Verification

Every year, federal regulation requires all post-secondary institutions awarding federal financial aid to complete verification on a select number of their FAFSA applicants (CFR Title 34, Part 668, Subpart E ). The students are selected by either the US Department of Education or the institution. Students chosen for verification must provide required supporting documentation as well as complete a Verification Form. These documents will be compared to what was submitted in the student’s FAFSA, and any necessary corrections will be made to the FAFSA by the institution.

Important Deadlines

Checklist

  • All information is legible, signed, and fully completed
  • Federal tax documents and/or income statements are from 2020 for the 22-23 FAFSA
  • Federal tax documents and/or income statements are from 2019 for the 21-22 FAFSA
  • All pages of the Student and/or Parent Verification Form are fully completed
If the forms contain incomplete, missing or non-legible information, there will be a delay of 3-4 weeks in processing the student’s financial aid.

Submission of Verification

Students are now able to complete and sign the Student Institutional Verification Form online through AccessPlus on the FAFSA status page. The Parent Institutional Verification Form can also be completed on the AccessPlus FAFSA status page, by a parent on the FAFSA, who the student has assigned Third Party Access to for financial aid information. The student is the one who creates and maintains the Third Party Access account for their parents.

When completed, the verification documents should be sent to ISU Office of Student Financial Aid in one of the following ways:

Upload to the FAFSA Status Page on Access Plus:

Email:
financialaid@iastate.edu

Drop Off Copies:
0210 Beardshear Hall Front Desk

After Hours Drop Off:
Drop boxes near the U-Bill payment center (outside of 0210 Beardshear Hall near the elevators and the restroom).

Mail:
Office of Student Financial Aid
515 Morrill Road
0210 Beardshear Hall
Ames, IA 50011-2103

Fax: (515) 294-3622

Follow-Up

Check the FAFSA Status page on AccessPlus to confirm receipt of any documentation submitted.

Students and those with third party access can view current document and verification status on AccessPlus under:
  • Student tab > Financial Aid > FAFSA Status
Courtesy Reminders will be sent to students via their ISU email/AccessPlus on a monthly basis beginning in February if any documents are needed to resolve verification.

Processing Time

Standard Verification can take up to 2+ weeks for staff to review. Please submit your forms as early as possible to prevent any delays. Please read all directions on documentation. Make sure your documents are acceptable forms listed on our website and the FAFSA status page. If you have questions about what is needed to complete verification, please contact our office.