Medical Residency in California

California specific initial medical license requirements

Medical Board of California requirements:
  • Minimum 3 years of postgraduate training. At least 4 months general medicine and 24 months continuously within the same program.
  • Maximum 4 attempts at USMLE Step 3. Or held license in another state 4 years. (California BPC § 2177, 2135.5)
  • Passing scores shall be valid for a period of 10 years from the month of the examination.
  • The acceptance of FCVS(Federation Credentials Verification Service) is limited.
Osteopathic Medical Board of California requirements:
  • 1 year of postgraduate training.
  • No limit for number of attempts on COMLEX
  • No time limit for COMLEX
  • The acceptance of FCVS is limited.

PGY-1 residency positions in California

Number of positions by specialty in California based on PGY-1 main residency Match data

Top size residency programs in California by specialty

Specialty ID Program

Anesthesiology 0400521020 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Anesthesiology residency program

— 0400521018 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

— 0400521019 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Child neurology 1850521061 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Child neurology residency program

— 1850521065 Children's Hospital Los Angeles

— 1850521069 University of California (San Francisco)

Dermatology 0800521020 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Dermatology residency program

— 0800521019 University of California (San Francisco)

— 0800521014 University of California (Irvine)

Emergency medicine 1100521097 University of California Davis Health Emergency medicine residency program

— 1100512005 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

— 1100513192 University of California (San Francisco)/San Francisco General Hospital

Family medicine 1200511057 Arrowhead Regional Medical Center Family medicine residency program

— 1200521041 University of California (San Francisco)/Fresno

— 1200511059 University of California (San Francisco)

Internal medicine 1400521064 University of California (San Francisco) Internal medicine residency program

— 1400511046 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center

— 1400521044 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

Internal Medicine-Pediatrics 7000532130 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency program

— 7000532005 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

— 7000532003 Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium

Interventional radiology - integrated 4160500007 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Interventional radiology - integrated residency program

— 4160500003 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

— 4160500001 University of California (San Diego) Medical Center

Medical genetics and genomics 1300500076 University of California Davis Health Medical genetics and genomics residency program

— 1300521010 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

— 1300531019 University of California (San Diego)

Neurological surgery 1600521012 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Neurological surgery residency program

— 1600521010 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center

— 1600521009 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

Neurology 1800521016 University of California (San Francisco) Neurology residency program

— 1800521017 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

— 1800512008 University of California Davis Health

Nuclear medicine 2000521016 University of California (San Francisco) Nuclear medicine residency program

— 2000511013 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center

— 2000521105 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

Obstetrics and gynecology 2200531038 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Obstetrics and gynecology residency program

— 2200521047 University of California (San Francisco)

— 2200511036 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

Ophthalmology 2400521027 UCLA Medical Center Ophthalmology residency program

— 2400521025 University of Southern California/LAC+USC Medical Center

— 2400521032 University of California (San Francisco)

Orthopaedic surgery 2600521193 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General) Orthopaedic surgery residency program

— 2600521002 University of California (San Francisco)

— 2600521098 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

Otolaryngology - Head and Neck surgery 2800521017 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Otolaryngology - Head and Neck surgery residency program

— 2800521022 University of California (San Francisco)

— 2800521023 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

Pathology-anatomic and clinical 3000521046 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Pathology-anatomic and clinical residency program

— 3000521044 University of California (San Francisco)

— 3000521033 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General)

Pediatrics 3200521041 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Pediatrics residency program

— 3200511028 Children's Hospital Los Angeles

— 3200531034 UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland

Physical medicine and rehabilitation 3400521007 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center/VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Physical medicine and rehabilitation residency program

— 3400521008 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

— 3400521077 Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium

Plastic surgery 3600522012 University of California (San Francisco) Plastic surgery residency program

— 3600521118 University of Southern California/LAC+USC Medical Center

— 3600521113 University of California (Davis) Health System

Plastic surgery - Integrated 3620500156 University of California (San Francisco) Plastic surgery - Integrated residency program

— 3620521008 University of California (Irvine)

— 3620531013 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

Preventive medicine 3800521033 Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium Preventive medicine residency program

— 3800521038 University of California (San Diego) Medical Center/San Diego St Univ

— 3800577059 University of California (San Francisco)

Psychiatry 4000521025 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Psychiatry residency program

— 4000521030 University of California (San Francisco)

— 4000521026 University of California (San Diego) Medical Center

Radiation oncology 4300511014 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Radiation oncology residency program

— 4300521008 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center

— 4300521013 University of California (San Francisco)

Radiology-diagnostic 4200521031 University of California (San Francisco) Radiology-diagnostic residency program

— 4200511023 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center

— 4200521034 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

Surgery 4400521052 University of California (San Francisco) Surgery residency program

— 4400521031 University of California Davis Health

— 4400521034 Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium

Thoracic surgery 4600521013 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center Thoracic surgery residency program

— 4600521015 University of California (San Francisco)

— 4600521016 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

Thoracic surgery - integrated 4610512074 University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General) Thoracic surgery - integrated residency program

— 4610521016 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University

— 4610500106 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Transitional year 9990500151 Naval Medical Center (San Diego) Transitional year residency program

— 9990500010 Scripps Mercy Hospital

— 9990500246 KPC Global Medical Centers, Inc.

Urology 4800521022 UCLA Medical Center Urology residency program

— 4800521025 University of California (San Francisco)

— 4800531026 Stanford University

Vascular surgery - integrated 4510521021 Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Vascular surgery - integrated residency program

— 4510500115 University of California Davis Health

— 4510500116 UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical Center

Search residency programs by criteria to find all the programs you really need!

Percent MD,DO,IMG residents matched PGY-1 in California (main match)

Percent of MDs, DOs and IMGs in California by year

California PGY-1 main residency Match statistics

Year Positions Filled(%) MD DO IMGs
2026 3925 95.0 2484 (63%) 731 (18%) 511 (13%)
2025 3759 95.4 2345 (62%) 692 (18%) 548 (14%)
2024 3574 96.0 2299 (64%) 639 (17%) 490 (13%)
2023 3395 96.9 2267 (66%) 554 (16%) 468 (13%)
2022 3305 95.9 2231 (67%) 539 (16%) 398 (12%)
2021 3210 96.9 2223 (69%) 481 (14%) 408 (12%)
2020 3026 97.0 2174 (71%) 396 (13%) 364 (12%)
2019 2948 96.2 2149 (72%) 348 (11%) 336 (11%)
2018 2765 96.5 2122 (76%) 267 (9%) 279 (10%)
2017 2597 97.8 2068 (79%) 229 (8%) 240 (9%)
Read about Top IMG friendly residency programs in California

PGY-2 residency positions in California

  1. Radiology-diagnostic (103)
  2. Anesthesiology (46)
  3. Dermatology (46)
  4. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (28)
  5. Radiation oncology (24)
  6. Neurology (21)
  7. Interventional radiology - integrated (17)
  8. Child neurology (1)
Number of positions by specialty in California based on PGY-2 main residency Match data

Percent MD,DO,IMG residents matched PGY-2 in California (main match)

Percent of MDs, DOs and IMGs in California by year

California PGY-2 main residency Match statistics

Year Positions Filled(%) MD DO IMGs
2026 286 100.0 260 (90%) 18 (6%) 8 (2%)
2025 280 98.9 257 (91%) 13 (4%) 7 (2%)
2024 270 99.6 252 (93%) 9 (3%) 8 (2%)
2023 269 99.3 253 (94%) 11 (4%) 3 (1%)
2022 283 98.6 260 (91%) 10 (3%) 9 (3%)
2021 292 98.6 249 (85%) 20 (6%) 19 (6%)
2020 283 97.5 252 (89%) 14 (4%) 10 (3%)
2019 278 97.8 255 (91%) 10 (3%) 7 (2%)
2018 274 99.3 261 (95%) 2 (0.7%) 9 (3%)
2017 275 97.5 253 (92%) 6 (2%) 9 (3%)

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