This guide reflects official information available July 18, 2026. The live MyIntealth upload specifications, MyERAS statuses, ECFMG instructions, AAMC guidance, and individual program deadlines control.