If you’re completing the FAFSA, you’ll first need to set up an FSA ID for the student applicant, and potentially one or two parents, at least a few days before you start the FAFSA. You can do that here. The FSA ID is made up of a username and password and used to access a handful of federal financial aid websites, including fafsa.gov. You can’t complete the FAFSA online without one. The three flow charts below will help you determine who in your family needs to create an FSA ID. Find the flow chart that fits your situation. These flowcharts are also available in PDF format in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Chinese.
Scenario #1: I am a dependent student and my biological/adoptive parents are married or living in the same household
Scenario #2: I am a dependent student and my biological/adoptive parents are divorced or separated
Scenario #3: I am an independent student
Are You Independent?
Federal Student Aid has a short list of criteria that automatically classifies a college student as independent. Any student who falls into at least one of these categories qualifies:
- Older than 23
- Married
- Working on a graduate degree
- Has children and provides more than half of their support
- Has live-in dependents and provides more than half of their support
- Serving in the U.S. armed forces
- A Veteran
- An emancipated minor
- An unaccompanied youth who is homeless or at risk of being homeless
- Since turning 13, has been an orphan, in foster care, or a dependent/ward of the court
Students who do not automatically qualify as independent but cannot complete the FAFSA with parent information may file the FAFSA alone and assume provisional independent status until a college has an opportunity to review the details and grant official independent status.
