Q&A: What is verification?

Approximately 40-50% of our students filling out a FAFSA are randomly selected for a process called verification by the U.S. Department of Education which requires the Financial Aid Office to verify information provided on your FAFSA.

Verification requirements are in addition to the FAFSA. Even if a student linked their taxes on the FAFSA, we will still need a verification worksheet. This does not mean we don't trust the student or that they did something wrong on their FAFSA; it simply means we need more documentation to process their FAFSA.

Verification Process

1. Student submits a FAFSA.
2. Student may be selected for a verification. Verification requirements will show up in the student's My Tasks tab in MAVzone.
3. Student may have other flags (requirements) besides verification requirements.
4. Student submits necessary documents to deal with outstanding requirements.
   • Necessary documents include, but are not limited to: 
     • Dependent Verification eForm OR an Independent Verification eForm
     • Student tax information
     • Parent/Spouse information, if applicable
     • View your verification email for further information and details needed. 
5. Financial Aid Counselor reviews documents, makes corrections on the student’s FAFSA record if necessary and then satisfies the requirements. The verification process can take 1-2 weeks from the time that everything is submitted.