FAFSA Step by Step: The 2027–28 Application Explained

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the single form that opens the door to federal grants, work-study and federal student loans, and many states and colleges use it for their own aid too. As of October 2026, the 2027–28 FAFSA is available at fafsa.gov. It covers college attendance between July 1, 2027, and June 30, 2028, and the federal deadline is June 30, 2028. This guide walks through what to prepare, how the form works, and what to expect afterward.

Key takeaways

• The FAFSA is free. Be wary of any site that charges you to file it.
• The 2027–28 form is for the school year that begins July 1, 2027, and is available now at fafsa.gov. Students who already filed it during the early testing period do not need to resubmit, according to the Department of Education.
• Everyone who must provide information (the student and, for dependent students, a parent) needs their own StudentAid.gov account, and must consent to the use of their federal tax information.
• The federal deadline is not the only deadline. States and colleges set their own, and many are much earlier.
• You must file a new FAFSA for each school year.

Which year’s form do you need?

Each FAFSA belongs to a specific “award year,” which runs from July 1 through June 30. Right now two forms may matter:

• 2026–27, for the school year that started this summer. If you are already enrolled and did not file, check StudentAid.gov for the current status and deadline for that year.
• 2027–28, for the school year that starts July 1, 2027. Most high school seniors who plan to start college in fall 2027 should use this form.

If you are not sure, match the form to the term when you will start classes. Starting in fall 2027 means the 2027–28 form.

Step 1: Create the right accounts

Everyone who contributes to the form needs a StudentAid.gov account, which is created with an FSA ID. According to the Department’s Financial Aid Toolkit, a contributor is “anyone (student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or the parent’s spouse)” who needs a StudentAid.gov account before accessing and completing their section.

In practice, that means:

• The student creates their own account.
• For a dependent student, a parent creates a separate account in their own name. Do not share one account between family members.
• Create accounts early. Identity verification can take a few days, and the form is easier to complete without a deadline looming.

If a parent does not have a Social Security number, the process differs. Read FAFSA when a parent has no SSN.

Step 2: Decide who must provide information

On the FAFSA, a student is either dependent or independent, and the answer determines whose financial information is required. Dependent students report information about a parent. Independent students report their own (and a spouse’s, if married). The questions on the form walk you through this; the answer is not always the one a family expects, and living apart from your parents or paying your own bills does not by itself make a student independent.

If you are a dependent student whose parents are divorced or separated, the form generally asks for the parent who provided more financial support, and the form’s instructions explain how to decide. Follow the instructions on the form for your situation.

Step 3: Gather what you need

The FAFSA uses tax information from the “prior-prior year”, meaning the tax year that ended two calendar years before the start of the award year. For 2027–28, that is the 2025 tax year. In most cases, you consent to a direct data exchange with the IRS, and your tax information is transferred into the form automatically. The Toolkit notes that all required contributors must give consent for this transfer.

Have these items ready:

• Social Security numbers (for the student and, when required, parents)
• Your FSA ID and, for each contributor, an email address
• Federal tax returns for the relevant year, for reference
• Records of untaxed income, if any
• Current balances of cash, savings and checking accounts, and the value of certain investments, if the form asks

The form asks about assets in limited ways. You generally do not report the value of the home you live in or most retirement accounts as assets, but the form’s current instructions are what count.

Step 4: Complete the form

Start at fafsa.gov and sign in. The student starts the form and, for dependent students, invites a parent to complete their section. The 2027–28 form uses a streamlined invitation process, in which the student invites a contributor, according to the Department’s announcement.

You will be asked about:

• Your demographic and household information
• Financial information, mostly pulled from the IRS data exchange
• The colleges you want to receive your information

List every college you are considering, because a school can only prepare an offer for you if it receives your FAFSA. You can add or remove schools later. Do not drop a school only because it looks expensive; see net price vs. sticker price.

Before you submit, read the signature page carefully. Each contributor signs electronically, and the student cannot sign for the parent.

Step 5: Review what comes back

After submission, the Toolkit says “most FAFSA forms are processed immediately,” although some can take one to three days. You will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, which shows the information you reported and a Student Aid Index (SAI). The Toolkit describes the SAI as an index number used to determine eligibility for need-based aid.

The SAI is not a bill and it is not the amount your family will pay. Schools use it, with their own cost of attendance and policies, to build an aid offer. A lower SAI generally means more need-based eligibility. Our guide to the Pell Grant shows how it links to federal grants.

Check the summary for mistakes. If something is wrong, you can generally correct it online.

Step 6: Watch for verification and offers

Some applications are selected for verification, which means your school asks for documents to confirm what you reported. This is routine; respond quickly, because aid can be delayed until it is resolved.

Colleges then send aid offers, often called award letters, listing grants, scholarships, work-study and loans. The amounts can look similar while meaning very different things, since a loan is not the same as a grant. See how to compare financial aid offers and federal student loans explained.

Deadlines that matter

StudentAid.gov describes three types of deadlines: federal, state and school. For 2027–28, the federal deadline is June 30, 2028. That date is the last chance, not the target. State and college deadlines are often much earlier, and some aid is limited and awarded first-come, first-served, so filing as soon as you can is the safe approach. Check each college’s financial aid page and your state’s agency for specific dates.

Common mistakes

• Using someone else’s website. The only official form is at fafsa.gov. Sites that charge a fee are not the government’s.
• Sharing an FSA ID. Each person needs their own login; sharing it can cause problems and is against the terms of use.
• Waiting for acceptance first. You can file before you are admitted. List schools you are applying to.
• Assuming you will not qualify. The FAFSA is also the gateway to many schools’ own scholarships and to federal loans.
• Missing the contributor step. A student’s form is not complete until the parent has finished and signed their section.
• Forgetting to refile. Aid is awarded one year at a time, so you need a new FAFSA each year.

What to do next

1. Make accounts for the student and parent(s) this week.
2. Gather the documents listed above and file the 2027–28 FAFSA as soon as you are ready.
3. Write down each school’s priority deadline and your state’s deadline.
4. Estimate your costs in the meantime using our net price calculator, and browse colleges by state or the rankings to build your list.
5. When offers arrive, put them side by side before you decide.

This guide is general education and is based on information published by the U.S. Department of Education. Form dates, questions and rules can change; always confirm details at StudentAid.gov.