2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Revision of a currently approved collection
No
Regular
Approved with change
07/28/2025
05/14/2025
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
07/31/2026
36 Months From Approved
12/31/2026
31,791,647
0
34,328,439
20,412,753
0
22,417,460
0
0
0
Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), mandates that the Secretary of Education ââ¦shall produce, distribute, and process free of charge common financial reporting forms as described in this subsection to be used for application and reapplication to determine the need and eligibility of a student for financial assistance...â.
The determination of need and eligibility are for the following Title IV, HEA, federal student financial assistance programs: the Federal Pell Grant Program; the Campus-Based programs (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS)); the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant; and the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship.
Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of Education (the Department), subsequently developed an application process to collect and process the data necessary to determine a studentâs eligibility to receive Title IV, HEA program assistance. The application process involves an applicantâs submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). After submission and processing of the FAFSA form, an applicant receives a FAFSA Submission Summary, which is a summary of the processed data they submitted on the FAFSA form. The applicant reviews the summary, and, if necessary, will make corrections or updates to their
submitted FAFSA data. Institutions of higher education listed by the applicant on the FAFSA form also receive a summary of processed data submitted on the FAFSA form, which is called the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR).
The specific questions that applicants are asked to answer in the application process are described separately in the Data Elements and Justification document. The document identifies the data elements associated with each FAFSA question and provides the justification for including each question on the FAFSA form. In addition to the calculation of financial need for the various Title IV programs, the FAFSA form also collects data that allows for a determination of an applicantâs eligibility for state and institutional financial aid programs. If these data elements were not collected, the Department and institutions of higher education would be
unable to make a determination of financial need and subsequently would be unable to award any Title IV, HEA program assistance, as mandated by the HEA. Many states would also be greatly hindered in their calculation of state aid to applicants.
This is a request for revisions of a current information collection, and important changes to the FAFSA form are described separately in the 2026-27 Summary of Enhancements document.
US Code:
20 USC 1090
Name of Law: Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
The Department is projecting a burden decrease of 2,004,707 hours. The burden decrease is largely attributed to an adjustment in the agency 2025-26 estimate. The FAFSA simplification provisions and user feedback implemented in 2024-25 and 2025-26 application have ultimately delivered a more intuitive and interactive FAFSA preparation, completion and submission experience leading to a significant decrease in the original estimate to prepare, complete and submit a FAFSA form.
$38,706,260
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Carolyn Rose 202 803-1502
Reginfo record details
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
FAFSA Submission Summary 26-27 Reg en 2025-01-24 No Output Manual
OMB Comment Responses_1845-0001.docx
2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - Public Comment.pdf
2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)