Verification
Independent Student

Forms required for verification

• 2008 - 2009 Independent Institutional Verification Form (IVF)
• 2007 - 2008 Independent Institutional Verification Form (IVF)
• Signed copy of student's 2006 federal income tax return*
• Signed copy of spouse's tax return* (only if married and filed separately)

Federal tax forms that are accepted for verification include: 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, or an IRS tax return transcript (this is a free document from the IRS and can be requested by calling 1-800-829-1040).

E-file or Tax Extensions do not have complete or accurate information to complete the FASFA and will not be accepted for verification. State tax forms are also not accepted for verification..

Verification checklist

• Information is legible on all forms submitted
• Tax returns and/or income statements are for calendar year 2006 (old information will not be accepted)
• The student tax return* is signed by the student
• The spouse's tax return* is signed by the student's spouse (only if married and filed separately)
• The IVF is signed by the student
• All sections of the IVF have been filled out completely (2 pages)

Any verification documents with missing information cannot be verified and will require resubmission. If you have to resubmit forms, your approval for aid may be delayed 3 to 4 weeks.

If an IVF or tax document is received with missing or incomplete information, it will be returned to the address listed on the IVF.

* If student or spouse was not required to file taxes under federal regulations, all of their W-2 forms and/or earning statements (taxed or untaxed income) for 2006 must be submitted in place of the tax return. (Forms include, but are not limited to, disability statement, Social Security benefits statement, etc ... )

Submitting verification forms

When all necessary forms have been completed, submit to the ISU Office of Student Financial Aid via:

• US Mail - Office of Student Financial Aid , 0210 Beardshear Hall, Ames, IA 50011-2028


• Fax - 515-294-3622


• Delivery in Person - to Rm 0210 Beardshear Hall

Follow - up

Once your verification forms are received by our office, we require 3 business days to log the receipt of the documents onto our system. You may monitor your verification status on AccessPlus.

AccessPlus will show one of the following messages:

• "Send requested documents" - indicates one or more documents have not been received by the OSFA, or a document is missing information and has been returned to you via US Mail


• "Verification in progress" - indicates that all necessary documents have been received


• No message (blank) - indicates that the verification process is complete