Verification

Verification is a review that confirms what you reported on your FAFSA. Being selected is routine and is not an accusation of anything. It does mean we cannot award your aid until the review is finished, so the sooner you send documents, the sooner your aid is in place.

EVERYTHING WE NEED SHOWS UP IN ONE PLACE Your To Do List in the Student Center on UCDAccess lists every document we are waiting on. We also email your university account when something new is added, so check that inbox rather than a personal one.

BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Your FAFSA Submission Summary will say you were selected. Every application the Department selects gets verified, without exception.

BY OUR OFFICE

We select applications ourselves when information we hold does not match what the FAFSA reports. We follow U.S. Department of Education guidelines either way.

Direct Loans and Campus-Based Aid

Documents are due 30 days before the end of the term.

Federal Pell Grant

Whichever comes first: 120 days after you stop being enrolled, or the deadline the Department of Education publishes for that award year.

MISSING A DEADLINE COSTS YOU AID

Some aid cannot be offered at all once these dates pass. Even sending documents late rather than never can mean your aid is not ready when tuition is due, and you are responsible for the balance and any service charges in the meantime.

Most people have nothing extra to do here. These four situations need specific paperwork, so find yours before you start gathering documents.

You Filed for an Extension

Send the IRS Form 4868 you filed, the IRS approval of any extension beyond the automatic six months, and a copy of each W-2. If you are self-employed, include a signed statement of your adjusted gross income and the U.S. income tax you paid.

You Filed an Amended Return

Send both an IRS Tax Return Transcript and a signed copy of the Form 1040X you filed.

You Were a Victim of Tax Identity Theft

Follow the steps on the IRS Identity Theft Guide for Individuals to get a copy of your tax return transcript, then send it to us.

You Filed Outside the IRS System

Filed with Puerto Rico, another U.S. territory or a foreign country? Send either a transcript from that government showing all income and tax information, or a signed copy of the return itself.

When a student or parent reports on the FAFSA that they did not file, the Department of Education requires a Verification of Non-Filing Letter from the IRS for each non-filer. The letter has to cover the right tax year: 2023 for the 2025-2026 FAFSA, and 2024 for the 2026-2027 FAFSA.

Request It Online

Go to the IRS Get Transcript page and choose Get Transcript Online. You will verify your identity, receive a confirmation code by email, and enter it on the next screen. When asked why you need the transcript, choose Higher Ed or Student Aid and the applicable tax year.

IRS Get Transcript

Or by Phone or Mail

Call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946 and ask for a Verification of Non-Filing Letter. To request by mail, complete Form 4506-T from the same Get Transcript page, fill in sections 1 through 4, select Verification of Non-Filing in section 7, enter the right tax year, sign it and mail or fax it to the address for your state on page 2. Ask for the letter to come to you directly rather than through a third party.

Send It to Us

Upload the letter through our secure document upload, and keep a copy for your own records.

Secure Document Upload

If the IRS Will Not Issue One

Unable to get the letter after trying online, by phone and by mail? Contact us rather than giving up. There are alternatives we can accept in some situations.

WHEN WE MAKE THEM

If verification turns up something that needs correcting, we submit the change electronically and you are notified by the FAFSA processor. Your aid is then awarded from the corrected information.

WHEN YOU MAKE THEM

If a correction is yours to make, we will tell you to make it at StudentAid.gov. Corrections you choose to make after your aid has already been awarded will not be processed.

Separately from verification, the Department of Education flags students who received a Pell Grant or a Federal Direct Loan at several schools over the four most recent award years. The flag exists to catch enrolling only long enough to collect aid, and it has to be resolved before federal aid can pay. Direct Consolidation Loans and Parent PLUS Loans are not counted in this review.

You Earned Credit Everywhere You Went

Usually nothing more is needed. We may ask for transcripts to confirm it.

You Did Not Earn Credit Somewhere

Write us a signed statement explaining why, with any documents that support it. Without a satisfactory explanation, federal, state and institutional aid all stop.

You Can Appeal, and You Can Come Back

Send more documentation at any point for reconsideration. Eligibility can also be restored by completing 12 credits as an undergraduate, or 5 as a graduate or professional student, with grades of C or better, while meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress. Grades below C, incompletes and withdrawals do not count.

STUCK ON ANY OF THIS? ASK US BEFORE THE DEADLINE Email [email protected] or call 303-724-8039. Tax paperwork is the most common reason aid runs late, and most of it is quick to sort out once we know what you are running into.

Tools & Resources

CU Campuses

CU Anschutz

Student Finances

Financial Aid

Verification

Financial Aid & Scholarships Office

Verification

How You Get Selected

Deadlines That Matter

If Your Tax Situation is Unusual

If You Did Not File a Tax Return

Corrections to Your FAFSA

Unusual Enrollment History

Financial Aid & Scholarships Office