What additional information may be required if a FAFSA is flagged for verification?

During verification, the college financial aid administrator will ask the applicant to supply copies of documentation, such as income tax returns, W-2 statements and 1099 forms, to verify the data that was submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

What to do if FAFSA is flagged for verification?

In most cases, due to the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for the 2023–24 FAFSA form, you won't have to verify income and tax information. However, if you are selected for verification, the school may ask you to submit a tax transcript or other documentation to confirm the information you reported.

What does FAFSA verification ask for?

The verification process involves submitting documents such as tax transcripts and W-2 forms so the financial aid office at your college can see that the information on these documents matches your FAFSA application.

What is the verification tracking flag on FAFSA?

The Verification Tracking Flag indicates the reason the student's record was selected for verification.

What happens if you fail to meet the deadline for verification?

A student who fails to submit a copy of the filed tax return or alternative documents before the documentation deadline is ineligible for FSA funds and is required to repay any aid disbursed.

Financial Aid FAQ: What if my application is flagged for verification?

What does flagged for verification mean?

Why do people get selected for verification? There are a variety of reasons students have their FAFSA flagged for verification, including random selection, applying to a college that verifies all students, to protect against identity theft, or most commonly, there was a mistake on your FAFSA that needs clarification.

What happens if you fail FAFSA verification?

If students fail to complete verification, they may fail to receive federal aid and, in some cases, also become ineligible for institutional or state aid.

Who gets selected for FAFSA verification?

"The federal government has certain formulas that decide who they select and one of the formulas is random." A higher percentage of low-income students are typically selected for verification.

How long is the FAFSA verification process?

How long does the verification process take? Verification processing time is generally two to three weeks during peak season (June-October), and one to two weeks during non-peak season (November-May). Therefore, students should start the process as soon as possible.

How many students get selected for FAFSA verification?

After you submit your FAFSA or CA DREAM ACT APPLICATION, you may be asked to submit more documents. This process is verification and 20% of students get selected, so you are not alone! Check your MyUCLA portal to see the status of any document requests.

Does FAFSA verification ask for bank statements?

Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable), net worth of investments, businesses, and farms. Records of untaxed income (if applicable) An FSA ID (account username and password) to log in to StudentAid.gov and start the FAFSA form electronically.

Why can't FAFSA verify my identity?

Call FSAIC at 1-800-433-3243. A customer service representative will initiate the identity verification process with you. The representative will send you an email with a case number and instructions for providing the proper form and documentation to verify your identity.

What causes FAFSA to be denied?

There are a few common reasons why the Federal Processor will reject an application: Missing signatures, inconsistent marital status with income, taxes paid are equal to or higher than adjusted gross income, citizenship questions are blank, marital status and family members blank, etc.

Does anyone get denied FAFSA?

According to the office of federal student aid, some applications can be denied because applicants did not meet the basic eligibility requirements. These include: Having demonstrated financial need for need-based federal student aid programs. Being a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen.

Can you get FAFSA again after failing?

If a student loses financial aid for a failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, the student may be able to regain eligibility by getting better grades. Until then, however, the student will be ineligible for financial aid and will have to pay for the college costs on his or her own.

What happens if you are flagged?

A Flag is an administrative tool that prevents a Soldier from receiving certain favorable actions while in an unfavorable status (not in good standing).

What causes an account to be flagged?

In fraud, flagging is an automated or manual process performed by fraud prevention software and/or fraud analysts. Organizations are alerted to suspicious, potentially fraudulent transactions, which can then be flagged for further investigation and manual review.

Why was my account flagged?

A flagged account is a suspended one, meaning they closed it because they think you've violated Terms. Sometimes it's a temporary suspension and other times it's permanent.

What affects FAFSA eligibility?

In most cases, income and assets both play a role in determining your eligibility for financial aid — especially need-based aid.

What does it mean if you are selected for verification for FAFSA should you be worried if you are selected?

If you're asked to verify your FAFSA, don't worry. It's a common extra step in the student aid application process. Many students are selected for verification at random, and some colleges have a practice of verifying FAFSA data for all students.

Does a FAFSA check your banking account?

Students selected for verification of their FAFSA form may wonder, “Does FAFSA check your bank accounts?” FAFSA does not directly view the student's or parent's bank accounts.

Does everyone have to verify FAFSA?

Sometimes FAFSA filers are chosen for verification because of something questionable on their form, but they can also be selected at random. Some schools even choose to verify all applicants. However, some filers are chosen because of inconsistent information on their FAFSA form.

Can FAFSA trigger an audit?

Every year millions of students undergo a complex audit after they submit their Free Application For Federal Student Aid—the application form for most college financial aid.

What are the chances of getting approved for financial aid?

File the FAFSA – 85% chance of getting aid.

What income is too high for FAFSA?

Both students and their parents often think their household income makes them ineligible for financial aid. However, there's no income limit for the FAFSA, and the U.S. Department of Education does not have an income cap for federal financial aid.