Summary
- For the ERAS file, use a real photograph of you. Programs use it to identify you at interview.
- Live AAMC rules are JPG or PNG, 150 KB maximum, face centered. A second AAMC page still lists 2.5 x 3.5 in at 150 dpi.
- Some blogs and school FAQs still say 100 KB. That is stale against the live 150 KB cap. Recheck both AAMC pages before you upload.
- I would not upload a fully generated face to MyERAS. I use Profile Bakery for LinkedIn, interview practice, and later hospital bios: 30 to 120 photos from selfies, typically about 15 minutes, from $24.90.
AICurrent ERAS photo requirements start with a real photograph of you, not a fully AI-generated face. AAMC says programs use the photo "to help identify you when you report for an interview," and the live MyERAS rules are simple: JPG/JPEG or PNG, maximum 150 KB, face centered. US graduates upload in MyERAS. IMGs go through ECFMG (document upload currently sits in MyIntealth). Older AAMC document text still lists 2.5 × 3.5 in at 150 dpi as a practical export target. Recheck both AAMC pages before you upload, because season guides disagree on what is required versus recommended.
My verdict: do not upload a fully synthetic AI headshot to MyERAS. Profile Bakery is the right tool for the photos that are not your ERAS file: LinkedIn, practice interview decks, and later hospital bios (30, 60, or 120 options from your selfies, typically about 15 minutes, 3 free previews, no signup, from $24.90). For the ERAS upload itself, book your school's composite session or a photographer who exports the compressed file for you.
This sits in the professional headshot hub under jobs. It is a specs-and-identity guide, not a generator landing.
What are the current official ERAS photo requirements?
The live AAMC Photo chapter lists three file rules: JPG/JPEG or PNG, maximum 150 KB, and a centered face. A separate AAMC documents page still prints 2.5 in × 3.5 in at 150 dpi and 150 kb. Treat the Photo chapter as the upload gate, and treat the inches/dpi line as extra AAMC text to recheck on upload day.
I compared the two AAMC pages on 6 November 2026. They do not say the same thing.
| What the page says | AAMC Photo chapter | AAMC Documents for residency applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Programs use the photo "to help identify you when you report for an interview." | The photo is "most often used by programs to help identify applicants when reporting for an interview." |
| File type | JPG/JPEG or PNG | Not listed on the Photos block |
| File size | Maximum 150 KB | 150 kb |
| Face | "Face is centered in the photo." | Not listed on the Photos block |
| Dimensions / resolution | Not listed | 2.5 in. × 3.5 in., 150 dpi |
| Who uploads (US MD/DO) | USMG applicants upload in MyERAS ("Upload New Photo") | Applicants upload in MyERAS ("Upload New Photo") |
| Who uploads (IMG) | ECFMG uploads; follow the ECFMG documents page | ECFMG handles several IMG documents; see the same ECFMG page |
| Who uploads (fellowship) | EFDO uploads | Not in the Photos block |
AAMC also says you must assign the photo to the programs you designate. You can assign it before it is uploaded. Once it is assigned to a program you have applied to, you cannot unassign it. You cannot assign it to closed programs.
Where third-party tables go stale
Case Western's ERAS FAQ still tells students to save a .jpg at 150 dpi with a maximum file size of 100 kb, plus a plain white or light background. Austen Hunter's 2026 ERAS survival guide still tables no larger than 100 KB. Live AAMC says 150 KB. I am not copying 100 KB as a current AAMC rule.
375 × 525 pixels is 2.5 in × 3.5 in at 150 dpi. That is arithmetic from the Documents page, not a pixel mandate on the Photo chapter. A vendor guide published 30 August 2026 makes the same distinction (erasheadshot.com). If you export at that size, still keep the file at or under 150 KB.
IMG and fellowship upload paths
AAMC's Photo chapter is one sentence each. IMGs: ECFMG uploads the photo. Fellowship applicants: EFDO uploads it. AAMC's MyERAS documents for fellowship applicants lists a 100 KB photo limit instead of the 150 KB residency cap.
ECFMG's November 2025 MyIntealth applicant guide for ERAS Support Services describes document upload in the MyIntealth Applicant Portal (Services → ERAS Support Services → Document Upload). Use that portal's own instructions. The PDF I opened does not reprint JPG/PNG/150 KB, so I am not inventing IMG-only dimensions.
AAMC also tells you to research programs individually for extra photo rules. I would do that before assigning the file.
Why the photo exists (the identity test)
AAMC's purpose line is the constraint. The photo is there so a program can recognize you when you arrive for an interview, not so you can brand yourself.
The Photo chapter opens: "The photo is most often used by programs to help identify you when you report for an interview." The Documents page uses almost the same sentence for applicants. That is an ID-badge job.
My take: if a program director would not recognize you from the file at the interview desk, the file failed. Camera versus AI is secondary. A real photo that still looks like you today beats a polished face that belongs to nobody in the waiting room.
That is why I treat ERAS differently from LinkedIn. LinkedIn's own likeness rule is a profile rule. ERAS is an application document used at the door. For LinkedIn likeness, see is it bad to use an AI headshot on LinkedIn. For clinical bios after match, AI headshots for doctors and AI headshots for nurses are the product pages, not the MyERAS upload path.
AAMC also says you should check each program's own use of the photo. I would not assume every program prints it the same way. The identification purpose is still the line AAMC publishes on both pages.
Can I use an AI headshot for ERAS?
No for a fully generated face. AAMC does not ban or bless AI by name on the public Photo chapter. The identification purpose is the constraint. I would not put a face I invented into MyERAS.
| Kind of file | What I would do for MyERAS | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Real photograph of you (school session, photographer, or a careful DIY frame) | Use it, if it meets the live file rules and still looks like you | Matches AAMC's identify-at-interview purpose |
| Real photograph with light cleanup (dust, stray hair, mild exposure) | Maybe, if the face is still yours today | AAMC does not name retouching. Identity still has to hold |
| Fully synthetic face generated from prompts or from selfies that no longer look like you | Do not upload | The file stops being an ID. AAMC does not need to say the word "AI" for that to be a bad idea |
Med School Insiders (Kevin Jubbal, MD, 8 June 2026) correctly mirrors the live AAMC trio (JPG/PNG, 150 KB, face centered) and does not add an AI section. I am not filling that gap with a green light.
My take: a cleanup that leaves jaw, hairline, age, skin tone, glasses, and expression alone is a photo of you. A new face is not. I have not uploaded a synthetic file to MyERAS, and I am not going to claim any AI file was accepted.
Profile Bakery belongs after this decision, not instead of it: use it for LinkedIn and interview practice, not as the MyERAS file. The AI headshot generator is that product path.
My rule
If you would have to explain the photo when you shake hands, pick another frame. That is an identity check, not a detector score.
One-minute pre-upload checklist
Run this against the live AAMC Photo chapter, not against a blog table from last season.
- Format. The file is JPG, JPEG, or PNG. iPhone default HEIC is none of those, so export before you upload.
- Size. The file is 150 KB or smaller. If a school FAQ still says 100 KB, the live AAMC cap is 150 KB.
- Face centered. Open the final file at full size. If the crop is a shoulder, a ceiling, or a half-face, recrop.
- Looks like you today. Same hair, glasses, and age as the person who will walk into the interview.
- Assigned in MyERAS. Upload is not the last step. Assign the photo to saved or applied-to programs. You cannot unassign it after you have applied.
- Program notes. AAMC tells you to research programs individually. Check those pages for extra photo rules.
If the file is over 150 KB, export a smaller JPG. Squoosh (or any local compressor) is a method, not a partner. A 375 × 525 export is a way to hit the Documents-page inches at 150 dpi. It is not an official pixel size on the Photo chapter. Confirm the byte size after export.
Why files fail the live rules
Wrong type (HEIC), too many kilobytes, and a face that is not in the middle of the frame are mismatches with the three rules AAMC prints today. I am not quoting anonymous forums as evidence. I am reading the Photo chapter and listing the ways a file misses it.
What to wear and how to pose
AAMC does not publish a dress code, a smile rule, or a white-coat rule on the Photo chapter. Wear interview-level clothes, keep the background quiet, and look like the person who will sit across from faculty.
Med School Insiders tells applicants to wear what they would wear to a residency interview: a two-piece suit and tie, or a skirt or pantsuit; dark neutrals such as gray, charcoal, or navy; a solid white or light-blue shirt; a natural smile. Wayne State's ERAS/class composite page (a school photo service, Class of 2028) tells students to wear interview-level professional clothing, stick to solid dark or mid-tone colors, and avoid white coats or graduation attire for that session. It also says a natural smile matters and that glasses are fine.
I would follow that consensus: navy or charcoal, no white coat, head-and-shoulders, light or plain background, face to camera. I would not treat Wayne State's extra lines (color background, "must be in color") as live AAMC Photo-chapter rules. They sit next to the Documents-page inches on that school page.
I am not repeating unverified claims that glasses change match odds. I did not re-read a primary study for that, so it stays out.
For a home setup that is only a real photo, lighting on the face is the one lever that matters. That DIY path is in how to take a headshot at home. It is still a real photograph, not a generated one.
Where to get the photo
Start with your school's composite session if it exists. Then a photographer who will export the ERAS file. DIY only if you can pass the checklist. Profile Bakery is for everything around that file, not the MyERAS upload.
School composite. Wayne State Medical Communications photographs the Class of 2028 at no cost, emails a high-resolution file plus an ERAS-formatted file, and does not upload to MyERAS for you (Wayne State). That is one school's service, not a nationwide promise. Ask your own student affairs or medical communications office whether they run the same kind of session.
Local photographer. Hire someone who has exported a JPG or PNG under 150 KB with the face centered. If they still brief 100 KB as "the ERAS limit," show them the live AAMC Photo chapter. For how a photographer session compares with AI in general, see AI photos vs photographer.
DIY. Possible if you control light, crop, format, and file size. It is the highest-risk path for HEIC leftovers and off-center crops. Use the checklist. Do not skip assignment in MyERAS.
Where Profile Bakery fits
Profile Bakery is my first pick when you need a likeness-checked professional set that is not the ERAS submission file.
Use it for LinkedIn, practice slides, and a later hospital or clinic bio. Packages are $24.90 for 30 photos, $29.90 for 60, and $49.90 for 120. Delivery is typically about 15 minutes. You get 3 free previews, with no signup. Uploads are deleted after 7 days. AI photos are deleted after 30 days. Full pack prices sit in how much headshots cost.
Do not upload a Profile Bakery render to MyERAS as a fully generated stand-in for your face. If a later staff directory wants a warmer portrait, that is a different document than the application ID.
Need a LinkedIn or interview portrait that still looks like you?
Try 3 free previewsMy take (Michael Duve)
I would not put a face I invented into an application that uses the photo as an ID. I would use a batch of selfie-based options for LinkedIn the same week, because interviews and applications now live next to each other online.
That is not a claim that AAMC wrote the word "AI" into the Photo chapter. It is my read of the identify-at-interview sentence. School composite or a photographer for the 150 KB file. Profile Bakery for the rest.
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