Federal Student Aid (FSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, recently announced that the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid is scheduled to open on or before December 1, 2024, “with full, end-to-end functionality.”
FSA has been working diligently to ensure the next FAFSA will indeed be a ‘Better FAFSA’. The delayed release will give them time to do carefully monitored trials to check for any problems students may encounter throughout the FAFSA submission process.
If this will be the first time to submit your FAFSA, you’ll need to create a new account at StudentAid.gov at least one week before December 1. You can create the account today, if you wish! When you create your account, you’ll set up a user name and password that will serve as your electronic signature. Since it will contain personal identifiable information (Social Security number, etc.), the new account data will go through a matching process with the Social Security Administration, a process that can take 5-7 days.
If you’re a dependent student, one or both of your parents will also need to create their own account(s), since their financial information must also be included on your FAFSA. Click the following links to learn more about student dependency status and who needs to create an account at StudentAid.gov.