Filling out and submitting your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form is an important step in the journey to paying for college or career/trade school. We’ll walk you through the actions you need to take to stay on track toward accepting and receiving your aid.
2024–25
Make Sure Your 2024–25 FAFSA® Form Was Processed
Check the status of your form by logging in to your StudentAid.gov account and selecting your FAFSA submission from the “My Activity” section of your account Dashboard.
If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, you can check its status after it has been processed (roughly 7–10 days from the date mailed).
For the 2024–25 FAFSA form, the status of your application will be one of the following:
Draft: Your section of the FAFSA form is incomplete.
In Progress: You provided your consent, approval, and signature to your section of the FAFSA form, but the FAFSA form has not been submitted yet.
In Review: The FAFSA form was submitted but not processed yet.
Action Required: You are missing your consent and approval or signature; or the FAFSA form was processed, but a correction is required.
Processed: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed.
Closed: Your FAFSA form was never submitted and can no longer be submitted because the federal FAFSA deadline passed.
Review Your FAFSA Submission Summary
The FAFSA Submission Summary for the 2024–25 award year (July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025) is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted. You (the student) will get your FAFSA Submission Summary after your FAFSA form is processed. Look over your FAFSA Submission Summary carefully, make sure you didn’t make a mistake on your FAFSA form, and make corrections to your FAFSA data if necessary. Find out more about the FAFSA Submission Summary, its purpose, how the method you use to file your FAFSA form determines when you’ll get the FAFSA Submission Summary, and what you should do with the FAFSA Submission Summary.
What Not To Expect From the FAFSA Submission Summary
The FAFSA Submission Summary won’t tell you how much financial aid you’ll get. Also, if you provided consent and approval to obtain your federal tax information from the IRS, the FAFSA Submission Summary won’t show the details of your (or parent) income and tax information.
Provide Required Verification
You might see a note on your FAFSA Submission Summary saying you’ve been selected for verification; or your school might contact you to inform you that you’ve been selected. Verification is the process your school uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you’re selected for verification, your school will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported.
Don’t assume you’re being accused of doing anything wrong. Some people are selected for verification at random; and some schools verify all students' FAFSA forms. All you need to do is provide the documentation your school asks for—and be sure to do so by the school’s deadline, or you won’t be able to get federal student aid.
Correct Mistakes or Make Updates to Your 2024–25 FAFSA® Form
Correct Mistakes
After your application has been processed, you can correct your FAFSA form online or on paper.
Make Updates
While most information cannot be changed on the FAFSA form, some information must be updated if it changes. Find out the difference and how to update FAFSA information.
2023–24
Make Sure Your 2023–24 FAFSA® Form Was Processed
After you submit your FAFSA form online, you can check its status immediately by going to fafsa.gov and logging in with your FSA ID (account username and password). (Note: Only the student can check the status.)
For the 2023–24 FAFSA form, the status of your application will be one of the following:
Processing: Your application is still processing. It typically takes three to five days, plus one additional business day to be made available to the schools you listed on the form.
Processed Successfully: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed.
Missing Signatures: Your application is missing the required signature(s).
Action Required: Your application requires further action. Contact your school to resolve the issue.
If you submitted a paper FAFSA form, you can check its status after it has been processed (roughly 7–10 days from the date mailed).
Review Your Student Aid Report (SAR)
The SAR for the 2023–24 award year (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024) is a summary of the FAFSA data you submitted. You (the student) will get your SAR within three days to three weeks after you submit your FAFSA form. Look over your SAR carefully, make sure you didn’t make a mistake on your FAFSA form, and make corrections to your FAFSA data if necessary. Find out more about the SAR, its purpose, how the method you use to file your FAFSA form determines when you’ll get the SAR, and what you should do with the SAR.
What Not To Expect From the SAR
The SAR won’t tell you how much financial aid you’ll get. Also, if you used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when filling out your 2023–24 FAFSA form, the SAR won’t show the details of your (or parent) income and tax information.
Provide Required Verification
You might see a note on your SAR saying you’ve been selected for verification; or your school might contact you to inform you that you’ve been selected. Verification is the process your school uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you’re selected for verification, your school will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported.
Don’t assume you’re being accused of doing anything wrong. Some people are selected for verification at random; and some schools verify all students' FAFSA forms. All you need to do is provide the documentation your school asks for—and be sure to do so by the school’s deadline, or you won’t be able to get federal student aid.
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.
Correct Mistakes or Make Updates to Your 2023–24 FAFSA® Form
Correct Mistakes
Once your application has been processed, you can correct your FAFSA form online or on paper.
Make Updates
While most information cannot be changed on the FAFSA form, some information must be updated if it changes. Find out the difference and how to update FAFSA information.
NOTE: Making corrections or updates online requires you (the student) to sign in using your account username and password. The parent cannot sign in and make changes to the form.