Rematching was a process by which Chiss individuals belonging to one Chiss family formally transferred allegiance and membership to another family. Each family had a limited number of "appointment slots" per year, limiting the number of recruits they could admit. Most prospective recruits had to interview with the Councilors and often the Patriel of their prospective new family who were assigned to their planet of recruitment. The Patriel and Councilors would send their report to the family homestead, which would review it, and then decide whether or not to accept the prospective recruit as a merit adoptive. Typically, this process took two to three months.
In most cases, individuals who joined a family through rematching would join with the rank of merit adoptive. Merit adoptive was a provisional rank that would be lost at the end of one's military service if that person did not gain the rank of Trial-born first, by conducting that family's Trials. In some cases involving exceptionally promising recruits, some families offered prospective members the rank of Trial-born or even ranking distant. A Chiss admitted to a family at or above the rank of Trial-born would never have to take the Trials.
It was uncommon but still allowed for Chiss to be undergo rematching multiple times. Sometimes Chiss families would attempt to entice distinguished members of the Chiss Defense Force to join them by offering a higher family rank than the person had with their current family.