For purposes of applying for federal student aid, what s the difference between a dependent student and an independent student? 
Read the definitions, find out who has to provide parent information on the FAFSA form, and learn what to do if you aren t in contact with your parents. Your dependency status determines whose information you must report on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA form. If you re a dependent student , you will report your and your parents information. If you re an independent student , you will report your own information and, if you re married, your spouse s. The federal student aid programs are based on the concept that it is primarily your and your family s responsibility to pay for your education. A dependent student is assumed to have the support of parents , so the parents information has to be assessed along with the student s, in order to get a full picture of the family s financial strength. If you re a dependent student, it doesn t mean your parents are required to pay anything toward your education ; this is just a way of looking at everyone in a consistent manner. 

Am I dependent or independent? 
Your answers to questions on the FAFSA form determine whether you are considered a dependent or independent student. The questions change a little from one year s application to the next year s ; for instance, the 2020 21 FAFSA form asks whether you were born before Jan. 1 , 1997, while the 2021 22 FAFSA form will ask whether you were born before Jan. 1 , 1998. Here are the questions that determine your dependency status, first in a graphic format and then for 2020 21 specifically in a table of dependency status questions : View text-only version 

Dependency Status Questions on the 2020 21 FAFSA Form 
* Answer " No " you are not a veteran if you 1 have never engaged in active duty including basic training in the U.S. armed forces , 2 are currently a Reserve Officers Training Corps ROTC student or a cadet or midshipman at 

user: Hi there. I'm looking information about the information I need to report on my fafsa form, about my parents.

assistant: Sure, no problem. Are your legal parent married?

user: Yes, they are. And they live together.

assistant: Good, then you should report the information about them.

user: The problem is that I have not contact with them and I don't know exactly where they are living right now.

assistant: In that case. You just need to fill the fafsa form, and get in contact with financial aid office at the college, and they will tell you what to do next.

user: But I can do this even when I don't live with them and they don't claim me in their tax forms?

assistant: Yes, it doesn't matters, because even with that, you are not considered as a independent student for purposes of applying for the federal student aid.

user: And what happen if they don't want to help pay for college or want to give me their information?

assistant: It doesn't make you independent of them, not even in those cases.

user: And what happens if I don't provide the information?

assistant: In that case your application will be considered as rejected, that's why you need to provide their information.