No matter if you’re completing the FAFSA for the very first time or filing again as a returning student, understanding these updates will help you feel more prepared and confident.
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) has had few updates for the 2026–27 school year, and both new and returning students should know what to expect. While some updates will be more noticeable to families who’ve completed the FAFSA before, first-time filers will also benefit from a few major improvements.
Below, we break down the changes for both High School Seniors filling out the FAFSA for the first time and Returning College Students who’ve seen how things worked in the past.
If this is your very first FAFSA, you may not notice what’s different compared to last year, but here’s what matters for you:
The FSA ID is now just called your studentaid.gov account. Good news: you don’t have to wait 3 days after creating your account to log in. You can log in and complete the FAFSA immediately. Parents without a Social Security Number still need to make a studentaid.gov account. There’s still no manual verification process yet.
FAFSA no longer has the “parent wizard.” Instead, there’s a new interactive tool on the FAFSA site to help figure out which parent(s) need to be listed.
Pro tip: check this tool before starting the FAFSA so you know exactly who should be included.
Gender is now listed only as “Male” or “Female.”Race and ethnicity questions are combined instead of two separate questions.
The FAFSA has a new Contributor Invite section. You just need your parent’s email address to invite them to complete their part. Each contributor gets a unique code they use to log in and finish their section.
What to Remember: The FAFSA is just the application. It doesn’t award you money directly. Colleges use your FAFSA info to decide on Pell Grants, Work-Study, and federal loans. Some private and institutional scholarships also require it.
If you’ve filed the FAFSA before, these are the changes that will stand out to you:
Small businesses, family farms, and commercial fisheries are no longer counted as assets unless they have 100 or more employees.
Foreign income will now be reported as part of AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) and apart of Pell Grant eligibility.
The clunky process from last year is gone. Now parents get a unique code from their email, the FAFSA itself, or their studentaid.gov “My Activities” to log in and complete their section.
This field now defaults to “1,” but you can still update it if you have more than one family member in college.
Race and ethnicity questions now align with U.S. Census standards. Your experience filling this out will look slightly different than in past years.
No matter if you’re completing the FAFSA for the very first time or filing again as a returning student, understanding these updates will help you feel more prepared and confident. Take time to review the changes, gather your information, and file as soon as possible. Your future self will thank you!