You might see a note on your FAFSA Submission Summary saying you’ve been selected for verification; or the Office of Financial Aid might contact you to inform you that you’ve been selected. Verification is a quality-control process to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you’re selected for verification, we will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported.

Don’t assume you’re being accused of doing anything wrong. All you need to do is provide the documentation we asks for—and be sure to do so by the deadline we provide, or you won’t be able to get federal student aid.

In most cases, you won't have to verify income and tax information. However, if you are selected for verification, we may ask you to submit a tax transcript or other documentation to confirm the information you reported.

You may be informed by the Office of Financial Aid that you have been flagged for Unusual Enrollment History. In general, a student whose 2023-24 FAFSA is flagged for an Unusual Enrollment History must provide transcripts for all institutions where the student received a Pell Grant or a Direct Loan for any of the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 award years (the 4 award years prior to the current award year). Unofficial transcripts are acceptable as long as they have official letterhead, are sent directly to the financial aid office, or are retrieved in the financial aid office directly from the school site and signed by an authorized staff member.

If you are currently in default on a student loan, the default will need to be cleared before the Department of Education will allow federal student aid funds to be disbursed. The requirements for clearing a default may vary. In general, you will need to call your loan servicer or the Department of Education at 1-800-621-3115, or write to the U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 5609, Greenville, Texas 75403-5609 to clear your default.

Update: Some students may qualify for the Fresh Start Initiative. Federal Student Aid Eligibility for Borrowers with Defaulted Student Loans. Call the Department of Education at 1-800-621-3115 if you believe you may qualify.