Verification Instructions
Verification is a process used to verify certain information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to ensure its accuracy.
The U.S. Department of Education or the Office of Financial Aid may, at any time, select your application for verification based upon the information you have provided. We are required to make sure that all aid is awarded to students according to federal, state, and institutional regulations. If selected, the verification process must be completed before financial aid can be awarded.
Verification Process
At a minimum, students selected for verification must complete and submit the Verification Worksheet and official federal IRS tax data. The Verification Worksheet may be obtained from the Forms website.
Students have two options for submitting tax data:
- Import using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
This option is available to both students and parents who have filed federal taxes electronically within 1-2 weeks and 6-8 weeks of filing a paper return. This option is not available those who filed an amended return, whose marital status has recently changed, or married couples who filed separately. See the video to the right for a demonstration.
This option is recommended.
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Obtain a Tax Return Transcript
This option should be used if the IRS Data Retrieval Tool is not available or you are otherwise ineligible to use it. For details on obtaining this transcript, click here.
Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
The above video provides instructions on how to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).