2025-2026 FAFSA Updates and Deadlines

Key Takeaways:

The 2025-2026 FAFSA will become available on December 1, 2024. Some students however will be invited to complete FAFSA as early as October 1 in a “phased rollout.”
The 2025-2026 FAFSA form remains largely the same from last years form.
It’s recommended that you fill out the FAFSA form as early as possible in order to maximize your student aid.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has gone under some big changes over the past few years. It’s been simplified and can pull directly from the taxes you and your family file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). But what about the 2025-2026 FAFSA? We cover all the FAFSA changes and important dates you need to know below.

When Does the 2025-2026 FAFSA Become Available?

While the FAFSA usually becomes available each year on October 1, the 2025-2026 FAFSA is expected to become available to all students on December 1, 2024.

However, the Department of Education is also planning a phased roll-out. Some students will be invited to complete the FAFSA starting on October 1 in order to help with testing. This process will be to a limited set of students and institutions.

The deadline for this financial aid award year is June 30^th, 2025. It’s generally not recommended you wait that long to complete it, though. Many schools and states have much earlier deadlines for financial aid packages, and the longer you wait, the less likely you are to receive institutional grant aid from colleges. Find the FAFSA deadline by state by visiting FAFSA® Application | Federal Student Aid.

2025-2026 FAFSA Updates

In December 2021, Congress passed a package that included emergency pandemic relief as well as policy changes for higher education. These changes went into effect for the 2024-2025 FAFSA. When the changes were released, however, students ran into issues submitting their FAFSA. To provide a smoother experience this year, the form will be the same as the 2024-2025 FAFSA.

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Here’s a look at some of the changes in recent years:

The application has up to 46 questions, down from 108. Some students won’t have to answer all 46 questions.
The Student Aid Index (SAI) replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which will help students and their families make better sense of their award letters, and the formula used to determine financial aid eligibility has changed.
Additional information is supplied regarding Pell Grant eligibility ahead of time if students wish to check.
Federal Pell Grants have been expanded, and they’re also available to those who have been in jail or prison, have drug-related convictions, and men who haven’t registered for Selective Service.
Questions regarding Selective Service and drug conviction eligibility have been entirely removed.
Easier application processes for those in foster care or homeless.
The myStudent Aid app was retired in 2022.
The FAFSA is more user friendly.
You have to create a StudentAid.gov account.
The Student Aid Report is now called the FAFSA Submission Summary.

The DOE, however, is accepting feedback from parents, students, guidance counselors, and others about their experience to continue to improve the form and website. They also have plans to release videos to help families complete their FAFSA.

For the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the DOE had trouble processing paper forms or allowing schools to submit corrections through the FAFSA Partner Portal (FPP). These entered the final phases of testing in 2024 and became functional at the end of June.

Planning Ahead for the 2025-2026 FAFSA

As a result of technical issues and testing with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the form wasn’t released until December 31, 2023. Even after it’s release, students had problems submitting their application. As a result, schools pushed back their FAFSA deadlines and allowed students more time on making their decision on whether to apply. While many colleges require you to make your decision by May 1, several were allowing students extra time to commit – some up until July.

However, even though the FAFSA is releasing late again this year, don’t assume that schools will push back their deadlines again, especially if there are no issues with the release. It’s important to complete it as soon as possible to increase your chances of receiving Pell Grants and institutional aid.

Ready to File the FAFSA?

To properly prepare for your application, you should also have a few documents and information on hand, including:

Your Social Security number, or Alien Registration number if you are not a United States citizen
Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you’re a dependent
Tax returns
If married, your spouse’s Social Security number and financial information
Records of any untaxed income
Your FSA ID
At least one school you wish to apply to

It’s important to complete your FAFSA to the best of your ability and be truthful – mistakes and errors can have serious consequences.

The FAFSA usually has some updates year to year, but the 2025-2026 FAFSA will remain almost entirely the same from 2024-2025. However, after last year’s delays, it’s important to plan ahead to make sure you get your application in on time to increase your chances of receiving a Pell Grant and institutional grant aid.

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