Report: First Year Findings from the Voluntary ROL Lock Pilot
NRMP releases report on the first year findings from the Voluntary Rank Order List Lock pilot.
The National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®), in partnership with Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Vascular Surgery, has completed the first year of a three-year pilot testing a Voluntary Rank Order List Lock for residency programs. The pilot was designed to evaluate the usefulness of allowing programs to voluntarily lock their rank order lists (ROLs) prior to the certification deadline, thereby signaling that applicant visits—whether completed or not—would not influence a program’s ranking decisions after the lock was applied. The report summarizes program participation rates and presents key findings from surveys of program directors and applicants regarding their experiences with and perceptions of the Voluntary ROL Lock pilot.
Twenty-nine percent of program tracks across the three participating specialties opted in to the pilot. Participation varied by specialty. Most applicants perceived post interview visits as beneficial. Nearly three quarters (74.3 percent) responded that attending a post interview visit helped answer their questions, while an additional 21.9 percent indicated it was somewhat helpful. Among those who attended visits, 34.2 percent strongly agreed and 45.3 percent agreed that they learned more about the program than through interviews alone.
The Voluntary Rank Order List (ROL) Lock pilot is a three-year initiative. In its second year, the specialties of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Vascular Surgery will continue to participate.
Registration for the 2027 Main Residency Match® opened on May 1, 2026, at which time program directors became eligible to enroll in the pilot. In a change from the first year of implementation, all programs across the three participating specialties will share a single pilot sign-up deadline of October 16.
Additional information and resources about the Voluntary Program ROL Lock pilot are available on the website.