View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 1845-0001	ICR Reference No: 202501-1845-004
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202409-1845-001
Agency/Subagency: ED/FSA	Agency Tracking No: ED-2025-SCC-0011
Title: 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 07/28/2025
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 05/14/2025
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	07/31/2026	36 Months From Approved	12/31/2026
Responses	31,791,647	0	34,328,439
Time Burden (Hours)	20,412,753	0	22,417,460
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Abstract: Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), mandates that the Secretary of Education “…shall produce, distribute, and process free of charge common financial reporting forms as described in this subsection to be used for application and reapplication to determine the need and eligibility of a student for financial assistance...”. The determination of need and eligibility are for the following Title IV, HEA, federal student financial assistance programs: the Federal Pell Grant Program; the Campus-Based programs (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS)); the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program; the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant; and the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship. Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of Education (the Department), subsequently developed an application process to collect and process the data necessary to determine a student’s eligibility to receive Title IV, HEA program assistance. The application process involves an applicant’s submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). After submission and processing of the FAFSA form, an applicant receives a FAFSA Submission Summary, which is a summary of the processed data they submitted on the FAFSA form. The applicant reviews the summary, and, if necessary, will make corrections or updates to their submitted FAFSA data. Institutions of higher education listed by the applicant on the FAFSA form also receive a summary of processed data submitted on the FAFSA form, which is called the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR). The specific questions that applicants are asked to answer in the application process are described separately in the Data Elements and Justification document. The document identifies the data elements associated with each FAFSA question and provides the justification for including each question on the FAFSA form. In addition to the calculation of financial need for the various Title IV programs, the FAFSA form also collects data that allows for a determination of an applicant’s eligibility for state and institutional financial aid programs. If these data elements were not collected, the Department and institutions of higher education would be unable to make a determination of financial need and subsequently would be unable to award any Title IV, HEA program assistance, as mandated by the HEA. Many states would also be greatly hindered in their calculation of state aid to applicants. This is a request for revisions of a current information collection, and important changes to the FAFSA form are described separately in the 2026-27 Summary of Enhancements document.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 20 USC 1090 Name of Law: Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	90 FR 8929	02/04/2025
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	90 FR 20464	05/14/2025
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	31,791,647	34,328,439	-2,536,792
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	20,412,753	22,417,460	-2,004,707
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Reduction Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Short Statement: The Department is projecting a burden decrease of 2,004,707 hours. The burden decrease is largely attributed to an adjustment in the agency 2025-26 estimate. The FAFSA simplification provisions and user feedback implemented in 2024-25 and 2025-26 application have ultimately delivered a more intuitive and interactive FAFSA preparation, completion and submission experience leading to a significant decrease in the original estimate to prepare, complete and submit a FAFSA form.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $38,706,260

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Carolyn Rose 202 803-1502

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion