When you completed your FAFSA, you probably received a message that said "Congratulations,
you have successfully submitted your FAFSA for 2025-26". However, 33% of students that successfully submit the FAFSA will have to complete an additional
process called "verification" before their financial aid is official. Please follow
the steps below to provide our office with the information necessary to complete the
verification process. Near the bottom of this page you will find a list of frequently
asked verification questions for more detail. If you have unanswered questions, you
may contact the financial aid office at [email protected] or (231) 591-2110.
Step One - Verification Form
If you were selected for the verification process, please print, complete and return
the appropriate verification form from the list below. Please note that forms are
aid year specific. Please make sure you choose the form for the appropriate aid year.
2024-2025 Forms (Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Summer 2025) Tax Year 2022
In addition to the verification form, tax data must be provided from the Internal
Revenue Service for both the student and the custodial parent(s). The type of acceptable
tax documentation depends on the 2021 or 2022 tax-filing status of the student and
the custodial parent(s). IRS Data Retrieval or IRS Direct Data Exchange are the recommended
methods of providing tax documentation for the verification process.
Please read the following instructions for providing tax documentation.
The preferred method of providing tax documentation for students and parents that
filed 2022 federal income tax returns is using the IRS Direct Data Exchange on the
2024-25 FAFSA;
Tax filers that are unable to complete IRS Data Retrieval or IRS Direct Data Exchange
may submit signed copies of their 2022 federal 1040 tax returns.
W2 forms for student and for custodial parent(s);
Provide consent to transfer information using the IRS Direct Data Exchange in the
FAFSA for custodial parent(s) and independent students;
Each parent, student or spouse that did not file a tax return MUST sign the verification
form.
On the verification form, in the appropriate column (student or parent), indicate
"Did NOT work in 2022 and was not required to and did not file a 2022 federal tax
return";
Confirmation of non filing using the IRS Direct Data Exchange in the FAFSA;
Each parent, student or spouse that did not file a tax return MUST sign the verification
form.
Additional Documentation
Occasionally we must request additional documentation from you after we receive your
verification documents due to discrepancies that arise once your file is reviewed.
We will notify you if any additional documentation is required. Again, it is important
to submit all requested information as quickly as possible to prevent the loss of
some forms of aid.
Frequently Asked Verification Questions
Approximately 37% of all students who complete a Free Application For Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) are selected by the federal processor for a process called verification.
In addition to the files selected by the federal processor, the Financial Aid Office
may select a student's file for the verification process in order to clear up discrepant
information. Please note that being selected for verification is simply a routine
process, you are not being accused of providing fraudulent information.
Custodial parent is the term used for the 2023-24 FAFSA. If your biological parents
live together, even if they were never married, you must include information about
both parents.
If your parents are divorced or separated, your custodial parent is the parent that
you lived with more during the past 12 months.
If your custodial parent is remarried, you must include your stepparent's information.
If your parent's situation is not described above and you are uncertain whose information
should have been reported on the FAFSA, please contact the Financial Aid Office for
clarification.
For the 2024-25 FAFSA, the FAFSA is changing. Instead of listing the custodial parent
that you live with most, you will list the parent that contributes more to your financial
support (the FAFSA contributor).
If biological parents are married and file their taxes as "Married Filing Joint",
only one of them will need an FSA ID log-in credential.
If your biological parents live together, even if they were never married, they are
both FAFSA contributors and should both be included on your FAFSA. If they were never
married or file their taxes as married filing separate, they will both need their
own FSA ID log-in credentials.
If biological parents are divorced or separated or were never married to each other,
the parent who contributes most to student's financial support is the FAFSA contributor.
If the contributor is now married, the stepparent is also a contributor and is added
to the FAFSA. The tax filing status of the contributors will determine whether one
or both need an FSA ID. Filed joint return= one FSA ID. Filed married filing separate
= two FSA IDs.
If your parent's situation is not described above and you are uncertain whose information
should have been reported on the FAFSA, please contact the Financial Aid Office for
clarification.
You will receive a Student Aid Report from the federal processor once your FAFSA has
been processed. It will be sent to you by mail or via email depending on the preferred
method of contact you selected when you filed your FAFSA. If you were selected for
the verification process by the federal processor, there will be a message on your
Student Aid Report advising you that you were selected and advising you to contact
your school's financial aid office for more information. The Ferris State Office of
Scholarships & Financial Aid will also send you weekly emails notifying you that you
have missing financial aid requirements. You may log into Ferris360, search for Financial
Aid - Missing Requirements to see a list of missing verification requirements.
IRS Data Retrieval is a method of transferring data from the Internal Revenue Service's
database into a student's FAFSA. The taxpayer must identify using their FSA ID user
name and password, then match their name and address information to that provided
on their actual tax return in order to transfer their tax information into the FAFSA.
IRS Data Retrieval will be replaced by IRS Direct Data Exchange in the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
IRS Direct Data Exchange is a process where the taxpayer contributor (parent, stepparent
or spouse) gives consent to allow their tax information to be automatically transferred
into the FAFSA. This process also works to confirm that a student or contributor did
not file a tax return for the base tax year.
If you are not selected for the verification process, your file is considered complete
as soon as your FAFSA data is received by the Financial Aid Office in a valid status.
If your FAFSA has been rejected by the federal processor, you will be required to
resolve the issues. FAFSAs may be rejected for a number of reasons including, but
not limited to the following: missing applicant or parent signatures; name and/or
social security number mismatches; citizenship documentation issues; selective service
registration issues. FAFSA rejections must be resolved before students are considered
eligible for financial aid. The Financial Aid Office will request additional information
from you to help resolve FAFSA rejects. It is essential that all requested documentation
be submitted as quickly as possible. Failure to provide requested documentation in
a timely manner could result in a loss of some forms of aid.
When a student's file is selected for verification, the Financial Aid Office will
compare federal tax data and information reported on a verification form to the data
submitted on the FAFSA. If all of the information matches, the file will be considered
complete. If there are any discrepancies, the Financial Aid Office will electronically
submit corrections to the federal processor. When the corrections are acknowledged
by the federal processor, the student's file will be considered complete.
To be considered for financial aid for the 2023-2024 academic year, students must
submit documentation no later than 30 days after the last date of enrollment or August
30, 2024, whichever is earlier. For the 2024-2025 academic year, students must submit
documentation no later than 30 days after the last date of enrollment or August 30,
2025, whichever is earlier.