With the upcoming launch of the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, the Department of Education is now planning further steps to simplify the process.
In a recent Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education shared some updates for the 2026-27 FAFSA, including two major changes:
- Real-time identity verification – Starting in August, anyone who creates a StudentAid.gov account with a Social Security number (SSN) will have immediate verification of their account instead of the current one-to-three day waiting period, thus allowing for immediate transfer of tax information from the IRS. Any user without an SSN will need to follow the identity validation processes that were outlined in GEN-23-123.
- Simplified Contributor Invite Process – Students will be able to invite a parent or spouse as a contributor by only entering an email address instead of the contributor’s personally identifiable information. A unique non-case sensitive code will be generated and sent to the parent or spouse via email and will allow them to accept the invitation by entering the code on an “Accept an Invite” page or at StudentAid.gov once they are logged in. This simplified contributor invite process will be available to students who invite a contributor or parents who invite a spouse to complete the 2026-27 FAFSA. If a contributor starts the FAFSA on behalf of a student, the existing process will be used to invite the student to the form.
Starting August 4, the Department will conduct beta testing with students, institutions of higher education, and vendors. The Electronic Announcement includes detailed information about the Beta 1 and Beta 2 cycles.
Schools and state agencies may begin to receive some 2026-27 ISIRs in August since students participating in the beta testing will complete an actual 2026-27 FAFSA. Schools are not required to do anything with these ISIRs before the 2026-27 award year starts, but they can download them into their system to use for testing software and processes.
In July, the Department will release system-generated test ISIRs that can be used for system testing.
Institutions and agencies that download 2026-27 ISIRs before October 1 are encouraged to report any issues to their software vendor (if applicable) and to the FPS Help Desk. This will allow the Department to prioritize resolution of issues before the release of the 2026-27 FAFSA on October 1.
