| AwardYear: 1996-1997 ChapterNumber: 2 ChapterTitle: Required Verification Items and Acceptable Documentation Section: Required Documentation PageNumber: [[EDs verification worksheets]] For each required verification item, specific documentation is required, and you have the authority to require students to provide such documentation. As an aid in completing the verification process, ED has developed verification worksheets specifically designed to obtain most of the documentation needed. You may reproduce the worksheets you received in Action Letter #6 (GEN-95- 54), dated December 1995; download the worksheets through EDE Express; or reproduce the worksheets on pages 13 through 16 of this guide. A Tip for Collecting Documentation A completed verification worksheet, with the relevant tax forms attached, usually provides all the required documentation for verifying a students application. In unusual situations, you may need additional documents, but for most students the process can be very simple. You may use a federal worksheet, your own worksheet, or no worksheet. When a student completes a verification worksheet and attaches the appropriate tax forms or alternative documents (discussed later), usually you will have enough data to complete the verification process. Using a verification worksheet, therefore, simplifies the task of collecting and examining a student's documentation. [[The "1996-97 Verification Worksheets" on pages 13-16 are currently unavailable for viewing. Please reference your paper doucment for additional information.]] Using worksheets is not mandatory; you may require other documentation in addition to, or instead of, a completed verification worksheet. The chart below shows other forms of acceptable documentation for each required verification item. Later in this chapter, these other documents are discussed in detail. [[The "Acceptable Documentation" chart on page 17 is currently unavailable viewing. Please reference your paper document for additional information.]] Using a Verification Worksheet [[Schools who require worksheets must supply them]] [[Faxed or photocopied signatures--and documents--are acceptable]] If you require your students to complete verification worksheets, you must provide them because worksheets are no longer sent with output documents. Upon completing the appropriate worksheet and attaching a copy of the relevant income tax returns or alternative documents, students should submit the documents to the school, not to ED or to the FAFSA processor through which they applied. The school should make sure that all required worksheet sections are completed and appropriately signed and that the relevant tax returns or alternative documents are attached. (Facsimile copies of worksheets, tax returns, or other documentation are acceptable, as are photocopies. Unless specifically noted in this guide, an original signature--that is, a pen-and-ink signature that has not been photocopied or copied by facsimile--is not required.) After checking the documentation against the student's application data, you either disburse the student's award or make the necessary corrections and updates. (See Chapter Three, "Completing The Verification Process.") |