What is the FAFSA?

The FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and is the main application for college financial aid. Every college and university requires it, so if you're interested in financial aid, you'll need to complete it. By completing it you're applying for federal, state, and institutional (college) financial aid. The FAFSA is a free application and can be completed online at fafsa.gov. You'll need to fill it out every year before you plan to attend college. To get a full overview of the FAFSA, watch our Understanding the FAFSA webinar.

Here's everything you need to know about this very important application.

Who Applies

The student and parent(s) will need to complete the FAFSA, and each person is called a contributor. All contributors will have their own sections that can only be accessed and completed by them. There is one exclusion: if two contributors are married to each other and filed a joint return, only one contributor needs to complete the FAFSA.

FSA ID

Before you complete the FAFSA, every contributor will need to set up an FSA ID, which is a username and password. You cannot set up an FSA ID and complete the FAFSA on the same day, so it's important to get an FSA ID at least a few days before starting the FAFSA.

Opening Day

Families can complete the FAFSA usually starting on October 1^st of the student's senior year of high school (and every year in college). The FAFSA opening will be delayed until December 1^st for the 2025-26 application.

How to Start

It's easiest if the student starts the FAFSA and then invites each contributor. The student will need to enter each contributor's full legal name, email address, date of birth, and Social Security number.

What's Reported

The FAFSA includes questions related to income, assets, and family size. Here is the information you will need to complete the application and here's what you'll need to report.

IRS Income Transfer

You'll be required to provide consent for the FAFSA to pull your federal income tax data (from two years prior) from the IRS into your FAFSA application. Doing so means you won't have to manually enter any income information. A small number of applicants, such as those who have been victims of identity theft with the IRS or those whose marital status and tax filing status have changed recently, will need to provide income data manually. If you didn't file taxes, you'll simply provide consent for the FAFSA to verify with the IRS that no taxes were filed. The FAFSA will then assume your income is $0. Anyone with foreign income will be asked to enter those figures manually.

Divorced Parents

If parents are divorced or separated, only one parent will need to report information on the FAFSA (along with that parent's current spouse, if there is one). The parent who provided more financial support for the student over the previous 12 months (even if the student didn't live with that parent) should complete the FAFSA. Get more details here.

Parents without an SSN

Parents that don't have a Social Security number (SSN) can still get an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA by providing answers to a series of knowledge-based questions drawn from their credit report. Those without credit history will go through another process to allow them to verify their identity and secure an FSA ID.

Independent Students

Students who don't qualify as independent but aren't able to provide their parent(s)' information on the FAFSA due to unusual circumstances can still submit the application and will be given provisional independent student status. Any student with this status will likely need to provide additional information to the college to be declared officially independent.

Sending Your FAFSA to Colleges

On the FAFSA you'll list the colleges where you're applying (up to 20). Within 1-3 days of submitting your FAFSA, those colleges will receive your FAFSA data electronically.

Deadline

Your FAFSA deadline depends on the colleges where you're applying, and each one may have a different date. Check the financial aid page on each college's website to find out the school's due date and submit your FAFSA before your earliest college deadline.

Time Limit

Any incomplete FAFSA will be deleted after 45 days. However, the 45-day window can be reset by any contributor on the FAFSA making an update to information reported on the application. 

After You Apply

After you submit your FAFSA, you'll receive your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS), which includes a summary of data reported on the FAFSA, as well as the Student Aid Index (SAI). You may have some additional next steps.

Getting Help

You can receive one-on-one help completing the FAFSA during FAFSA Day events. As well, we're always available to provide assistance. Feel free to give us a call at (800) 449-MEFA (6332) or send us an email at collegeplanning@mefa.org.

Watch the Understanding the FAFSA webinar