The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Students submit the FAFSA to apply for financial aid for college from the federal government, state governments, and most colleges and universities.
About 20 million students file the FAFSA each year. Student financial aid includes grants, scholarships, student employment, and student loans.
As the name suggests, the FAFSA form is free. You do not need to pay for help filing it.
Who Should File the FAFSA?
All undergraduate students and graduate students should file the FAFSA, even if they think they won’t qualify for financial aid. The FAFSA determines a student’s eligibility for need-based aid, including work-study options and the Federal Pell Grant. But, the FAFSA also gives you access to federal parent and student loans, which offer lower interest rates and better repayment terms than a private loan.
You could also miss out on institutional aid if you don’t file the FAFSA. Some colleges only award merit aid to students who completed the FAFSA. Others offer recruitment scholarships to students who complete the FAFSA but do not qualify for need-based aid.
Try our Financial Aid Calculator to estimate your financial need
When Should You File?
Typically, students can file the FAFSA starting on October 1 of the calendar year prior to the academic year of enrollment. For the 2026-27 FAFSA, the form will be available to complete and submit online by October 1, 2025.
The FAFSA deadline is June 30 of the academic year or the last day of enrollment, whichever comes first. For example, the 2026-2027 FAFSA can be submitted no later than June 30, 2027, and the 2025-2026 FAFSA deadline will be June 30, 2026.
Thus, there is typically a 21-month period during which the FAFSA can be filed.
However, it is best to file the FAFSA as soon as possible once it becomes available. Students who file the FAFSA during the first three months tend to get double the grants, on average, of students who file the FAFSA later.
Remember to file the FAFSA for each year that you will attend college. Your situation may change and you don’t want to miss out on any potential financial aid awards.
See also: How to Prepare for filing the FAFSA
More than a dozen states award state grants on a first-come, first-served basis or until the money runs out. Other states have FAFSA deadlines in December, January, February, and March. Some colleges have early deadlines, sometimes called priority deadlines, during which more institutional financial aid is available. Check with your college’s financial aid office to find out about specific deadlines.
Even some federal aid, such as campus-based aid, can be depleted. Each college gets a fixed allocation of Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS) funding. When the money is fully awarded, it is gone.
File the FAFSA yearly, even if you got nothing but an unsubsidized loan last year. More than 2 million students who don’t file the FAFSA would have qualified for a Federal Pell Grant – more than a third of non-applicants – and 1.2 million would have qualified for the maximum Federal Pell Grant.
Which Form to File
There may be two FAFSAs that can be filed at any one time: the FAFSA for the current academic year and the FAFSA for the upcoming academic year. Make sure you are filing the correct one. During the overlap period, about 90% of students are applying for financial aid for the academic year that begins in the fall, not the current school year.
How to File the FAFSA
To file the FAFSA, first create a StudentAid.gov account. This will provide you with an FSA ID (a username and password) that is used to access your account and to complete and sign the FAFSA electronically.
Anyone who is required to provide information on the FAFSA form, including students, a student’s spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or a parent’s spouse, must each have their own StudentAid.gov account to complete their portion of the FAFSA form. Do not share your FSA ID with anybody.
When you’re ready to proceed, you can go to fafsa.gov, log in using your FSA ID, and begin filling out the form. Most families can complete the FAFSA in 30-60 minutes, including the time needed to gather the necessary documents.
If you are a dependent student, you must provide personal data, such as your Social Security number and your parents’ Social Security numbers.
You may also have to provide your Student Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen.
If you’re an independent student, you do not report your parents’ information, but you may need to report your spouse’s information. More information on how to prepare and fill out the form is available at StudentAid.gov.
The IRS Direct Data Exchange will be used to transfer tax information from your federal income tax returns into the FAFSA. This is mandatory under the new simplified FAFSA. Not only does this simplify the FAFSA by automatically answering many of the questions, but it reduces the likelihood of error.
A new, simplified version of the FAFSA became available starting for the 2024-2025 academic year. The new form contains fewer questions and no longer requires students to manually report certain types of untaxed income.
What Happens After You File
You will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary a few days to a few weeks after you file the FAFSA. The Summary provides an opportunity to correct errors on the FAFSA. It also includes the Student Aid Index (SAI), a measure of the family’s financial strength.
The SAI is calculated using a federal financial aid formula called the federal need analysis methodology. This formula is based on the student and parent’s income and assets and various demographic questions. It is heavily weighted toward income and cash flow.
If the student’s ability to pay for college is affected by special circumstances, such as a change in income or unusual family financial circumstances, the student can appeal for more financial aid. Contact the college’s financial aid office for information about how to file an appeal.
How funds are disbursed
Financial aid funds, including federal student aid, are distributed through the college financial aid office. For first-time, first-year federal student loan borrowers, there may be an automatic 30-day delay in disbursing student loan funds. Financial aid is first applied to tuition and fees and, if the student is living in college housing, to room and board. Credit balances will be “refunded” to the student within 14 days and can be used to cover other college costs, such as textbooks and transportation.
How to Get Help
Students and parents who need help with the FAFSA can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). The FSAIC is a free hotline sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Other ways to get help include:
- Email FederalStudentAidCustomerService@ed.gov, but don’t include private personal information in the email message.
- Visit fafsa.ed.gov/help.htm.
- For problems involving the FSA ID, students and parents can call 1-800-557-7394.
- Individuals who are hearing impaired can call the FSAIC by TTY at 1-800-730-8913.
- The National College Access Network (NCAN) runs the Form Your Future web site. The resources section of this site provides information about College Goal Sunday and other events where financial aid professionals provide free help completing the FAFSA.
