U.S. Department of Education Announces Official Release of 2025–26 FAFSA Form
November 21, 2024
Building on successful beta testing results since Oct. 1, the Department is making the FAFSA form available for all students and families earlier than planned
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today officially released the 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), 10 days before its Dec. 1 goal. The online FAFSA form is available to all students and families at fafsa.gov, and the Department is processing submissions and sending them to schools. The paper form is also now available for students to submit.
Over the last several months, the Department has incorporated feedback from students, parents, schools, community-based organizations, and other partners into the FAFSA process and comprehensively tested the FAFSA form, system, and user supports at scale through a rigorous beta testing period. Since Oct. 1, through four rounds of testing, more than 167,000 students have submitted the online 2025–26 application; the Department has processed these forms and sent records to more than 5,200 schools across all states. The Department also tested the application with a variety of student groups—including those who faced particular challenges last year—and engaged with different colleges and universities, software vendors, state agencies, and federal partners to test FAFSA data and systems.
