The Timeline
2027 ERAS application timeline.
Photo deadlines included.
A date-by-date map of the 2027 residency cycle plus the 2026 (closing) and 2027 (opening) fellowship cycles — with the photo milestones nobody flags in the standard timeline posts.
Residency · 2027 cycle
The 2027 ERAS residency cycle runs from June 4, 2026 through May 31, 2027. The dates below are the ones most applicants actually need to plan around.
June 2026
- June 4, 2026 — ERAS opens. US MD/DO applicants can register for ERAS, request a token, and begin uploading documents. MyERAS opens for application work the same week.
- Late June 2026 — IMG ERAS Token release. International medical graduates request their ERAS Token through ECFMG's MyIntealth platform. The exact release date is announced by ECFMG each year (the 2026 cycle's token released on June 25, 2025).
- 📷 Photo deadline · target. If you haven't booked a photo session yet, book it now. Studios in NYC and Miami start filling July/August in early June.
July 2026
- Application work continues. Personal statements, letters of recommendation, MSPE prep, photo if not yet done.
- 📷 Photo target: take it. July is the optimal photo month. Six weeks of buffer before the application window. Weekend and evening studio slots are widely available.
- USMLE Step 2 CK reporting. If your Step 2 score is pending, plan around the score release date so it lands before September.
August 2026
- Last sane month to take the photo. By mid-August, NYC/Miami studios are at peak booking. Sessions are still available but weekend slots disappear first.
- Letters of recommendation deadline. Most LoR writers want a 4–6 week lead time. Have requests out by early August at the latest.
- MSPE timing. Med schools typically release MSPEs in late September; your school's exact timing varies.
September 2026
- September 2, 2026 — Applicants begin submitting. At 9 a.m. ET, residency applicants may begin submitting MyERAS applications to programs.
- September 23, 2026 — Programs begin reviewing. At 9 a.m. ET, residency programs may begin reviewing MyERAS applications and MSPEs. Interview invites may start within days.
- 📷 Last-call retake window. If your photo isn't right, this is the last week to redo it before applications transmit. Same-day delivery makes this technically possible — but unpleasant.
October 2026 – February 2027
- October–December — Interview season. Programs send invites, applicants travel (or sit on Zoom). Some programs interview into early February.
- 📷 LinkedIn / faculty page time. A common Plus-tier use-case: the extra frames from a 60-minute session refresh your LinkedIn and any faculty page you'll appear on during interview season.
- March 3, 2027 — NRMP Rank Order List deadline. Rank lists must be certified by 9 p.m. ET.
March – May 2027
- Match Week. Match Day typically falls in mid-March. SOAP runs Monday–Thursday for unmatched applicants.
- May 31, 2027 — Cycle ends. The 2027 ERAS cycle formally closes.
If you book one photo, book it in July
Six weeks before applications transmit, with full weekend availability and slack for a retake. Late August / September is the regret window.
Fellowship · 2026 closing / 2027 opening
Fellowship ERAS runs on overlapping cycles. The 2026 season closes May 31, 2026; the 2027 season opens June 4, 2026 — only a few days apart. Each cycle splits into two waves: July-cycle subspecialties and December-cycle subspecialties.
2027 fellowship cycle — opening
If you're applying for fellowship positions starting in 2027 or 2028, this is your cycle.
- June 4, 2026 — 2027 ERAS season opens at 9 a.m. ET.
- June 5, 2026 — EFDO distributes fellowship tokens.
- July 1, 2026 — July-cycle applicants may begin submitting. Cardiology · Gastroenterology · Hematology/Oncology · Pulmonary & Critical Care · Critical Care Medicine · Geriatrics · Infectious Disease · Endocrinology · Nephrology · Rheumatology · most internal-medicine subspecialties.
- July 15, 2026 — July-cycle programs begin reviewing.
- Nov. 12, 2026 — December-cycle applicants may begin submitting. Interventional Cardiology · Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology · Transplant Hepatology · Adult Congenital Heart Disease.
- Dec. 2, 2026 — December-cycle programs begin reviewing.
- 📷 Photo target — July cycle: By mid-June 2026 (six to eight weeks before July 1).
- 📷 Photo target — December cycle: October 2026.
2026 fellowship cycle — closing May 31, 2026
If you applied during the 2026 cycle, the season closes on May 31, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET. Same-day photo retakes are still bookable up to the final day at all three studios.
The photo specification is the same as residency: 2.5×3.5 in, 375×525 px at 150 dpi, JPEG or PNG, ≤ 150 KB, plain light background. The wardrobe gravity is different — most fellowship applicants opt for a more structured suit jacket. See the fellowship photo guide for the full breakdown.
A note for IMGs
International medical graduates apply through ECFMG's MyIntealth platform rather than registering directly with AAMC. The cycle dates above still apply — your ERAS Token is released by ECFMG in late June 2026, you may begin submitting applications on September 2, programs begin reviewing on September 23, and the photo specification is identical.
For IMG applicants on a tight timeline, all three of our studios deliver the AAMC-spec file the same day. Some applicants book the morning after their J-1 paperwork clears, just to get the photo done.
Sources
Dates verified May 2026 against the AAMC's official 2027 ERAS Residency Timeline and 2026 ERAS Fellowship Application Timeline. Anchor links: