This listing of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be updated periodically and include the date of the update. New and/or updated questions and answers will be marked NEW or UPDATED.
The questions below are grouped by the following categories:
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GEN-Q1: When and where can students view the status of their FAFSA form?
Starting in the first half of March, applicants may check the status of their 2024–25 FAFSA form on StudentAid.gov. To check the status, applicants should do the following:
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Log in using their account username and password (FSAID).
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Navigate to their account Dashboard.
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Select "2024-25 FAFSA Form" from the "My Activity" page. The application status will be one of the following:
Draft: Your section of the FAFSA form is incomplete.
In Progress: You provided your consent, approval, and signature to your section of the FAFSA form, but the FAFSA form has not been submitted yet.
In Review: You have submitted your form and your application is still processing.
Processed: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed.
Action Required: Your application requires further action from you or your contributor(s). In some cases, you may need to contact your college or career/trade school to resolve the issue.
Closed: Your FAFSA form was never submitted and can no longer be submitted because the federal FAFSA deadline passed.
GEN-Q2: What can applicants use to show proof of their FAFSA form submission to meet various aid deadlines?
If applicants submitted the online form, they use a copy of their confirmation email as proof of their submission. This email is sent to the applicant immediately following the submission of their FAFSA form. Alternatively, they may take a screenshot of their confirmation screen after they have submitted their form online. This screen appears to the user upon submission of the FAFSA form.
If the applicant filed via the paper FAFSA form, the FAFSA Submission Summary includes the received date of the application. However, due to FAFSA processing delays, paper FAFSA forms will be processed after online forms and FAFSA Submission Summaries for paper filers may be delayed. Students should check with the organization requesting proof of filing to determine what is acceptable documentation.
GEN-Q3: How is the data that students and their contributors enter on the FAFSA form, including personally identifiable information (PII), used and protected?
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) follows all applicable laws and regulations to handle your information responsibly. ED requires personal information for identity verification, to determine student’s eligibility for federal student aid, and to prevent fraud. ED may also share personal information from the FAFSA with other federal agencies. For example, ED will share information with the Social Security Administration to verify an SSN (critical for obtaining tax information from the IRS), citizenship (for students who are applying for aid), or to ensure the individual has not passed away. ED will only share information on the applicant (the student), not any of their contributors, with the Department of Homeland Security to confirm citizenship and eligibility for federal student aid.
Any federal agency that receives this information from ED can only use the data for explicitly authorized purposes. This does not include any immigration or enforcement actions.
For those individuals without an SSN that go through an identity verification process through TransUnion, TransUnion: Can only use the data it receives from ED for the purpose of verifying someone’s identity; cannot keep the data; and cannot share the data with or sell the data to any other entities.
You may review how all collected information is used and shared by accessing Federal Student Aid's privacy statements at studentaid.gov/notices/privacy.
GEN-Q4: Is there assistance that can help FAAs help students obtain documentation of their foster youth, orphan, ward of the court, legal guardianship, or homeless status?
Additional guidance for determining if a student meets these definitions for independence on the FAFSA form is available in the FSA Handbook, Application and Verification Guide.
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APP-Q1: Do students who apply using the paper FAFSA form receive a confirmation email with their submission date and estimated SAI?
Students who apply using the paper (PDF) FAFSA form do not receive a confirmation email. When their form is received in the mail by the federal processor, the receipt date is recorded. This date is viewable on the ISIR under the "Application Receipt Date" field. After their application is processed starting in the first half of March, students receive a summary of their FAFSA information in the FAFSA Submission Summary. If the student provided an email address on their form, the FAFSA Submission Summary is sent by email within three to five days after processing. If no email address was provided, the summary is mailed to the student within three weeks. Starting in March, students may check the status of their application by logging in to StudentAid.gov.
APP-Q2: Can a student submit their section of the FAFSA form online if their required contributor chooses or needs to submit their section of the form via the paper (PDF) FAFSA form?
No. A student should choose only one method (online or paper) to complete and submit their FAFSA form. We strongly recommend using the online form whenever possible. We are aware of several scenarios where a contributor may not have the option or may choose not to complete the online form. In these situations, the student should either complete all sections of the FAFSA form (including the sections for their contributor) and submit the form without the contributor's consent and approval and signature. Alternatively, the student and the contributor can complete each of their sections on a paper form (PDF), including providing consent and approval and their signatures, and submit the form for processing.
APP-Q3: If a student files a paper FAFSA form first, but then files an online FAFSA form before the paper form is processed, will the receipt date of the paper form still stand as the application date?
Because the online form will be processed before the paper form, the date that the online version was submitted will be the recorded submission date of your FAFSA form (even if the student submitted a paper form at an earlier date). If a student submits both an online and paper version of their application, the paper form will be “rejected,” and the student will receive a mailed notice that a FAFSA form has already been filed.
APP-Q4: Are contributors on the paper form still required to go through the identity match process?
Yes. Contributors with an SSN are matched against the Social Security Administration's records, while contributors without an SSN are matched against TransUnion's records. In lieu of the knowledge-based verification questions that are presented in the online process, TransUnion attempts a match for contributors without an SSN based upon the name, date of birth, and address provided on the paper form. If a match is not successful, they are required to complete the alternate ID validation process and must submit copies of acceptable documentation and an attestation form via email. Instructions for completing the alternate ID process are mailed or emailed automatically to individuals who cannot be validated by TransUnion.
APP-Q5: When is a student spouse or parent spouse contributor required on the FAFSA form?
“Contributor” is a new term on the 2024–25 FAFSA form. A contributor is anyone (the student, the student spouse, the student’s biological or adoptive parent, or the parent’s spouse) who is required to provide information on the FAFSA form, sign the FAFSA form, and provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred directly from the IRS into the form. Generally, if the parent and the parent's spouse (or, if the student is independent, the student and student's spouse) didn’t file taxes jointly, then both are contributors. Additionally, if the parents (or student and student's spouse) are not married to each other and live together, both are contributors and their information must be included on the FAFSA form, regardless of whether the two partners are of the same or opposite sex. For additional detail on when the student spouse or parent spouse is a required contributor on the FAFSA form, see the 2024-25 FAFSA Specifications Guide, Volume 5 -- Edits and Rejects.
APP-Q6: What data will carry over from the 2023-24 FAFSA form to the 2024-25 form?
Due to significant changes to the form, no data will carry forward from the 2023-24 FAFSA form to the 2024-25 FAFSA form. Prefill and carry forward functionality may be available for subsequent award years.
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ISIR-Q1: Will there be another ISIR record layout update?
The department will update ISIR specifications as needed to reflect valid values and address remaining discrepancies reported by partners. There are no planned changes to the ISIR record layout.
ISIR-Q2: What does the ISIR record layout field "use user provided data only" mean? Does this indicate when we should use user-provided information because IRS data wasn't available?
Currently, FPS does not use field 581 for the 2024—25 FAFSA. A blank value indicates no change has yet been made by a person. In the future, once implemented, a person may change the value to direct system processing per the design intention of the field.
For 2024—25 SAI calculations, FPS provides a value in all self-reported (or manual) IRS fields so that any IRS data is ignored for any cases where IRS data should be ignored (or replaced) completely. Self-reported tax data ALWAYS trumps IRS data if provided on an SAI calculation. Please review Appendix H of the 2024-25 FAFSA SAI and Federal Pell Eligibility Guide for more details around this rule.
As part of the application experience, the student/contributor is forced to answer all the self-reported FTI questions and must provide at least a zero (0) if it does not apply to them. On the ISIR, FPS would be populating those fields with at least 0.
ISIR-Q3: As ISIRs are generated, do state higher education agencies that are eligible to receive a full ISIR receive ISIRs at the same time as institutions of higher education?
Yes, ISIRs are sent at the same time to institutions and state aid agencies that are eligible to receive a full ISIR.
ISIR-Q4: Is the student’s ISIR released only to the state they list as their state of residency? Or is the ISIR also be released to the state(s) where their school choices are located?
ISIRs are provided to the student's state of residency and to any states that have elected to receive FAFSA information for non-residents who list one of their state’s schools on their form. ISIRs are also shared with the schools the student lists on their form.
ISIR-Q5: Where can I find the Max and Min Pell indicators?
The Max and Min Pell indicators are included on the ISIR and viewable in the FAFSA Partner Portal.
ISIR-Q6: How do I determine what field(s) on the ISIR were used to determine the family size that is used in the SAI calculation?
If the Updated Family Size field is blank and the Assumed Student Family Size/Assumed Parent Family Size fields are blank, then the Number of Exemptions fields (in the FTI block) are being used as the family size in the calculation. Appendix C of the 2024-25 SAI and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide has instructions on how to calculate family size using the exemptions.
ISIR-Q7: Can schools print copies of the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR)? (Added March 25, 2024)
Schools may print an ISIR through EDExpress and copy the format to their preferred software. This printed ISIR in EDExpress is only one example of a potential layout schools could select, if desired. Federal Student Aid (FSA) does not specify print specifications for the 2024–25 ISIR because schools are free to format ISIR print data to suit their own needs.
As noted in the EDExpress 2024–25 Desk Reference, EDExpress reports (including the ISIR) are generated/printed in PDF or HTML format. For users printing ISIRs to a file in PDF or HTML format and who want to work with that file outside the EDExpress software, FSA recommends using a tool designed for the selected format (such as Adobe Acrobat/Reader for PDF files). FSA does not recommend users import the ISIR data into Microsoft Office to print the EDExpress ISIR.
Schools, state agencies, and software vendors that require a printed ISIR can install the EDExpress 2024–25 Release 1.0 software, perform minimal setup, import their ISIR data, and print single or multiple ISIRs in PDF or HTML format. Users can print many ISIRs into a single PDF file if desired. Users can also generate the separate FTI Report. Schools do not have to become full EDExpress users to take advantage of the ISIR print function. The software is versatile and can be used as an assistive tool.
The EDExpress software is available on the Software and Other Tools page of the Knowledge Center website. Information on printing ISIRs and the FTI Report is available beginning on page 39 of the EDExpress 2024–25 Desk Reference.
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SSN-Q1: May students in the US who do not have an SSN fill out the FAFSA form to get financial aid?
Among the basic eligibility requirements for federal student aid, students must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen, and have a valid Social Security number (with the exception of students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau). Undocumented students, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, are not eligible for federal student aid but may still be eligible for other types of financial aid (state aid, college or career/trade school aid, or private scholarships). These students should check with their high school counselor or college’s or career school’s financial aid office to see whether completing the FAFSA form is the appropriate way to apply for state and school student aid. Get more details and tips for DACA recipients filling out the FAFSA form.
SSN-Q2: If a student completes a paper FAFSA form, does a contributor without an SSN need to provide consent and approval to retrieve FTI via the FA-DDX?
Yes. All applicants and contributors must provide their consent and approval, regardless of SSN or tax-filing status. For paper applicants, contributors must provide consent and approval by signing the paper (PDF) FAFSA form. All contributors must review and agree to the same consent and approval statement, whether that is done via the online or paper application. Gathering consent and approval from all FAFSA form contributors is a requirement of federal student aid eligibility regardless of someone’s citizenship states, their tax filing status, or whether or not they live in the United States.
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CORR-Q1: Are students and contributors able to make corrections to their initial application, such as updating contributor information or adding schools, before the form is processed?
Students and contributors will be able to make corrections and updates after the student’s FAFSA form has been processed.
CORR-Q2: Can the student correct their FAFSA form or does the FAA need to do a PJ to allow the student to change their FAFSA form?
Once the corrections functionality is available, students can correct the information they provided on their FAFSA form. However, if the student changes something in the contributor section, that contributor must also log in to sign and submit the changes to the form.
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VER-Q1: When do I need to collect income earned from work if the student's ISIR is selected for verification? (Updated March 27, 2024)
You may need to document and verify income earned from work for contributors who earned income during the applicable tax year (e.g., 2022 for the 2024-25 award year). However, the purpose of collecting the documentation depends on if the contributor was a tax filer or non-tax filer.
For contributors who are tax filers, income earned from work will come from the IRS through the FA-DDX or will be manually reported by the contributor. When federal tax information (FTI) is transferred via the FA-DDX to the FAFSA, it is considered verified and additional documentation is not required. Information not transferred from the IRS (i.e., manually reported financial information) requires documentation and verification.
For contributors who are non-tax filers, the collection of documentation to verify income earned from work is used to determine if the contributor was required to file a U.S. income tax return for the 2022 tax year. You do not need to enter the income earned from work figure on the FAFSA during verification but should use the documentation collected to confirm that the contributor was not required to file taxes.
The September 19, 2023 Federal Register Notice provides a complete list of verification data elements and required documentation.
VER-Q2: Do students who are selected for verification have an asterisk (*) next to their SAI on their FAFSA Submission Summary?
Yes. Schools may also reference the Verification Tracking Flag field on the ISIR to identify if the student’s application was selected for verification. For more information about Verification see (GEN-23-12) 2024–2025 Award Year: FAFSA Information to be Verified and Acceptable Documentation.
VER-Q3: Are we required to verify the family size with a signed statement if the applicant updated their family size—when presented with the opportunity to do so on their FAFSA form—if the same number was provided via the FA-DDX? (Added June 7, 2024)
Yes. If the family size is self-reported and they are selected for V1 or V5, family size must be verified with a signed statement listing the name and age of each family member and the relationship of that family member to the applicant. However, the following exemptions to the requirement to verify family size still exist:
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For a dependent student, you don’t have to verify family size in the following situations:
The family size is reported as two with a single, divorced, separated, or widowed parent; or
The family size is reported as three with parents who are married or are unmarried and living together.
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For an independent student, you don’t have to verify family size in the following situations:
The family size is reported as two if the student is married; or
The family size is reported as one if the student is single, divorced, separated, or widowed.