2024-2025 FAFSA will be available in December 2023
The FAFSA Simplification Act represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to file the FAFSA and apply for financial aid.
Update November 15, 2023: Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that the 2024-25 FAFSA will go live by December 31, 2023, meeting the requirement that the form must be available by January 1. Along with the release date, FSA announced while the application itself will be live, it will not begin processing FAFSA forms submitted online until January 2024. Institutions will not receive the FAFSA information or Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) until the end of January 2024.
Major changes to the new FAFSA:
- Replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) With the Student Aid Index (SAI)
- Streamlining the FAFSA® Form
- Modifications to Family Definitions in FAFSA Formulas
- Expanding Access to Federal Pell Grants
Preparing for the FAFSA
Even though the FAFSA won’t be available until December, you can prepare now to file:
- Create an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website and assist contributors, such as your parent(s) or spouse, in creating an FSA ID. If you previously completed a FAFSA, you already have an FSA ID and do not need to create a new one. That is the same for your parent if they previously signed your FAFSA.
- Watch for emails from the U.S. Department of Education to ensure you don’t miss any important updates.
- Opt in to SMS (text) messages by logging into your StudentAid.gov account to receive up-to-date notifications and information.
- Follow Federal Student Aid on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook for announcements and resources.
Students and families can use the Federal Student Aid Estimator now. The Federal Student Aid Estimator can help you understand your options for paying for college or career school by providing you with an early estimate of how much federal student aid you may be eligible for.
This estimator is not the actual FAFSA form. The 2024-2025 FAFSA will be available in December 2023.