The FAFSA unlocks all federal student aid, including student loansneed-based Pell Grants, work-study, and even some private scholarships. Colleges use the form to develop financial aid offers for students. There is no income limit to receive assistance.

The release is earlier than expected; The Department of Education previously announced it would open the FAFSA to all students by December 1, 2024. This comes after nearly two months of limited restrictions. FAFSA Beta Testsduring which the form was opened to select groups of students in phases.

It was a strategy to avoid last year’s chaotic FAFSA rollout, marked by major technical problems and processing delays as the Department of Education struggled to implement the simplified FAFSA 2024-25 form. As a result, FAFSA completion fell 8.8 percent among high school seniors last year compared to the year before, according to the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), a nonprofit member organization that aims to increase access to higher education.

This year, so far, everything is going well. About 14,000 students submitted the 2025-26 FAFSA during the limited beta testing period, 95% of whom reported satisfaction with the form, according to the Department of Education.

“Overall, we think the user experience will be much smoother for students and families as they prepare to fill out the form,” says MorraLee Keller, senior consultant at NCAN.

Although the FAFSA is now open to all students, it is still in beta mode until around December 1st. This is just a technicality and there’s no reason to wait for the “official” release, Keller says. The beta version of FAFSA is identical to the official version and submitted forms are being processed and sent to colleges.

If you or a family member is going to college next year, here’s what you need to know about the latest version of the FAFSA.

High school seniors and other students planning to enroll in college next fall should submit FAFSA 2025-26 to be eligible for federal student loans and other types of aid.

Go to student aid.gov to request your FSA ID, which is the username and password combination you will need to log into your federal student aid account. It may take up to three days for you to receive your FSA ID after applying for it, so you will need to do this before starting the FAFSA.

Depending on your dependent status, a parent or spouse may also be required to submit information to your FAFSA as a “contributor.” Each contributor will need to request their own FSA ID. Check student aid.gov to see who could contribute for you.

Before starting the form, take a few minutes to gather the FAFSA documents required. This may include tax returns and social security numbers for you and your parents.

Check your target schools’ financial aid priority deadlines and make sure you submit your completed FAFSA before the first deadline. Meeting this deadline ensures that you can receive the highest possible financial aid. Some types of institutional aid, like work-study and need-based supplemental scholarships, come from a limited pool, and students who meet priority deadlines are more likely to receive this aid.

A few days after submitting your FAFSA, log in to your studentaid.gov account to check your FAFSA Submission Summary. It will appear in the “My Activity” section of your dashboard after the Education Department has processed your FAFSA and sent it to the schools you selected.

Verify that all information is correct and make any necessary corrections. The summary will also include your Student Aid Indexa measure that colleges use to determine your aid package.

You may also need to submit other financial aid forms. Check to see if your state has a separate financial aid form. If you are applying to very selective colleges, you may also need to submit the CSS profile.

The updated FAFSA has the same questions as last year, although some instructions have been improved for clarity, Keller says. Be sure to submit Form 2025-26; You must resubmit the FAFSA each year you are in college. Most people complete the FAFSA in less than an hour, according to the Department of Education.

“Federal Student Aid has worked hard to improve the form, and we believe (returning students) will have a much smoother process this year,” Keller said. “So we don’t want them to shy away from form.”

Verify that your contact information is up to date in your studentaid.gov account. You and your parents may receive an email from the Department of Education reminding you to complete FAFSA 2025-26. You can log into the FAFSA with the same FSA ID you used last year.

Current high school students can contact their guidance counselor for FAFSA assistance. Many high schools also offer “FAFSA nights” where students and parents can get their questions answered by experts.

If you’re already in college, your school’s financial aid office can help you answer the FAFSA questions.

You can also call the government’s Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. Keller says this FAFSA helpline works much more smoothly.

“Last year, calls were hung up or never answered. The wait times were long,” says Keller. But this year, “they almost doubled the number of employees at the center.”

American citizen students with undocumented parents faced major technical issues with last year’s FAFSA, leaving many unable to start or submit the form and receive financial aid. For the 2025-26 FAFSA, the Department of Education is using the same workaround it introduced last spring, which allows students to access the form before their students’ identity validation process is complete. parents.

Detailed instructions for this workaround can be found at student aid.gov.