ASHP Match 2027: Pharmacy Residency Timeline and Rank Lists

The ASHP Resident Matching Program places pharmacy graduates into postgraduate year one (PGY1) and year two (PGY2) residency positions through a two-phase process administered by National Matching Services Inc. (NMS) on behalf of ASHP. For positions beginning in 2027, Phase I Rank Order Lists are due March 5, 2027 with results released March 17, 2027. Phase II Rank Order Lists are due April 13, 2027 with results released April 20, 2027, according to the NMS 2027 Schedule of Dates. Sources: NMS: 2027 ASHP Match Schedule of Dates, NMS: Overview of the 2027 ASHP Match, NMS: ASHP Match Rules and Eligibility. Last checked November 3, 2026.

How the ASHP Match and PhORCAS work together

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) sets the rules and monitors the Resident Matching Program, while National Matching Services Inc. (NMS) runs the Match on ASHP's behalf. Every residency program that participates in the Match also uses the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS).

PhORCAS and the ASHP Match are separate services run by different organizations, though they share an online registration portal and coordinate applicant and program records. Registering for the Match does not apply you to any program, and you must register for the Match before PhORCAS will let you send applications to participating residencies.

Once your applications are in, programs invite candidates and conduct interviews independently of the Match. To rehearse before those invitations arrive, use our Pharmacy Residency Interview Prep With an AI Interviewer to run timed mock interviews and get rubric feedback. Start your free week.

To see how medical residencies compare on placement metrics, read Residency Match Rate: Who Matches and What Drives It, or compare a specialized medical timeline in Urology Match Interviews: Dates, Rules, Questions.

PhORCAS vs. the ASHP Match and the Two Program Directories (Source: NMS Applications Guide)
System or Directory	What It Does	Support Contact
PhORCAS	Distributes your application materials, CV, letters of intent, and references to residency programs.	PhORCASinfo@PhORCAS.org
NMS Match System (ASHP Match)	Collects confidential Rank Order Lists from applicants and programs and runs the matching algorithm.	ashprmp@natmatch.com or 800-461-6322
ASHP Residency Directory	Lists residencies that are accredited or in the accreditation process, with program descriptions and contacts.	asd@ashp.org or (301) 664-8645
Match List of Participating Programs	Lists programs registered for the 2027 Match, with Match Code Numbers and links to the ASHP Directory.	ashprmp@natmatch.com or 800-461-6322

2027 ASHP Match schedule of dates

Every applicant and residency program registered for the 2027 ASHP Match must follow the fixed schedule published by NMS. Each residency program sets its own PhORCAS application deadline, and all interviews for a given phase must finish before that phase's Rank Order List deadline.

In Phase I of the 2027 NMS Schedule of Dates, rankings are open from February 16 to the March 5 Rank Order List deadline, with results released on March 17. Phase II compresses the cycle: Phase I Match Day is March 17, Phase II PhORCAS submissions open on March 22, Phase II rankings run from March 29 to April 13, and Phase II results are released on April 20.

2027 ASHP Match Schedule of Dates (Source: NMS Schedule of Dates)
Date	Phase	Milestone and Eastern Time (ET) Cutoff
August 12, 2026	Pre-Match	Residency Program Registration opens in the NMS Match System.
November 4, 2026	Pre-Match	Applicant Registration opens via the shared PhORCAS/Match portal. Participating programs list goes live. Early Commitment processing opens.
December 16, 2026	Early Commitment	Final deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET for PGY2 programs to offer and PGY1 residents to accept Early Commitment positions.
December 31, 2026	Phase I	Recommended date by which applicants should register for the Match.
February 16, 2027	Phase I	Phase I Rankings open in the NMS Match System.
March 4, 2027	Phase I	Final Applicant Registration deadline for Phase I at 11:59 p.m. ET.
March 5, 2027	Phase I	Phase I Rank Order List deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET.
March 17, 2027	Phase I / Phase II	Phase I Match Results Day. List of available positions for Phase II posts beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET.
March 18, 2027	Phase II	Unmatched and new applicants can begin preparing Phase II applications in PhORCAS at 12:00 p.m. ET.
March 22, 2027	Phase II	Phase II application submissions open in PhORCAS at 9:00 a.m. ET. Programs gain access to the list of unmatched Phase I and Phase II-eligible applicants at 9:00 a.m. ET.
March 29, 2027	Phase II	Phase II Rankings open in the NMS Match System.
April 12, 2027	Phase II	Final Applicant Registration deadline for Phase II at 11:59 p.m. ET.
April 13, 2027	Phase II	Phase II Rank Order List deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET.
April 16, 2027	Phase I	Deadline for Program Directors to contact Phase I matched applicants in writing.
April 20, 2027	Phase II / Post-Match	Phase II Match Results Day. Available positions for the Post-Match Process post at 12:00 p.m. ET. No Post-Match contact or interviews permitted prior to 12:00 p.m. ET.
April 21, 2027	Post-Match	Applicants can begin submitting Post-Match applications in PhORCAS at 12:00 p.m. ET.
April 27, 2027	Post-Match	Recommended date for Post-Match programs to begin making offers to applicants.
May 20, 2027	Phase II	Deadline for Program Directors to contact Phase II matched applicants in writing.
May 28, 2027	Post-Match	NMS Match System closes. Results and unfilled or unmatched lists are no longer available after this date.

Eligibility, foreign graduates, and PGY2 Early Commitment

When you register, you must accept the binding Applicant Agreement and agree to follow the ASHP Match Rules. To participate in the Match, you must be graduating from or a graduate of an ACPE-accredited college of pharmacy, or otherwise be eligible for licensure.

If you are earlier in your training and preparing for pharmacy school admission rather than residency, see our Pharmacy School Interview Questions and Practice page and our guide to Pharmacy School Interview Questions With Answer Tips.

Foreign pharmacy graduates. Graduates of non-ACPE-accredited foreign pharmacy schools must provide PhORCAS with either a copy of their state pharmacist license for each state where they are licensed, or a copy of their Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certificate from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), before registering for the Match.
PGY2 eligibility. To enter the Match for a PGY2 position, you must have already completed a PGY1 residency or currently be in a PGY1 residency that will finish before the PGY2 residency begins.
PGY2 Early Commitment Process. Current PGY1 residents who want to stay in the same organization or health system for a PGY2 residency can obtain the position ahead of the Match through the Early Commitment Process. Processing opens November 4, 2026, and the final deadline for the PGY2 program to offer and the PGY1 resident to accept is December 16, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Residents who commit through this process do not register for or participate in the Match.
Program participation and exemptions. All PGY1 and PGY2 residencies that are ASHP-accredited, in candidate status (awaiting site survey and Commission on Credentialing review), or in pre-candidate status (intending to apply for accreditation, with limited Match participation) must offer all positions through Phase I of the Match. The only exempt programs are residencies conducted by the Indian Health Service, residencies exclusively for commissioned pharmacy officers of the Department of Defense or Public Health Service, and international programs outside the United States.

Rank Order List rules, the algorithm, and couples

After interviews conclude, each applicant logs into the NMS Match System to submit a confidential Rank Order List of preferred programs, and each residency submits its confidential Rank Order List of preferred applicants along with the number of positions available. Residencies that offer more than one program can rank the same applicant on multiple lists and assign different preference numbers on each list.

The NMS matching algorithm places each applicant into the most preferred program on their Rank Order List that also ranked them and did not fill all of its positions with applicants the program preferred more. According to NMS, the matching algorithm cannot be gamed or manipulated.

Rank in true preference order. Order your choices strictly by where you most want to train, without guessing how any program will rank you.
Rank all acceptable programs. Including more acceptable programs on your list reduces your chance of going unmatched. You can only match to a program that appears on your Rank Order List.
Never rank an unacceptable program. Do not list any program you would not attend under any circumstances, because a match is a binding commitment.
Certify your list and watch the edit trap. Your Rank Order List is not used in the Match unless you certify it in the NMS Match System before the deadline (March 5, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET for Phase I, and April 13, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET for Phase II). You can edit a certified list until the deadline, but any change automatically makes your list uncertified. You must click to certify it again before the deadline for it to count.
Withdrawing if you do not submit a list. If you decide not to submit a Rank Order List, you must formally withdraw from the Match in the NMS Match System.
Participating as a Couple. Two applicants who want to coordinate placements, such as matching in the same geographic area, can register to participate in the Match as a Couple.
Strict non-disclosure of rankings. Programs and applicants may discuss whether an applicant remains under consideration, though programs are not required to say. Neither programs nor applicants may ever request ranking information from the other, and before Phase II Match results are released, neither party may disclose where anyone sits on a Rank Order List for either phase.

Preparing for Phase II and our step-by-step action plan

According to the 2024 Preparation for Phase II of the Match guide developed by the ASHP New Practitioners Forum Resident Advancement Advisory Group, which notes that ASHP does not officially endorse the advisory group's guide, about 25% of residency applicants may not match on Phase I Match Day. Phase II gives unmatched Phase I applicants and eligible applicants who did not participate in Phase I a second match run for unfilled Phase I positions plus any newly funded programs or positions added after Phase I.

Because Phase I results come out on March 17 and Phase II submissions open on March 22, the ASHP New Practitioners Forum guide advises building your Phase II backup plan right after you certify your Phase I list on March 5. Update your CV with rotations, presentations, teaching, and certifications completed since January, move relevant sections near the top, and save it as a .pdf file. Keep each program-specific Letter of Intent (LOI) to one page (two at most) covering your objective, why you want that program, your relevant experiences, and your short- and long-term goals, and proofread so you do not send pediatric goals to an adult-only hospital. Phase II interviews are often shorter and run via phone, group call, Zoom, FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, or in person, so email thank-you notes right after. PGY2 applicants should check remaining PTO and interview allowance with their Residency Program Director (RPD), expand their geography, and consider related specialties serving similar patients (such as internal medicine at a heart center alongside cardiology, or emergency medicine alongside critical care).

The checklist below is our team's suggested action plan built around the 2027 NMS timestamps and the ASHP New Practitioners Forum Phase II recommendations:

Between the Phase I Rank Order List deadline (March 5) and Match Day (March 17). Ask a mentor, manager, or preceptor to hold time on March 17 or that weekend in case you need Phase II. If you excelled on a January or February rotation, ask that preceptor in advance if they can submit a short-turnaround Phase II reference and send them your updated CV.
Wednesday, March 17, Morning and 12:00 p.m. ET. Open your result in private and take an hour-long walk or talk with a friend outside of pharmacy first. At 12:00 p.m. ET, download the Available Positions for Phase II list on the NMS website, filter programs, and meet with your mentor that afternoon to finalize your target list and trigger any new preceptor references.
Thursday, March 18, 12:00 p.m. ET. Log into PhORCAS when Phase II preparation opens. Update your status and profile in the NMS Match System, enter new reference requests, and upload your updated CV as a PDF.
Between March 18 and March 22. Draft a one-page Letter of Intent for each program and have at least two people proofread every letter to catch program name mix-ups. Run a timed mock interview on camera focusing on questions that felt shaky in Phase I.
Monday, March 22, 9:00 a.m. ET. Submit your Phase II applications in PhORCAS when submissions open. Programs gain access to the unmatched applicant list at 9:00 a.m. ET the same morning, so keep phone and email alerts on for rapid interview invites.

The Post-Match Process (the Scramble) and written confirmations

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If positions remain open after Phase II results are released on April 20, 2027, the Post-Match Process (the Post-Match Scramble) helps unmatched applicants and non-participants connect with unfilled programs under ASHP Match Rules.

Whether you match in Phase I or Phase II, watch for your formal confirmation letter. Program Directors must contact matched applicants in writing no later than April 16, 2027 for Phase I and no later than May 20, 2027 for Phase II, and you must respond according to the program's instructions to document your acceptance.

April 20, 2027 before 12:00 p.m. ET. ASHP Match Rules prohibit any action to fill available Post-Match positions, including phone calls, emails, or interviews between applicants and programs, prior to 12:00 p.m. ET.
April 20, 2027 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Available positions for the Post-Match Process post on the NMS website, and unmatched applicants can begin preparing Post-Match applications in PhORCAS.
April 21, 2027 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Applicants can begin submitting Post-Match applications through PhORCAS.
April 27, 2027 and May 28, 2027. April 27 is the recommended date for Post-Match programs to begin making offers, and the NMS Match System closes on May 28, 2027.

Practice a pharmacy residency interview question

Situational questions about patient impact, conflict, teamwork, and clinical recommendations come up across Phase I and Phase II interviews. The ASHP New Practitioners Forum Phase II guide lists four sample situational prompts, including the patient encounter prompt worked through in the example answer below.

When you are ready to practice answering situational and clinical prompts out loud with follow-up questions, use our Pharmacy Residency Interview Prep With an AI Interviewer. Start your free week.

Practice question

Tell us about a patient encounter you learned something from. Is there an example you are the most proud of? (Sample prompt from the ASHP New Practitioners Forum Phase II Preparation Guide)

See an example answer

On my internal medicine rotation in January, I rounded on a 68-year-old man admitted for his second heart failure exacerbation in three months. Looking at his chart, his outpatient regimen matched guidelines, and the team assumed he was just skipping doses. When I sat down to do his admission medication reconciliation, I asked him to walk me through how he took his pills at home rather than reading the list at him. He told me he was taking his furosemide right before bed because he drove a delivery van during the day and could not stop every hour for a restroom. Once it kept him awake at night, he stopped taking it on workdays. I brought that back to the resident and attending, and we shifted his loop diuretic timing to early afternoon when his route ended, simplified his twice-daily carvedilol to once-daily succinate on the hospital's discharge assistance list, and scheduled a seven-day transitional care clinic call. I am proud of that encounter because it taught me that non-adherence is usually a workflow problem in the patient's day, not a lack of care, and my job as a resident is to find the schedule that actually works once they leave the hospital.

Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented. This response works because it picks one concrete patient moment from a recent rotation, shows the exact question the student asked rather than reciting clinical guidelines, states the medication adjustment made with the team, and ends with a practical takeaway about resident work.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the ASHP Match and PhORCAS?

PhORCAS is the centralized application service that sends your CV, letters of intent, and references to residency programs, while the ASHP Match (administered by NMS) collects confidential Rank Order Lists to place applicants into positions. Although they are separate services run by different organizations, you must register for the Match through their shared portal before you can send applications in PhORCAS.

When are the 2027 ASHP Match Rank Order List deadlines and Match Days?

For Phase I of the 2027 ASHP Match, the Rank Order List deadline is March 5, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET and Match Results Day is March 17, 2027. For Phase II, the Rank Order List deadline is April 13, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET and Match Results Day is April 20, 2027.

How should I order programs on my ASHP Match Rank Order List?

Rank programs strictly in order of your true preference, without considering how you think any program will rank you, because the NMS matching algorithm cannot be gamed. Rank every acceptable program to reduce the chance of going unmatched, and never rank a program you would not attend under any circumstances.

What happens if I edit my Rank Order List after I certify it?

You can make changes to a certified Rank Order List until the deadline, but any edit automatically reverts the list to uncertified status. You must certify your list again in the NMS Match System before the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline for your rankings to be used in the Match.

Do PGY1 residents using the Early Commitment Process need to register for the Match?

No. Current PGY1 residents who accept a PGY2 position within the same organization or health system through the Early Commitment Process by December 16, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET do not register for the Match or participate in the matching process.

Can a pharmacy residency program ask where I am ranking them?

No. ASHP Match Rules prohibit programs and applicants from requesting ranking information at any time, and prohibit both sides from disclosing their Rank Order List positions for either phase prior to the release of Phase II Match results.