Number of applying attempts allowed in the residency match

Many people ask this question especially those with low scores and old year of graduation who have been trying to match for couple of years: how many times I can apply to the match?

The answer is you can apply as many times as you can. Although the ECFMG ERAS system will identify you as a repeat applicant and will give you the option to reuse your uploaded documents from the previous match season, however, the program directors will not know that you are a repeat applicant.

Hint: If you are unsuccessful in the match for 2 consecutive times then you need to take a look on your CV to see what is missing, usually the culprit is lack of appropriate application strategy in the sense of what specialties to apply to and what number of programs you are applying to. Sometimes lack of USCE can be the culprit. In general IMGs  need to get 1-2 months of observerships. Old graduates need good scores and need to document evidence of continued clinical activity like residency or private practice back home. You can get US LORs from this list: USCE programs.