Application	and	Verification	Guide
Introduction
This	guide	is	intended	for	college	financial	aid	administrators	and	counselors	who	help	students	with	the	financial	aid
process4completing	the	Free	Application	for	Federal	Student	Aid	(FAFSA®)	form,	verifying	information,	and	making
corrections	and	other	changes	to	the	information	reported	on	the	FAFSA	form.
Throughout	the	Federal	Student	Aid	Handbook,	we	use	<college,=	<school,=	and	<institution=	interchangeably	unless	a
more	specific	use	is	given.	Similarly,	<student,=	<applicant,=	and	<aid	recipient=	are	synonyms.	<Parents=	in	this	volume
refers	to	the	legal	parents	of	dependent	students,	and	<you=	refers	to	the	primary	audience	of	the	Handbook:	financial	aid
administrators	at	colleges.	<We=	indicates	the	U.S.	Department	of	Education	(the	Department,	ED),	and	<federal	student
aid=	and	<Title	IV	aid=	are	synonymous	terms	for	the	financial	aid	offered	by	the	Department.
We	appreciate	any	comments	that	you	have	on	the	Application	and	Verification	Guide	(AVG),	as	well	as	all	the	volumes	of
the	FSA	Handbook.	We	revise	the	text	based	on	questions	and	feedback	from	the	financial	aid	community,	so	please
reach	out	to	us	about	how	to	improve	the	FSA	Handbook	through	the	<Contact	Customer	Support=	feature	in	our	Partner
Connect	Help	Center	clicking	on	<FSA	Handbook=	under	the	Topic	section.
FAFSA	Simplification	Act
The	FAFSA	Simplification	Act,	passed	on	Dec.	27,	2020,	as	part	of	the	Consolidated	Appropriations	Act,	2021,	mandated	a
significant	overhaul	of	federal	student	aid,	including	the	Free	Application	for	Federal	Student	Aid	(FAFSA®)	form,	need
analysis,	and	many	policies	and	procedures	for	schools	that	participate	in	the	Title	IV	programs.	FSA	implemented	the
FAFSA	Simplification	Act	alongside	the	FAFSA	portion	of	the	Fostering	Undergraduate	Talent	by	Unlocking	Resources	for
Education	(FUTURE)	Act	to	streamline	the	FAFSA	application	process.
Changes	From	the	FUTURE	Act
The	Fostering	Undergraduate	Talent	by	Unlocking	Resources	for	Education	(FUTURE)	Act	authorized	a	direct	data
exchange	3	the	FUTURE	Act	Direct	Data	Exchange	(FA-DDX)	3	with	the	Internal	Revenue	Service	(IRS)	to	facilitate
completing	the	FAFSA	form.	The	previous	tool	to	transfer	U.S.	income	and	tax	information	from	the	IRS	3	the	IRS	Data
Retrieval	Tool	(DRT)	3	was	retired	after	the	close	of	the	2023-24	application	cycle.	Implementation	of	the	FA-DDX
eliminated	the	need	for	most	applicants	(and	their	spouse	or	parents)	to	self-report	their	income	and	tax	information
reported	to	the	IRS.	Also,	federal	tax	information	(FTI)	that	is	transferred	via	the	FA-DDX	to	the	FAFSA	form	is	considered
verified	for	Title	IV	purposes.
Unlike	with	the	IRS-DRT,	which	allowed	applicants	to	opt	in,	the	FA-DDX	requires	applicants	and	contributors	(student9s
spouse	and/or	parents,	as	appropriate)	to	provide	consent	and	approval	for	the	Department	to	obtain	FTI	from	the	IRS	via
the	FA-DDX	and	use	it	to	determine	the	student9s	eligibility	for	federal	student	aid.
Other	Changes
Throughout	the	AVG,	all	dates,	pertinent	tax	return	and	schedule	information,	along	with	various	resources	and	references
have	been	updated	to	support	the	requirements	associated	with	the	2025-26	processing	year	and	the	2023	base	tax	year.
Where	appropriate,	links	and	publications	associated	with	FSA9s	Partner	Connect	and	Knowledge	Center	have	been
properly	updated.	We	also	removed	references	to	COVID-19	guidance	and	waivers.
Some	sections	were	moved	to	better	align	topics	and	assist	with	narrative	flow.	Use	the	search	feature	to	find	sections
that	may	have	been	relocated.	The	following	describes	changes	made	in	each	chapter.
Chapter	1:	The	Application	Process
We	removed	the	<Returning	FAFSA	Filers=	section	as	FAFSA	renewal	functionality	has	been	deferred	for	future	cycles.