What do CaRMS programs ask for in the personal letter?
See the numbersEvery one of the 875 program descriptions in the 2027 R-1 Main Residency Match, first iteration, was read and recorded on 10 September 2026, the day after CaRMS published them. 37 disciplines, 19 schools. This page reports what those programs ask for. It does not tell you how to answer.
At a glance
- Programs in the census
- All 875 in the 2027 R-1 match, first iteration. 37 disciplines, 19 schools.
- Captured
- 10 September 2026, the day after CaRMS published the descriptions. Last checked against carms.ca: 29 October 2026.
- Ask for a personal letter
- 862 of 875, or 98.5%. Required at 828, optional at 34, not listed at 13.
- IMG streams asking for one
- 208 of 208.
- Distinct prompts
- 411. Family medicine uses 46 texts across its 308 programs.
- Most common word cap
- 500 words, at 193 programs. Median cap 750. No cap at 192. Range 250 to 1,750.
- Hand you a set of questions
- 47% of all programs, and 65% in family medicine.
- Mention artificial intelligence
- 122 programs, 14%.
- Reference letters requested
- Three, at 738 programs.
The four shapes a prompt takes
All 411 distinct prompt texts were read and classified by hand.
- Open
- No direction beyond a word limit, a language, or a rule about AI. 112 programs, 13%. Family medicine: 0.
- Directed topics
- The program names topics to cover and expects a free narrative. 347 programs, 40%. Family medicine: 106.
- Question set
- Three or more explicit questions or required items, each of which must be addressed. Format is free. 332 programs, 39%. Family medicine: 169.
- Sectioned questionnaire
- Questions with per-item word caps, mandated headings or numbered paragraphs. 71 programs, 8%. Family medicine: 31.
Nearly half of all programs now hand the applicant a list of questions rather than asking for an essay. The practical consequence is that the prompt is also the marking scheme.
What the prompts ask about
Share of the 862 programs that list a letter. These shares are coded from the prompt text by keyword, so treat them as close estimates rather than audited counts. The structure types above, and the family medicine figures, are hand-checked.
| Theme | All programs | Family medicine | Other disciplines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you are beyond the CV | 54% | 84% | 38% |
| Why this specialty | 43% | 57% | 35% |
| Qualities or strengths, usually with an example | 42% | 44% | 41% |
| Format instructions | 33% | 36% | 31% |
| Explain gaps, failures or an unmatched year | 29% | 37% | 24% |
| Connection to the province, region or rural practice | 23% | 53% | 7% |
| Career goals, five to ten years out | 23% | 25% | 22% |
| Why this program or school | 21% | 14% | 26% |
| Reflect on a challenge or setback | 18% | 30% | 12% |
| A rule about AI use | 14% | 17% | 13% |
| A stated consequence for a missing letter | 13% | 33% | 2% |
| Describe clinical experience in detail | 11% | 24% | 4% |
| Show understanding of the specialty | 9% | 24% | 1% |
| An IMG-specific ask on recency or hands-on care | 5% | 13% | 0% |
Family medicine is a different exercise
Two thirds hand you questions, and none leaves the prompt open
65% of the 308 family medicine programs use a question set or a sectioned questionnaire, against 39% and 8% across the census as a whole. There is no fully open family medicine prompt anywhere in the country.
Half ask where you will live
53% of family medicine prompts ask about a connection to the province, the region, or rural and northern practice. Only 7% of prompts in other disciplines do.
One letter per school, not per site
89 programs, 29% of family medicine, require or allow the same letter across all of their sites. Only two programs in the entire census ask for a site-specific letter.
A missing item carries a stated consequence more often
33% of family medicine prompts state a consequence for a missing or non-compliant letter, against 2% elsewhere.
What is different for international medical graduates
All 208 IMG streams list a personal letter. 13% of family medicine prompts carry an IMG-specific ask, and they ask for the same thing: the recency of your clinical work and the level of responsibility you held, rather than what you observed. No prompt in the census asks how many attempts you have made at an exam.
How the R-1 match works, start to finish · How IMGs get licensed in Canada
The 2027 first iteration dates
Read on the CaRMS applicant timeline on 29 October 2026. CaRMS notes that its dates are subject to change.
- Program descriptions published
- 9 September 2026, 12:00 noon ET
- CaRMS Online opened for applicants
- 9 September 2026, 12:00 noon ET
- Reference submission deadline
- 25 November 2026, 21:00 ET
- Application and document submission deadline
- 26 November 2026, 12:00 noon ET
- Ranking period begins
- 21 January 2027, 12:00 noon ET
- Applicant rank order list deadline
- 18 February 2027, 15:00 ET
- Match day
- 2 March 2027, 12:00 noon ET
How this was built, and what it cannot tell you
The 875 descriptions were captured from the CaRMS program description system on 10 September 2026, the day after CaRMS published them at noon ET on 9 September. 849 were published at that point; 26 were still marked under revision, and for 25 of those the 2026 text was recorded and flagged. The Ottawa family medicine Nunavut stream was new and had no earlier text.
These counts are a snapshot of the day the cycle opened, and CaRMS lets programs change their descriptions afterwards. Its own guidance says descriptions "may be updated throughout the match" and tells applicants to check back often. So treat every number here as the position at the start of the cycle, and read the current description of any program you are actually applying to.
Last checked against carms.ca on 29 October 2026. What was re-checked that day: the published timeline dates above, and the CaRMS statements about descriptions being revisable. What was not re-checked: the 875 descriptions themselves were not read again, so the counts and percentages on this page are still the 10 September figures. The 26 programs that were under revision may since have been published.
It is a snapshot of one match cycle. It does not tell you how competitive a program is, how letters are scored, or whether any of this predicts a match. It also does not tell you how to write the letter.
Common questions
Do all CaRMS programs require a personal letter?
No. Of the 875 programs in the 2027 R-1 match, 862 list one. It is required at 828 and optional at 34, which are the Universite de Montreal and Universite Laval family medicine programs, where the letter is in French and is not individually scored. Thirteen programs list no letter at all. Every one of the 208 IMG streams lists one.
How long can a CaRMS personal letter be?
There is no single limit. The most common cap is 500 words, at 193 programs. The median cap among programs that set one is 750 words. 192 programs set no maximum at all. Caps in the census run from 250 to 1,750 words. Several programs state they will stop reading at the limit.
Is the CaRMS personal letter an essay or a set of questions?
Increasingly a set of questions. 47% of all programs, and 65% of family medicine programs, list explicit questions or required items rather than asking for a free essay. In family medicine there is no fully open prompt anywhere in the country. Anesthesiology has gone furthest: 96% of its programs use a question set or a sectioned questionnaire.
Do CaRMS programs have rules about using AI to write the letter?
122 programs, 14% of the census, mention artificial intelligence in the prompt. About 30 forbid it. About 84 require a disclosure statement, and one asks applicants to place their use on a five-level scale.
Do programs ask about gaps or an unmatched year?
246 programs, 29%, instruct applicants to explain gaps, failures or extra time, most often as a titled addendum outside the word count. Where programs place it differs: some at the beginning, some at the end, some inside the letter, and one both in the letter and on a separate form.
How many reference letters does CaRMS need?
Three at 738 programs, two at 8, and not specified at 129.
Does this page tell me how to write the letter?
No. It records what the programs ask for. It does not say how to answer, and the numbers here are a description of the 2027 match rather than advice.
Writing the letter is a separate thing
This page is the evidence. The recorded course works through what to do with it, with the workbook, a prompt report, a CV example and a CV template.