Your FAFSA Checklist
Samantha Schulte
The FAFSA enables students to qualify for financial aid for college. This article shows what documents you’ll need to gather to fill out the form.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a staple to the college application process — helping students unlock access to various forms of financial aid to help pay for college. You can see it as your gateway to qualifying for need-based aid, federal student loans and even for merit-based aid from many individual colleges (including micro-scholarships on RaiseMe for some schools). Whether you’re just getting acquainted with the aid form, or even if this isn’t your first rodeo, we understand how filling out the FAFSA can feel like a Pandora’s box of unknowns. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Like anything else, a bit of preparation can go a long way in knocking out something intimidating as efficiently and smoothly as possible. We’ve pulled together a list of the financial documents and personal identification details you’ll need to tackle the FAFSA!
Choose the checklist most relevant to you, based on your citizenship and dependency status. The distinction between dependent and independent student is an important factor when filing your FAFSA, as it helps determine you and your family’s financial situations — therefore helping indicate the aid you are eligible to receive. Check out FAFSA’s article to determine your dependency status.
What you need to get together before you start FAFSA
For U.S. Citizens
| Your Items | Your Parent(s)’ or Guardian(s)’ Items |
| Social Security number | Social Security numbers |
| W-2 forms and any other documents showing money earned | W-2 forms and any other documents showing money earned |
| Federal income tax return (for you AND your spouse, if you are married) | Federal income tax returns |
| Untaxed income documents (examples include: interest income) | Untaxed income documents (examples include: interest income or child report received) |
| Assets records (examples include: information on real estate, businesses, stocks and bonds) | Assets records (examples include: information on real estate, businesses, stocks and bonds) |
| Current bank statements | Current bank statements |
| FSA ID (you will need to create an FSA ID to complete the financial aid form on FAFSA.gov) | FSA ID (your parent will also need to create a FSA ID to complete the financial aid form on FAFSA.gov) |
| Driver’s license (if you have one) |
RaiseMe Insight: If you are an independent student, please note that the parent and guardian requirements do not apply to you.
For Non-U.S. Citizens
| Your Items | Your Parent(s)’ or Guardian(s)’ Items |
| W-2 forms and any other documents showing money earned | W-2 forms and any other documents showing money earned |
| Federal income tax return (for you AND your spouse, if you are married) | Federal income tax returns |
| Untaxed income documents (examples include: interest income) | Untaxed income documents (examples include: interest income) |
| Assets records (examples include: information on real estate, businesses, stocks and bonds) | Assets records (examples include: information on real estate, businesses, stocks and bonds) |
| FSA ID (you will need to create an FSA ID to complete the financial aid form on FAFSA.gov) | FSA ID (your parents will also need to create an FSA ID to complete the financial aid form on FAFSA.gov) |
| Alien Registration number (your A-Number is the eight or nine digit code U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) documents, such as your Green Card, Employment Authorization Document, Immigrant Visa, among others) |
Once you compile all your materials, you are in a great place to get started on the filing process and officially on your way to accessing money for college. You can set up your FSA ID and begin the application here. Good luck and you got this!
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