The minimum and maximum Federal Pell Grant amount for 2025-2026 remains unchanged from 2024-2025.
In a recent Dear Colleague Letter, the Department of Education released the Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts for the 2025-2026 award year (July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026). The maximum Pell Grant award remains at $7,395 and the minimum Pell Grant award is $740.
Schools need to be aware that the current funding law expires on March 14, 2025, unless extended by Congress. The Pell Grant appropriation must be extended through September 30, 2025, in order to fund the award levels for all eligible students in 2025-26. Revised award amounts will be published if Congress modifies the current maximum award for 2025-26.
Since the FAFSA Simplification Act changed the process for determining the amount of a student’s Scheduled Pell Award, the Department no longer publishes a Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedule. The Scheduled Award is one of the following:
- A Maximum Pell Grant Award (Max Pell)
- Student Aid Index (SAI)-calculated Pell Grant, determined by subtracting the student’s SAI from the annual published maximum Pell Grant amount
- A Minimum Pell Grant Award (Min Pell)
Future electronic announcements will provide schools with information about system, web, and software modification that reflect the 2025-26 Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts, including the FAFSA Processing System (FPS), the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System, and the EDExpress for Windows software.
