How to Fill Out the FAFSA

A parent tried to sign in with the student's login, or the form sat half finished because one section belonged to somebody else. Each person whose information the form needs holds a separate account, signs a separate section, and gives separate consent, and nothing is submitted until all of them finish.

Start on the right award year

Federal Student Aid's Filling Out the FAFSA Form page says the 2027-28 form will be available by Oct. 1, 2026 and covers school attended between July 1, 2027 and June 30, 2028, while the 2026-27 form covers July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. As of September 2026, its early access page says the 2027-28 form is still in a test period.

Create a separate account for every person involved

The create an account page says a student, parent, or borrower each needs to create their own account, using a Social Security number where they have one plus their own email address. The FAFSA checklist article warns that the account signs legally binding documents, that giving someone else access is like having another person forge a signature, and that an email address can sit with only one account.

Work out who counts as a contributor

That checklist defines a contributor as anyone required to provide information on the form: the student, a spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or a parent's spouse. A dependent student must invite one parent, who may then have to invite the other if they are married and did not file taxes jointly.

Give consent so the tax data transfers

Federal Student Aid's consent and approval page says consent from each participant is needed to retrieve and disclose federal tax information into the form. Without it from the student and all contributors, that page states, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid, and everyone must give it even having filed no tax return.

Gather records, then list the schools

The filling out page says the 2027-28 form asks for 2025 tax information and the 2026-27 form asks for 2024, and that assets include checking and savings accounts and non-retirement investments such as real estate. The checklist adds records of child support received. At least one school must be added, up to 20 online or 10 on the PDF, and schools cannot see the others listed.

Submit every section, then read the summary

The filling out page says the form is not complete until everyone required to provide information finishes, gives consent, and signs. A processed form produces a FAFSA Submission Summary, which the help page for it describes as the answers plus basic estimates of eligibility and the Student Aid Index, not a financial aid offer.

If a deadline is closing in. The deadlines page puts the 2027-28 federal deadline at 11:59 p.m. Central time on June 30, 2028, corrections due Sept. 12, 2028, and notes each school sets its own. The FAFSA application page says a missed state deadline does not affect federal aid eligibility.

If a site asks for a filing fee. Federal Student Aid's avoiding student aid scams page states that you never have to pay for help with your federal student aid.

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