The 2026-27 Federal Student Aid Handbook consists of the Application and Verification Guide, nine numbered volumes, and appendices. Each volume and appendix is posted on the Web after being reviewed and approved by the appropriate offices in the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) and the Office of Postsecondary Education.
Throughout the FSA Handbook, we use “college,” “school,” and “institution” interchangeably unless a more specific use is given. Similarly, “student,” “applicant,” and “aid recipient” are synonyms. “Parents” in this volume refers to the parents of dependent students, and “you” refers to the primary audience of the handbook: financial aid administrators at colleges. “We” indicates the U.S. Department of Education (the Department, ED), and “federal student aid” and “Title IV aid” are synonymous terms for the financial aid programs offered by the Department.
The FSA Handbook is not the only source of information needed to administer the Title IV programs. You should also refer to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the Higher Education Act (HEA) as amended. The FSA Handbook does not cover the operation of software. For schools using software provided by the Department, there are technical references on FSA Partner Connect that explain how the software operates and training in the FSA Training Center under Systems Training. Schools using third-party software should consult the vendor’s reference materials for technical guidance.
We appreciate any comments that you have on the FSA Handbook. We often revise the text based on questions and feedback from the financial aid community, so please email us at helpdesk.fsatraining@ed.gov about how to improve the handbook so it’s clear and informative.