Application and Verification Guide
Posted Date: April 2, 2026
The Application and Verification Guide is intended for financial aid administrators and counselors who assist applicants with the beginning of the financial aid process—submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, verifying information, and making corrections and other updates to the information the applicant reported on the FAFSA form.
Attachments
Volume 1 - Student Eligibility
Date Posted: May 14, 2026
This volume discusses the eligibility requirements for student and parent federal student aid recipients and financial aid administrators’ responsibilities to ensure that recipients qualify for their aid awards.
Attachments
Volume 2 - School Eligibility and Operations
Date Posted: August 28, 2026
The volume discusses colleges’ general obligations in administering the Title IV student aid programs: institutional and program eligibility, administrative requirements, audits, record keeping, program reviews, and providing information to the public.
Attachments
Volume 3 - Academic Calendars, Cost of Attendance, and Packaging
Date Posted: July 1, 2026
This volume discusses the academic calendar, payment period, and disbursement requirements for awarding aid under the Title IV student financial aid programs, determining a student’s cost of attendance, and packaging Title IV aid.
Attachments
Volume 4 - Processing Aid and Managing Title IV Funds
Date Posted: June 23, 2026
This volume provides guidance on how to request, disburse, manage, and report on the use of Title IV funds.
Attachments
Volume 5 - Withdrawals and the Return of Title IV Funds
Date Posted: June 23, 2026
This volume discusses how a school should manage Title IV funds when a student completely withdraws from a payment period or period of enrollment.
Attachments
Volume 6 - The Campus-Based Programs
Date Posted: July 1, 2026
This volume provides information that schools need to administer the Campus-Based Aid programs, including the Federal Work-Study Program, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program, and the Federal Perkins Loan Program.
Attachments
Volume 7 - The Federal Pell Grant Program
Date Posted: July 30, 2026
This volume provides information to assist schools in determining student eligibility for and calculating Federal Pell Grants.
Attachments
Volume 8 - The Direct Loan Program
Date Posted: TBD
This volume discusses the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan Program) and describes how the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) makes loans to help students and parents pay the cost of attendance at a postsecondary school. This volume also provides information to assist schools in determining student and parent eligibility for Direct Loans, counseling student borrowers, and awarding Direct Loans.
Attachments
Volume 9 - The TEACH Grant Program
Date Posted: May 14, 2026
This volume describes the eligibility requirements for a student to receive a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant, the required counseling for recipients, the terms and conditions of the service obligation, and the calculation of awards.
Attachments
Appendices
Date Posted: August 14, 2026
The Federal Student Aid Handbook appendices contain information of general interest that is not appropriate for inclusion in just one volume or is so unique that it requires separate treatment.
Attachments