JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Verification

2023-24 Verification Information
    FAFSA Simplification Act Changes for Implementation in 2023-24
    Confined or Incarcerated Students
    Implementation of ED's High School Completion Status Removal from Verification
    Changes to Verification Requirements Due to COVID-19    
Overview
Required Verification Items
Required Documentation
Suggested Text
Updating Information
Resources

2023-24 Verification Information

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-22-09 on July 8, 2022, announcing that the 2023-24 Verification Tracking Groups, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) items that may be verified, and the acceptable documentation for those items are the same as those in the 2022-23 award year.

FAFSA Simplification Act Changes for Implementation in 2023-24

DCL GEN-22-15 (published on November 4, 2022) supplements Federal Register notice 87 FR 66683 (also published on November 4, 2022), which discusses new policies from the FAFSA Simplification Act that become effective for the 2023-24 award year. See the Early Implementation Of FAFSA Simplification Act page for specific details.

Confined or Incarcerated Students

DCL GEN-22-09 also discusses Pell Grant eligibility – which was established under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 – for confined or incarcerated students who are enrolled in a prison education program as defined under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

For the 2023-24 award year:

  • a confined or incarcerated student will be indicated through a new incarcerated applicant flag (refer to the 2023–24 Summary of Changes for the Application Processing System Guide for further details).
  • incarcerated students selected for Verification Tracking Groups V4 or V5 will only be required to verify their identity and submit a statement of educational purpose.
  • institutions are not required to verify a confined or incarcerated student selected under Verification Tracking Flag V1.

ED anticipates that regulations to implement the statutory requirements will be effective July 1, 2023.

Implementation of ED’s High School Completion Status Removal from Verification

DCL GEN-21-06, issued on September 1, 2021, announced the removal of high school completion status as a verification item under the V4 and V5 tracking groups, starting with the 2022-23 FAFSA processing year. As a result, institutions are no longer required to obtain high school completion documentation to complete V4 or V5 verification. However, institutions remain obligated to evaluate the validity of a student’s high school diploma if there is reason to believe that the high school diploma is not valid or was not obtained from an entity that provides secondary school education (refer to Volume 1, Chapter 1 of the FSA Handbook for more information).

Changes to Verification Requirements Due to COVID-19

ED’s DCL GEN-22-09 also references COVID-19 flexibilities and waivers relating to verification that were originally announced in a January 15, 2021 electronic announcement, indicating that these flexibilities are intended to be utilized only when necessary due to the inability of an applicant to meet normal verification requirements due to circumstances related to COVID-19.

Consistent with ED's action and in keeping with the 2022-23 processing decision announced in a July 14, 2022 e-Message,* ISAC is not requiring colleges to complete federal verification for any student receiving ISAC program benefits for the 2023-24 award year who is unable to meet normal verification requirements due to circumstances related to COVID-19. ISAC advises schools to follow ED guidance in regard to when verification must be completed. However, colleges are still required to confirm Illinois residency for all students receiving ISAC program benefits for which Illinois residency is a requirement.

* Note that the July 14, 2022 e-Message listed high school completion status as an item that must still be verified. As explained in the Implementation of ED’s High School Completion Status Removal from Verification area, above, and originally announced in the September 1, 2021 DCL GEN-21-06, high school completion status is no longer a required verification item.

Overview

Students sometimes make errors when reporting application information, therefore, procedures are in place for verifying the information on the FAFSA. Maintaining the integrity of the student aid programs and minimizing improper payments is a major objective of all partners in the financial aid process.

Applications may be selected for verification either randomly, by the Central Processing System (CPS), or by the postsecondary school. Schools are required to have written polices about the verification process at their school.

ED’s goal is for a customized approach to verification. Students who are selected for verification are placed in one of three tracking groups. The tracking group determines which FAFSA information must be verified. The FAFSA output document [Student Aid Report (SAR) or SAR Acknowledgement] will display one of the verification flags, and an asterisk is printed next to the expected family contribution (EFC), to identify students who have been selected for verification by the CPS. A comment in the Student section of the output document tells the applicant they will need to provide documentation to their school.

Refer to the FSA Handbook (Application and Verification Guide, Chapter 4) and DCL GEN-22-09 for detailed information about the required policies and procedures, information to be verified, exclusions to verification, an explanation of acceptable documentation for each tracking group, and guidance regarding updating information and making disbursements.

Required Verification Items

Applicants selected for verification are placed in one of three tracking groups (V1, V4, or V5). The tracking group determines which FAFSA information must be verified for the applicant. Among the items that must be verified when an application is selected for verification by the CPS are those listed below. Tracking Groups V2, V3 and V6 are reserved by the Department of Education. Refer to the July 8, 2022 Federal Register, DCL GEN-22-09, and the “Applications and Information to be Verified” and “Documentation” portions of the 2023-24 FSA Handbook (once posted by ED) for details regarding items to be verified and acceptable documentation in the 2023-24 academic year.

V1 Standard Verification Group

Tax Filers
Adjusted Gross Income
U.S. Income Tax Paid
Untaxed Portions of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Distributions
Untaxed Portions of Pensions
IRA Deductions and Payments
Tax Exempt Interest Income
Education Tax Credits

Nontax Filers
Income Earned from Work

Tax Filers and Nontax Filers
Number of Household Members
Number in College

V4 Custom Verification Group

Identity/Statement of Educational Purpose (institutions must use the exact language as provided in Appendix A: 2023–2024 Suggested Verification Text of DCL GEN-22-09)

V5 Aggregate Verification Group

Tax Filers
Adjusted Gross Income
U.S. Income Tax Paid
Untaxed Portions of IRA Distributions
Untaxed Portions of Pensions
IRA Deductions and Payments
Tax Exempt Interest Income
Education Tax Credits

Nontax Filers
Income Earned from Work

Tax Filers and Nontax Filers
Number of Household Members
Number in College
Identity/Statement of Educational Purpose (institutions must use the exact language as provided in Appendix A: 2023–2024 Suggested Verification Text of DCL GEN-22-09)

Schools may select applicants for verification other than those selected by the CPS. A school is not required to verify any or all of the FAFSA information for applicants it selects for verification. A school may identify acceptable documentation for school-selected applicants in accordance with consistently applied school policies but they must use the documentation required by the Department of Education for applicants selected by the CPS. School-selected applications are considered selected for verification and, therefore, the same rules for CPS-selected applications apply regarding deadlines, tolerances and disbursements.

Required Documentation

Refer to the July 8, 2022 Federal Register for information about documentation that may be accepted for verification.

Suggested Text

ED provides suggested text for each of the required verification items. A school may use the suggestions or create their own worksheet and text to collect documentation. However, the exact language provided in Appendix A: 2023–2024 Suggested Verification Text of DCL GEN-22-09 is required for the Statement of Educational Purpose for applicants selected for Verification Groups V4 and V5.

Updating Information

Applicants selected for verification must update information as of the date the application was submitted. Applicants not selected for verification cannot update FAFSA information concerning income or assets for changes occurring after the filing of the original application.

  • All applicants must update dependency status and FAFSA information throughout the award year except when the update is caused by a change in the student’s marital status. (See the FSA Handbook for guidance on Professional Judgment.)
  • All applicants selected by the CPS for verification must update the household size and number in college to be correct as of the date of verification unless the change is due a change in the student’s marital status.
  • Financial aid administrators ONLY can make IRS-related changes to data submitted via IRS DRT.

Any conflicting information about which the school becomes aware must be resolved and verified. Schools must complete verification before exercising Professional Judgment to adjust any values that are used to calculate the EFC. Using Professional Judgment does not require the school to verify applications that have not been selected.

Resources

The FSA Partner Connect – Knowledge Center website includes links to information and guidance related to the administration and processing of Title IV programs. The following verification-related links are just a few resources available at the Knowledge Center. Users can filter electronic announcements and Dear Colleague Letters by calendar year.