How To Meet These Basic FAFSA Requirements

Rachel Witkowski is an award-winning journalist whose 20-year career spans a wide range of topics in finance, government regulation and congressional reporting. Ms. Witkowski has spent the last decade in Washington, D.C., reporting for publications i.

Rachel Witkowski is an award-winning journalist whose 20-year career spans a wide range of topics in finance, government regulation and congressional reporting. Ms. Witkowski has spent the last decade in Washington, D.C., reporting for publications i.

Rachel Witkowski is an award-winning journalist whose 20-year career spans a wide range of topics in finance, government regulation and congressional reporting. Ms. Witkowski has spent the last decade in Washington, D.C., reporting for publications i.

Rachel Witkowski is an award-winning journalist whose 20-year career spans a wide range of topics in finance, government regulation and congressional reporting. Ms. Witkowski has spent the last decade in Washington, D.C., reporting for publications i.

Updated: Oct 10, 2022, 6:40pm

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The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the main gateway to accessing financial aid for college students, but the process can be complicated. The 10-page form asks detailed questions about the financial picture of you and your family, along with a slew of other personal queries. It takes at least an hour for most people to complete.

Thankfully, the general FAFSA requirements are pretty straightforward. Most students are eligible to submit the form, and many will qualify for at least some type of federal financial aid. Here’s what to know about the basic FAFSA requirements, plus how to maintain your eligibility throughout your time in school.

Basic FAFSA Requirements: Are You Eligible?

While the amount of financial aid you qualify for depends on the financial situation of you and your family, there are surprisingly few conditions to meet in order to submit the FAFSA. Most students are eligible, as long as you meet these basic requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen, such as a permanent resident (find more information about qualifying as a noncitizen on the Federal Student Aid site)
• Have a valid Social Security number (SSN)
• Have a high school diploma or GED
• Be enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program
• Demonstrate a financial need (in some cases)

Previously, male students were also required to register for Selective Service, the agency in charge of military drafts. That is no longer a requirement to be considered for financial aid, though men can still register through the FAFSA portal if they wish.

Certain types of federal aid may have additional stipulations that you’ll need to meet. For example, to receive a Pell Grant, you’ll need to demonstrate your family is in great financial need. However, other types of aid such as direct unsubsidized loans have more relaxed requirements that more people can meet.

And more importantly, there is no specific amount of income or wealth that will automatically disqualify you from federal aid. The FAFSA uses many factors to determine what aid you can get, so the only way to know if you’re eligible is to submit the form each year—starting in your last year of high school.

What You Need to Submit the FAFSA

Along with meeting the basic FAFSA requirements, you’ll also need some additional documentation to help you complete the form. Make sure you have this information before starting:

• Your SSSN, or Alien Registration Number if you’re not a U.S. citizen
• Your driver’s license number (skip this step if you don’t have one)
• A Federal Student Aid ID
• Your federal tax information; the FAFSA reviews tax data from two years prior, so for the 2023-24 FAFSA, you’ll need your 2021 tax forms
• Documentation about untaxed income, including child support payments or interest earnings
• Information about your assets, such as checking, savings or investment accounts

If you’re a dependent student—someone who’s evaluated for financial aid based both on their income and their parents’—your parents will also need to provide the above information. To simplify things, you and your parents may also be able to automatically import your tax information directly from the IRS into the FAFSA portal. This can save time since you won’t have to search for your forms and manually input everything. Plus, it can reduce errors.

Once you’ve submitted the FAFSA, your family’s information will be reviewed and your financial aid will be calculated. You’ll receive a Student Aid Report detailing the federal aid you’ve qualified for, but that isn’t the end of the story. Each school you’re accepted into will also send you a detailed letter explaining the aid you’ve qualified for, including any school-based scholarships or federal loans.

How to Maintain Your FAFSA Eligibility

Just because you qualified for federal aid last year doesn’t mean you’ll be eligible this year. You probably know that significant changes in your family’s financial situation can affect your ability to qualify, but so can some other general issues. To make sure you continue to meet basic FAFSA requirements, watch out for these scenarios:

• Keep your grades up. You’ll need to make satisfactory academic progress each year while in school. What that means varies by school, but your college’s financial aid office can tell you the specific guidelines. Your school likely has a minimum GPA, a certain number of credits you must complete each year and other academic standards.
• Don’t default on your federal student loans. Most students won’t have to start repaying their federal loans until after graduation. But if you’re returning to school after an extended absence or for another degree, your loans may have entered repayment. In that case, defaulting on that debt means you won’t be eligible for additional federal aid. You’ll have to get your loans out of default before you can qualify again.
• Stay out of legal issues. If you have criminal convictions, you could be temporarily barred from receiving federal aid. Incarcerated individuals aren’t eligible for student loans or Pell Grants, and other types of federal aid are incredibly difficult to get. Once you’re released, your eligibility should be reinstated, even if you’re on probation or parole.
• Maintain your immigration status. If you’re not a U.S. citizen but qualified for aid as a noncitizen, you’ll need to maintain your immigrant status to keep your federal aid eligibility. If your immigration documents expire, you’ll need to renew them to qualify for the FAFSA again.
• Renew the FAFSA every year. You must resubmit the FAFSA for each year you attend school. If you don’t, you won’t get any federal aid for the year. Set an annual reminder in your phone to help you remember to submit it on time.