April 2026 Illuminator Newsletter

April 1st, 2026

Shining a Light on Match News that Matters

This issue of the Illuminator includes:

NRMP celebrates Match Day for the 2026 Main Residency Match
Medical schools: New student score data
2027 Main Residency Match and SOAP calendar now available
Program and institution registration for the 2027 Main Residency Match opens on May 1
Video: Match Process for Programs and Institutions
Policy Corner: Important policy information about waivers and deferral of Match results
NRMP biannual DIO call
Fellowship Match resources
Save the date – Transition to Residency conference returns in 2027
Upcoming deadlines
Careers

NRMP^® Celebrates Match Day for the 2026 Main Residency Match^®

On Friday, March 20, the National Resident Matching Program^® (NRMP) announced the results of the 2026 Main Residency Match^®, the largest in the organization’s history, with over 53,000 applicants registered and more than 44,000 residency positions offered in over 6,800 program tracks across the United States. The 2026 Main Residency Match demonstrated continued strength in residency placement, with more than 93 percent of positions filled nationwide.

“Every year, we look forward to sharing Main Residency Match outcomes and celebrating the hard work and achievements of thousands of students and graduates from across the country and the world,” said NRMP President and CEO Donna L. Lamb, DHSc, MBA, BSN. “Match Day represents an extraordinary moment for future physicians, and we are proud to see the Main Residency Match welcoming more positions and securing more training opportunities for applicants as they take the next step in their medical careers and begin practicing in communities across the nation.”

Read the complete press release for detailed applicant and program data, trends, and specialty highlights.

View the Advance Data Tables, Match by the Numbers overview, Match infographic, and additional data reports for further information about the 2026 Main Residency Match results.

Medical Schools: NRMP Launches Direct Exchange of Student Score Data

New this year! The NRMP is partnering with the NBME and NBOME to exchange primary source data for the USMLE and COMLEX pass status and scores of your medical students and graduates. As a result of this change, medical school officials and administrators will no longer have to verify the scores of your applicants in the R3 system. The data exchange ensures the most accurate applicant score data for NRMP reports and publications, including Charting Outcomes™: Characteristics of Applicants Who Matched to Their Preferred Specialty.

Reports

In early June, each medical school will receive their Charting Outcomes™: Medical School Report for the 2026 Main Residency Match. The report is uniquely tailored to each Match-participating medical school and is designed to improve transparency and foster deeper insights about senior students as they navigate the transition to residency.
In the fall, each medical school will receive a Characteristics of Matched Seniors report comparing the characteristics of the school’s matched senior students with national percentile information.

We hope you find these reports valuable as you support your students’ transition to residency.

2027 Main Residency Match and SOAP^® Calendar Now Available

Plan ahead with the newly released calendar and resources for the 2027 Main Residency Match and Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program^® (SOAP). Calendars for each Main Residency Match participant are available:

We look forward to celebrating Match Day with you on Friday, March 19, 2027!

Program and Institution Registration for the 2027 Main Residency Match Opens May 1

Program and institution users will receive an email when registration opens on Friday, May 1, at 12 p.m. ET with instructions for registering individual user accounts in the Registration, Ranking, and Results^® (R3^®) system and activate the institution and programs.

Action needed: Once your user account is registered and the institution and program(s) are activated, review and update your program information and confirm your quota (the number of positions you intend to fill) in the Match. Beginning registration earlier for institutions and programs allows these updates to be reflected in the public program directory.

Accurate program directory information helps residency applicants research programs more effectively, including application service requirements, program location, links to institution and program websites, NRMP program codes, and program types. Update your program directory information early to ensure residency applicants have access to current and complete information as they begin preparing to apply to programs.

We look forward to supporting you in the Match and welcome you to contact the NRMP Support Team at support@nrmp.org for assistance.

Watch and Share! Match Process for Programs and Institutions Video

Are you a new program coordinator or director? An institutional official or administrator needing a refresher? Watch our new Match Process for Programs and Institutions video about how the Match process works for an overview of Match registration, institution and program activation, using the Applicant Match History function, interviewing applicants, creating and certifying your rank order list, and more!

Policy Corner: Requesting a Waiver or Deferral of Match Results

The 2026 Main Residency Match has concluded, and as matched applicants and programs pivot toward onboarding activities, we wish to call out a few policy reminders. In addition to positions matched through the Main Residency Match, all positions offered and accepted through the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) constitute a binding commitment. If, for any reason, an applicant or program cannot or will not honor the binding commitment, a waiver or deferral must be obtained from the NRMP.

Here are some key elements regarding the NRMP’s policies on waivers and deferrals:

Neither applicants nor programs may release each other from a binding commitment. A waiver or deferral of the binding commitment may be requested only from the NRMP.

A deferral is not a waiver. A deferral allows for a delayed start to training to the next appointment year and requires mutual agreement between the applicant and program.

Applicants cannot apply, interview, or accept another position until granted a waiver/deferral, even if a waiver/deferral has been requested.

Programs cannot discuss, interview for, or offer the matched position to others until a waiver/deferral is granted.

Waivers may be requested for unanticipated serious and extreme hardship, applicant change of specialty, applicant ineligibility, applicant visa issues, or program closure/loss of accreditation. Waivers based on change of specialty apply only to applicants with an advanced position that begins the year after the Match or those with a fellowship position.

If a waiver is not granted, the applicant and program are expected to honor the binding commitment.

For more information and to review a copy of the Waiver/Deferral Policy, please visit the policies page on the NRMP website. Questions regarding the Match Waiver and Deferral Policy or other NRMP policies should be sent to policy@nrmp.org. We are happy to provide whatever assistance and support you need.

NRMP – DIO Call on April 27

NRMP President and CEO Dr. Donna Lamb and staff will host a NRMP – DIO Zoom call on Monday, April 27, at 6 p.m. ET.

The NRMP established these calls between NRMP leadership and the DIO community to create a forum to discuss NRMP policies, Match initiatives, and issues affecting programs and institutions related to the transition to residency. During this call, we will share the outcomes of the 2026 Main Residency Match.

All DIOs registered with the NRMP will receive an email invitation to the meeting. As a reminder, these meetings are only for the invited DIOs, please do not forward the meeting invite to others.

Fellowship Match Resources

Webinar Recordings

NRMP hosted two webinars to help fellowship program staff navigate the Match process:

Introduction to the Fellowship Match webinar, which covers program staff roles and responsibilities, managing your program’s participation in the Fellowship Match, and important policy information.

Ranking and Results: What Program Staff Need to Know webinar, which provides an overview of the ranking process and how the matching algorithm works, roles and responsibilities of program staff in the R3 system, what to expect on Match Day, and important Match policies.

The webinars are a valuable resource as you prepare for the fellowship Match process!

Fellowship Match Data Outcomes Reports

The NRMP recently published two fellowship Match data outcomes reports:

Results and Data Specialties Matching Service^®, 2026 Appointment Year report

Specialty Match Program Results 2022-2026 report

These reports are designed to support applicants, programs, institutions, researchers, and stakeholders as they explore trends in fellowship training and inform recruitment planning.

In addition, NRMP launched an enhanced interactive dashboard for the Charting Outcomes™: Demographic Characteristics of Applicants in the Specialties Matching Service® (SMS®), providing users with greater flexibility and a more intuitive experience for exploring the data. Also, the dashboard now includes trend data which enables comparisons of SMS applicant demographics across the past four Match cycles.

Save the Date! Transition to Residency Conference Returns in 2027

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2025 Transition to Residency: Conversations Across the Medical Education Continuum in Washington, DC. It was a meaningful opportunity to gather as a community, share ideas, and offer insights about physicians as they begin their training and careers.

NRMP is energized by the conversations that took place and is already hard at work on several new initiatives planned for 2026. To ensure we can devote the appropriate time and focus to these efforts, we will host our next Transition to Residency meeting in 2027.

Please mark your calendars for September 2027, when we look forward to reconvening the community in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information about the NRMP conference, be sure to visit our conference webpage.

Upcoming Deadlines

Pathology, Pediatric Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Vascular Neurology

April 1, 11:59 p.m. ET: Quota Change Deadline

Radiology, Surgical Oncology

April 15, 12 p.m. ET: Rank Order List Opens

Laryngology, Pathology, Pediatric Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Vascular Neurology

April 15, 9 p.m. ET: Rank Order List Certification Deadline

Epilepsy & Clinical Neurophysiology, Hand Surgery, Neuroendovascular Intervention, Neurosurgical Oncology

April 15, 11:59 p.m. ET: Quota Change Deadline