The 2026-27 FAFSA application is live. Here’s what to know

By ADRIANA MORGA Associated Press NEW YORK AP The Free Application for Federal Apprentice Aid for the - school year has officially opened Despite the U S regime shutdown the Schooling Department will continue to process the FAFSA If you plan to attend college next year Jill Desjean director of framework analysis at The National Association of Trainee Financial Aid Administrators recommends that you fill it out as soon as you can If it s your first time applying here s what you need to know How does the FAFSA work The FAFSA is a free leadership application that uses students and their families financial information to determine whether they can get financial aid from the federal leadership to pay for college The application will send a pupil s financial information to the schools they are interested in attending The amount of financial aid a participant receives depends on each institution The application is also used to determine eligibility for other federal learner aid programs like work-study and loans as well as state and school aid Sometimes private merit-based scholarships also require FAFSA information to determine if a learner qualifies What is the deadline to fill out the FAFSA The FAFSA application for the - must be submitted by June However each state has different deadlines for financial aid For example California has a March deadline and Kansas has an April deadline for state financial aid programs You can check your state s deadline here This year s application rolled out Sept a week ahead of the anticipated Oct launch This is a really welcomed change and hopefully it will be a turning point where we can expect to see a FAFSA every year by or even before October st Desjean disclosed How can I prepare to fill out the FAFSA form The first step in the process is to create a studentaid gov account and gather the following documents Social Safety number Driver s license number Alien registration number if you are not a U S citizen Federal income tax returns W- s and other records of money earned Bank statements and records of investments Records of untaxed income Who should fill out the FAFSA Anyone planning to attend college next year should fill out the form Both first-time college students and returning students can apply Even if you think you won t qualify the worst thing that can happen is that you might get finance aid you didn t know you qualified for Desjean declared Related Articles Denver school board balloting candidates are vying for seats Training Department layoffs hit offices that oversee special tuition and civil rights enforcement DPS warns of financial catastrophe after unexpected enrollment drop doable funding cuts Trump administration cuts grants to Colorado colleges serving high percentage of diverse students Denver school board majority at stake in November s referendum Students and parents can use the federal pupil aid estimator to get an early approximation of their financial package What information do I need from my parents If you are filing as a dependent learner you ll need to provide the financial information of at least one parent Parents need to create their own FSA IDs When your parents fill out the application they can manually input their tax return information or use the IRS Evidence Retrieval Tool The Associated Press receives backing from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co Inc The AP is solely responsible for its journalism