The U.S. Department of Education recently announced some changes that will make submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) much easier for dependent students.
Most (but not all) high school seniors are dependent* students, which means that along with reporting their own income from a previous year on their FAFSA, they are also required to report one or both parents’ income from the same year.**
When the Better FAFSA® opened in 2024, parent signatures were no longer required on paper, and the students could “invite” their parents to contribute their information to the FAFSA and sign it electronically. This process didn’t work quite as planned, but after two years of working the kinks out of this new process, we are looking forward to a much smoother process for adding parent information to a FAFSA. When completing the 2026-27 FAFSA (available October 1 this year), dependent students will have less obstacles to face when inviting their parent(s) to contribute their information.
After students enter their own information, they’ll be given the opportunity to invite their parent(s) to contribute their own information to the FAFSA by simply submitting their parent’s email address, instead of having to supply all of the parent’s personally identifiable information. After entering the email address, a unique, non-case sensitive code will be generated, and that code will be sent to the parent by email. The parent will then be directed to accept the invitation by entering the code on an “Accept an Invite” page that can be accessed by the email or at StudentAid.gov once they are logged in. After being connected to the FAFSA, the parents can then supply their information.
Another exciting news flash: In order to submit a FAFSA, each first-time contributor must first create an account at StudentAid.gov. For the last two years, it’s been very important to create an account 2-3 days before completing the FAFSA so that the personal identifying information on the account could be matched/verified with data found at the Social Security Administration — a process which would take a few days. Beginning in August 2025, all users who create a StudentAid.gov account with a Social Security number will have their accounts verified immediately, instead of having to observe the 2-3 day waiting period. This will allow for the immediate retrieval of tax information from the IRS.
We’re happy to share that every effort is being made to ensure the FAFSA process will go even better this year. When you submit a FAFSA, you may be surprised to learn about financial aid that you may be qualified to receive to help you pay your college expenses! The 2026-27 FAFSA is scheduled to open October 1, 2025.
*In order to determine whether you will be considered a dependent or an independent student, try the online tool called Who counts as a parent on the FAFSA® form?
**You will always be asked to supply income information from two years prior to the year for which you’re applying for financial aid. If you’re planning to start college in fall 2025, you and your parents will need to submit income & tax information from 2023. If you’re planning to start in fall 2026, you’ll need information from 2024.