Although financial aid professionals still face some deadlines for “verification of identity” reporting, the Department of Education has revised those deadlines somewhat due to a delay with the reporting system.
In an August 12 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education said the reporting deadlines would be adjusted to match the availability of the reporting functionality in the FAFSA Partner Portal. The reporting functionality will be available by August 31, 2025, for the 2025-26 award year and at the start of the processing cycle for 2026-27.
In the announcement, the Department provided an update on reporting verification of identity for Verification Groups V4 and V5 for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 award years. Schools are not required to report verification of identity for the 2024-25 award year.
The Department reminds schools that the reporting function is only for students selected for Verification Tracking Group V4 or V5 by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) and not for when the school selects a student for verification of identity.
The Electronic Announcement outlines how to report applicants through the FAFSA Partner Portal, either through individual reporting or batch reporting, and the applicable numeric codes that need to be reported for each student.
Reporting is required within 60 days of requesting documentation from the student and within 30 days of becoming aware of any changes that need to be submitted. Due to the Verification of Identity function not being available until August 31, the reporting must be made within 60 days or 30 days of the normal timeframe requirement or when the FAFSA Partner Portal is available, whichever is later.
Questions should be sent through the Contact Customer Support form link in Federal Student Aid’s Help Center by entering your name, email, IHE, topic, and question and select “Policy Guidance.”
