The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today officially released the 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), 10 days before the December 1 target. The online FAFSA form is available to all students and families at fafsa.gov, and the department processes submissions and sends them to schools. The paper form is now also available for students to submit.

Over the past several months, the department has incorporated feedback from students, parents, schools, community organizations, and other partners into the FAFSA process and widely tested the FAFSA form, system, and user support during a rigorous beta testing period. . Since October 1, more than 167,000 students have submitted the online application for 2025-2026 through four test rounds; the ministry has processed these forms and sent data to more than 5,200 schools across states. The Department also tested the application with a variety of student groups – including those who faced particular challenges last year – and worked with several colleges and universities, software vendors, state agencies and federal partners to test FAFSA data and systems.

“I am pleased to announce that after four successful rounds of beta testing, the 2025-2026 FAFSA form is now available to all students and families,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “After months of hard work and significant feedback from students, schools and other stakeholders, we can say with confidence that FAFSA is working and will serve as a gateway to college access and affordability for millions of students. There are already more than 650,000 applicants eligible for Pell Grants, and more students are receiving Pell Grants this school year compared to last year. We stand ready to help millions of additional students complete the FAFSA and get the financial help they need to pursue their dreams of a college education.

The department has taken steps to modernize internal systems and processes, address issues in the FAFSA system, and implement features that further improve the user experience and functionality of the form. In addition, the department has released and updated resources and materials to help students and families better navigate the FAFSA form and process.

“We need a better FAFSA form to provide financial assistance to students attending college and other forms of education after high school,” said U.S. Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “Thank you to everyone who helped launch the 2025-2026 FAFSA successfully and ahead of schedule, including students and families, department staff, and financial aid administrators and counselors across the country.”

For those who need additional assistance, the department has significantly increased staffing at the Federal Student Aid Information Center (contact center), adding more than 700 agents since January and an additional 225 agents in the coming weeks for ongoing support. In anticipation of high demand as part of the official release of the FAFSA form, the department this week added extended FAFSA-only weekday evening and Saturday contact center hours. Despite this, the department is warning users that during some peak periods, callers may experience temporarily longer wait times than normal. The Department will continue to add agents in the coming weeks to further support the 2025-2026 FAFSA cycle.

“The 2025-2026 FAFSA Form that we officially released today is the same form that has been live for the past seven weeks for the more than 140,000 students who successfully submitted applications. Our extensive beta testing with community organizations, high schools and school districts, colleges and universities, software vendors and government agencies across the country follows industry best practices and has given us confidence that our systems are ready,” said FAFSA Executive Advisor Jeremy Zanger .

The FAFSA form and system are in a strong position, but the department will continue to work to ensure that every student receives the assistance they need to access higher education. In the coming days and weeks, the department will closely monitor the 2025-2026 FAFSA form, as well as the Contact Center, and make any necessary adjustments to improve the experience for students, families, and the financial aid community. The department will begin processing paper forms in early December. In the coming months, the department will further improve the user experience and release additional functionality, including batch corrections and paper corrections, to enable a smoother process for students, families and institutions.

The department looks forward to continuing its work with partners to ensure that all students and their families have easy access to the FAFSA form, receive timely and clear information, and can quickly complete the application and access aid.

Additional resources for students, families and partners

The Department has taken steps to significantly improve the Federal Student Aid Information Center contact center experience for students, families and institutions, including in support of the official release of the 2025-2026 FAFSA form. These improvements include:

• Increase the workforce by almost 80%. Since January, we have added more than 700 agents to the contact center.
• Coordinate with the vendor team to ensure that all agents, including those typically assigned to back office processing, are trained in FAFSA to enable an “all hands on deck” approach when necessary.
• An additional 225 agents will be added in the coming weeks, in addition to the 700 agents already added, for continued peak support, allowing for longer operating hours.
• Implementation of wait time announcements to inform callers of current wait times, giving them the option to wait on hold or call back during less busy hours.

In addition to normal operating hours, found at StudentAid.gov, students and families will have access to FAFSA contact center hours only, including evenings and weekends. Extended hours begin November 22, 2024 and run through March 2, 2025. Students and families can reach contact center staff in English or Spanish. Interpretation services in other languages ​​are available here at StudentAid.gov.

Comments: The contact center is closed on all federal holidays. On Friday, November 29, 2024, the Contact Center will be open during regular hours and will not provide extended FAFSA support hours.

The department recently released a series of resources to help students and families complete and submit the FAFSA form during the 2025-2026 cycle, including:

Throughout the fall, the Department has committed resources to help our partners help students and families prepare for and navigate the 2025-2026 FAFSA cycle, including:

• 2025–2026 Advisors’ Resource for Completing the FAFSA Form – The resource provides advisors and counselors with information and tools to guide students and their families through the FAFSA form.
• FAFSA Roadmap 2025–26 – The tool highlights key dates for the launch of the FAFSA form, as well as timelines for releasing resources to help our partners.
• FAFSA Preview Presentation 2025–26 – The resource provides financial aid administrators, counselors, and advisors with reference tools for staff training and financial aid evenings. The presentation deck contains screenshots highlighting changes to the 2025-2026 online FAFSA form.
• FAFSA Prototype 2025–26 – The tool provides the financial aid community with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the FAFSA user experience.

Updated information and resources for counselors, college access professionals, and other advisors can be found in the Financial Aid Toolkit.