Completing the Fafsa

Filling out the FAFSA® form can be a straightforward and easy process. Select the “Fill Out the FAFSA” button on the home page, and just follow the directions on the screen. Below are some tips to help you along the way.

Gathering the Documents Needed to Apply

The FAFSA questions ask for information about you (your name, date of birth, address, etc.) and about your financial situation. Depending on your circumstances (for instance, whether you’re a U.S. citizen or what tax form you used), you might need the following information or documents as you fill out the application:

  • Your Social Security number (it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA form!)
  • Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student
  • Your driver’s license number if you have one
  • Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
  • Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if you are married), and for your parents if you are a dependent student:
    • IRS 1040
    • Foreign tax return, IRS 1040NR, or IRS 1040NR-EZ
    • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
  • Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
  • Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student

Keep these records! You may need them again. Do not mail your records to us.

Try This Resource

2026–22 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet—Provides a preview of the questions students and parents may be asked while completing the FAFSA form.

The FAFSA opens October 1—here’s how to complete it, in 6 simple steps

Step 1: Make a list of schools

Students will need to share their FAFSA with schools they are interested in applying to. For this reason, students should make a list of schools they are potentially interested in before they even begin filling out the form. 

As part of completing their application, students will be able to look up the federal school codes of colleges and universities they are interested in sending their information to.

Making a list of target schools is a good way for students to inspire and motivate themselves to complete the FAFSA.

Step 2: Gather financial documents

The FAFSA determines how much financial assistance students qualify for, which is why applicants must submit documentation about their family’s financial status. Before starting the FAFSA, applicants should be sure to gather all of the forms and documents they’ll need.

Step 3: Create a Federal Student Aid ID 

Having prepared a list of schools and documentation, the next step is for applications to visit the FAFSA website or the myStudentAid app.

To log into the site, students and parents need to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID, which will require making a username and password. Once applicants have created an FSA ID, they can start the FAFSA, save their progress and log in and out as they wish.

Step 4: Start the FAFSA for the desired year

Each year there is a nine-month period during which students can submit financial aid applications for both the current year and future years.

Students should carefully select which year’s FAFSA application they would like to complete:

  • Students attending college from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026 can file the 2026 – 2026 FAFSA between October 1st, 2018 and June 30th, 2026 using their 2017 tax information.
  • Students attending college from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026 can file the 2026 – 2026 FAFSA between October 1st, 2026 and June 30th, 2026 using their 2018 tax information.

Step 5: Follow the instructions carefully

The FAFSA itself is broken into seven sections: student demographics, school selection, dependency status, parent demographics, financial information, sign and submit, and confirmation.

Complete each of these sections carefully, making sure that the information is accurate:

  • Student demographics: The student’s name, social security number, date of birth, address, email, gender, telephone number, driver’s license number (if the student has a driver’s license), marital status, citizenship status, education history and interest in work-study.
  • School selection: The name and location of the high school the student attended and the colleges they’re interested in applying to.
  • Dependency status: Whether the student has children or dependents and the size of their household.
  • Parent demographics: Parents’ marital status; parents’ names, social security numbers and birthdays; parents’ email address and household information, such as who lives with them. (Note: If the student is an independent, they will not need to complete this section.)
  • Financial information: Applicants can either use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool or input information from their W-2s manually.
  • Sign and submit: Applicant’s signature.
  • Confirmation: Applications will receive a confirmation when their FAFSA has been completed.

4:09Don’t miss out on financial aid – here’s how to get that money

Step 6: Submit

Once applicants have accurately input all of the necessary information, press “submit.”

The Department of Education says that online FAFSA applications are typically processed within three to five days, and that paper applications are typically processed within seven to 10 days.

After their application is processed, students should receive a copy of their Student Aid Report, which includes their Expected Family Contribution and determines their eligibility for Pell Grants. An applicant’s aid report will be shared with the colleges they listed on their FAFSA application.

After a student has been admitted to a college, colleges use the information on their aid report to determine how much they will provide. Many schools will ask students to verify the information on their aid report, or to complete a College Scholarship Service Profile, which is administered by The College Board. The profile is used by hundreds of schools across the country and can help students access their share of $9 billion in non-federal financial aid.

Getting Help

If you need help filling out the FAFSA form, use these free tools:

  • Select the blue and white question mark icon next to a FAFSA question to view a “tool tip” that provides information about how to answer that question.
  • In the online FAFSA form, the tool tip may have a “More Help” link for additional information. You also can select the “Help” button at the bottom of the tool tip to reach the “FAFSA Help” page, where you can browse FAQs, search for more information, or click on “Contact Us.”
  • Once you click on “Contact Us,” you’ll have the option of emailing us with your question or, during business hours, chatting (in English or Spanish) with live technical support staff. (In the myStudentAid mobile app, you can find the contact information via the “hamburger menu”—the three parallel lines at the top right of the screen.)

The following tips apply whether you’re filling out the form online or on the mobile app:

  • Near the beginning of the application, you’ll create a “save key,” a temporary password that you’ll use if you start your FAFSA form, save it without finishing it, then want to open it again later to finish it. One benefit of the save key is that students and parents can use this function to access the FAFSA form if they are completing the application in separate locations. (Unlike with the FSA ID, which needs to be kept private, it’s okay to tell your parent what your save key is.)
  • If you are applying for a summer session, contact the financial aid office at your college to find out which school year you should select when you complete your FAFSA form.

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