Independent Study Resources

Creating a StudentAid.gov Account

Every contributor—anyone (you, your spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on the FAFSA form—needs a StudentAid.gov account before accessing and completing their section of the online form. We recommend you and your contributor(s) create StudentAid.gov accounts before starting your FAFSA form. When you create your account, be careful to enter your name and Social Security number (SSN) exactly as they appear on your Social Security card. You and your contributors can access the StudentAid.gov accounts by using your account usernames and passwords.

Note: Parent and spouse contributors without an SSN can create a StudentAid.gov account to fill out their portion of your FAFSA form online.

To start the online FAFSA form, select “Start New Form.” You’ll be taken to the “Log In” page to enter your account username and password. After logging in, you’ll be given the option to select your applicable role to fill out the FAFSA form: “Student” or “Parent.” You (the student) should select “Student.” If a parent wants to start their dependent child’s FAFSA form, they should select the “Parent” option.

Gathering Needed Documents

You might need the following information or documents as you fill out the FAFSA form:

Keep these records! You may need them again. Do not mail these supporting records to us unless otherwise instructed to do so.

Getting Help

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

Starting Your FAFSA® Form

The 2026–27 FAFSA form is available for the award year that runs from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. The 2025–26 FAFSA form is available now for the award year that runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. We encourage you to fill out the form as soon as possible to meet federal, state, and school deadlines.

If you are starting the FAFSA form for the first time on fafsa.gov, select “Start New Form” and enter your account username and password to access the FAFSA form.

If you are applying for a summer session, contact the financial aid office at your college or career/trade school to find out which school year you should select when you complete your FAFSA form.

Determining Your Dependency Status

The FAFSA form asks a series of questions that determine whether you are a dependent or independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid. If you are a dependent student, you must report parent information, as well as your own information, on your application. If you’re curious, you can find out now if you’re a dependent or independent student.

Reporting Parents’ Information

If you’re a dependent student, you’ll need to report parent information on your FAFSA form. Visit our page on reporting parent information to find out who counts as your parent, what to do if you don’t live with your parents, and what to do if you don’t have access to your parents’ financial information.

If you are married (and not separated) and filed taxes jointly with your spouse, then you’ll report your spouse’s information on the FAFSA form, but they will not be identified as a contributor. But if you’re married (and not separated) and didn’t file taxes jointly with your current spouse, your spouse will be considered a contributor on your FAFSA form and will need to complete their section of the form.

Providing Financial Information

The FAFSA form asks for financial information, including information from tax forms.

Note: If your or your family’s financial situation has changed significantly from what is reflected on your federal income tax return (for example, if you’ve lost a job or otherwise experienced a drop in income), you may be eligible to have your financial aid adjusted. Complete the FAFSA questions as instructed on the application, submit your FAFSA form, then contact the college or career/trade school you plan to attend to discuss how your current financial situation has changed. Note that the school's decision is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.

The FAFSA form also asks for asset information, such as current balances of checking and savings accounts.

What To Do If Your Parents’ (or Your) Marital Status Has Changed Since Taxes Were Filed

The 2026–27 FAFSA form asks for your or your parent’s marital status as of the day you fill it out, but then requires you or your parent to add income and tax return information from 2024. If your or your parent’s marital status has changed since filing the 2024 tax return, find details on how to report financial information on the FAFSA form.

Automatically Transferring Your Tax Information

Your and your contributor’s federal tax information will be transferred from the IRS into your FAFSA form.

All contributors must provide consent and approval for the U.S. Department of Education to

NOTE: Even if contributors don't have an SSN, didn't file taxes, or filed taxes outside the U.S., they will still need to provide consent and approval.

IMPORTANT: If a required contributor doesn't provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA form, you (the student) will not be eligible for federal student aid—even if the contributor manually enters tax information into the FAFSA form.

To ensure the information is secure, the federal tax information won't display on the FAFSA site or the FAFSA Submission Summary.

Listing Colleges and/or Career Schools

While completing the FAFSA form, you must list at least one school to receive your information. The schools you list will use your FAFSA information to determine the types and amounts of student aid you may receive. Use the School Search to find the colleges or career/trade schools you’re interested in including on your FAFSA form.

For federal student aid purposes, the order of schools for your college list doesn’t matter. However, to be considered for state aid, some states require you to list schools in a particular order (for instance, you might need to list a state school first). Find out whether your state has a requirement for the order in which you list schools on your FAFSA form.

You can list up to 20 schools online or up to 10 schools on a FAFSA PDF. (You can add or delete schools on your FAFSA form later.) Schools you list on the application will automatically receive your FAFSA results electronically.

Note: Schools will not be able to see which other schools you listed on your FAFSA form.

Signing and Submitting the FAFSA® Form

After you complete your required section of the FAFSA form online, you’ll acknowledge the terms and conditions of the form and electronically sign your section. You can then submit your section of the FAFSA form. However, your FAFSA form won’t be considered complete until all required contributors provide their information on the FAFSA form, give their consent and approval to transfer federal tax information into the form, and provide their signatures.

After you and your parent (and/or any other required contributor) sign and submit the FAFSA form, the form will be considered complete and will be submitted for processing.

If you submit the FAFSA form, you’ll see a confirmation page that displays your completion date, data release number, and next steps. You’ll also see your estimated Student Aid Index, estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility, and information about other federal student aid for which you may be eligible. This confirmation page is emailed automatically to you for your records.

Note: The Student Aid Index on the confirmation page is only an estimate. The official Student Aid Index will appear on the FAFSA Submission Summary.