Notice of the Draft 2020–21 Federal Student Aid Application Materials

Posted Date: April 4, 2019

Author: Federal Student Aid

Subject: Notice of the Draft 2020–21 Federal Student Aid Application Materials

Draft versions of the proposed 2020–21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, the Student Aid Report (SAR) and the SAR Acknowledgement are available for public comment. These forms are used by individuals applying for federal student aid.

The federal student aid application process is required to collect and process the data necessary to determine a student’s eligibility to receive Title IV, HEA program assistance. The process begins with an applicant submitting a FAFSA form to the Department of Education. After submitting the FAFSA form, the applicant receives a SAR, which is a summary of the data provided on the FAFSA form. The applicant reviews the SAR for accuracy and if necessary, makes corrections or updates to the submitted FAFSA data.

The comment period is an opportunity for the community to provide feedback and input on the information that we collect on the FAFSA form. Only comments regarding the FAFSA form and related forms should be submitted during this comment period. Comments related to topics such as the FSA ID or the verification process should not be submitted using this process.

The community is invited to review the updated draft documents and submit comments on or before June 3, 2019. The drafts of the 2020–21 FAFSA form, SAR and SAR Acknowledgement can be viewed by clicking this link: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=ED-2019-ICCD-0039. Once the webpage opens, click on “Supporting Statements” or “Form and Instructions” and each of the “DOC” or “PDF” icons to open the documents.

Comments submitted in response to this notice can be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2019-ICCD-0039-0001 or by linking directly to the site here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=ED-2019-ICCD-0039-0001. Click on the “Comment Now!” button to submit a comment. Comments may also be submitted via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted.

We have made several changes to the application; these changes are explained in the FAFSA Enhancements Summary documents. The 2020–21 Paper Summary of Enhancements and 2020–21 Student Electronic Entry Summary of Enhancements (which also describes enhancements to the myFAFSA mobile app) documents can be found here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=ED-2019-ICCD-0039-0006. Click on the “DOC” or “PDF” icon next to the document you wish to review in order to open the document.