2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Revision of a currently approved collection
No
Emergency
08/03/2025
Approved without change
07/30/2025
07/30/2025
To be followed by a full revision clearance.
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
01/31/2026
6 Months From Approved
07/31/2026
31,791,647
0
31,791,647
20,412,753
0
20,412,753
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.
The OBBBA was signed into law on July 4, 2025. The Act made changes to the FAFSA for the 2026-27 award year. The Department would not have been able to make these changes prior to the enactment of the OBBBA. Because of this, obtaining full OMB clearance to use the most accurate version of the FAFSA prior to FAFSA beta testing and FAFSA launch would not be possible.
The FAFSA form is scheduled to be launched by October 1,2025 for the 2026-2027 award year. Without emergency review of an updated FAFSA form, beta testing and the launch of the FAFSA would be delayed. This means that students would not be able to complete a FAFSA form to determine eligibility for federal student aid. Institutions of higher education would not be able to package aid for their students until their studentsâ FAFSA forms have been processed. These delays would cause the FAFSA form to not be available to the public on time. Applicants and schools rely on the on-time launch of the FAFSA form each year. Delays could impact institutional enrollment projections, student enrollment, and student decisions to apply for federal student aid.
US Code:
20 USC 1090
Name of Law: Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
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 Regular Eng Output Manual
1845-0001 2026-2027 Supporting Statement Part A.docx
2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)