Guide to FAFSA Verification

What is Verification?

Every academic year, students and their families apply for financial aid by submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to help meet college expenses. This information is sent to the United States Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education selects some FAFSA’s for a process called verification. Every school, including Gallaudet, is required to verify every student selected for verification before financial aid is disbursed to the student. There are many reasons why you can be selected for verification:

• You can be chosen at random.
• Your FAFSA contains estimated information.
• Your FAFSA was incomplete.
• There were inconsistencies found in the information you provided on the FAFSA.
• Income reported is insufficient to support the household size.

Verification is not optional if you want to receive financial aid. The Financial Aid Office is not allowed to release federal aid to you if you have been selected for verification and have not completed it. If you are selected for verification, The Financial Aid Office will assign action items to your Workday student account for you to complete. It is essential to complete verification within 20 days of being notified. The Financial Aid Office may be required to verify the following items on your FAFSA:

• Adjusted Gross Income (Student, and Parent (If Student is Dependent)).
• Deductible payments to SEP/SIMPLE/SEOGH/Other(If Student is Dependent)).
• Income Earned from Work (for non-tax filers).
• Untaxed Portions of IRA Distributions and Pensions(Student, and Parent (If Student is Dependent)).
• Household Size
• Foreign income exclusions
• Any other inconsistent or conflicting information.

How do I know if I was selected for verification?

You will receive a copy of your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) once your FAFSA has been processed (3-5 days after you complete it). If you were selected for verification, there would be a message on your FSS stating that you were selected and instructing you to contact the Financial Aid Office. In addition to your FSS, the Financial Aid Office will assign you action items in your Workday Student account to complete the verification process. 

What happens if I do not provide the verification information requested?

Participation in the verification process is not optional. If the student does not provide the verification documentation, the student is not eligible for federal or state financial aid. The student is also ineligible for many forms of financial aid that Gallaudet may have to offer. So, please submit the requested verification information promptly to avoid a delay in your financial aid application processing.

If I am selected for verification, what do I need to do?

If your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was selected for verification, participation in the verification process is mandatory and must occur before Federal financial aid disburses. There are different types of verification, which mean the requirements for each type may vary. The Office of Financial Aid will assign you action items in your Workday Student account to complete. Verification cannot be completed without your assistance, with providing the required documentation. If you have any questions, you may stop by the Financial Aid Office or use the electronic contact form here.

I received a verification email from the Financial Aid Office. How do I follow the instructions on the email?

Students will be asked to submit several documents as part of verification. Please read the email you received from the Financial Aid Office carefully for a list of items you need to submit. You will be asked to complete and submit a worksheet. The email will let you know which worksheet we need from the items below:

Verification Category and Required Documentation (FAFSA 2024-2025)

V1:V1 Dependent Standard Verification 2025, OR

V1 Independent Standard Verification 2025

V4: V4 Dependent Custom Verification 2025, OR

V4 Independent Custom Verification 2025

V5: V5 Dependent Aggregate Verification 2025, OR

V5 Independent Aggregate Verification 2025

Please complete the form below for students selected for V4 and V5.

2024-2025 Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose

Verification Category and Required Documentation (FAFSA 2023-2024)

V1: V1 Dependent Standard verification 2024, OR

V1 Independent Standard verification 2024.

V4: V4 Dependent Custom verification 2024, OR

V4 Independent Custom verification 2024.

V5: V5 Dependent Aggregate verification 2024, OR

V5 Independent Aggregate verification 2024.   

Financial Aid Form

Financial Aid Appeal Form

Financial Aid Unusual Enrollment History Verification Form

Cost of Attendance Request Form

How Do I provide My Tax Information on the FAFSA?

Students and parents will not be allowed to manually enter IRS tax information on the FAFSA. Starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA and beyond, the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) will be used instead. This requires each contributor (students and parent(s) to provide consent for the Federal Tax Information (FTI) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to be retrieved by the FAFSA. Note: If consent is not granted, the FAFSA will be rejected.) If students are selected for verification and the FTI information is not successfully retrieved, the Financial Aid Office will request either a copy of the signed Federal Tax Return or the Tax Return Transcript.

How do I Obtain a Tax Return Transcript?

There are several ways to obtain this document:

• Order a copy on-line at https://www.IRS.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript (This will take approximately two weeks to arrive at the home address you used on your tax return).
• Go to any IRS Office and ask them to give you an official, computer-generated copy of your return transcript. (You will receive a copy the same day you go to the IRS Office.)
• Call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946 (This will take approximately two weeks to arrive at the home address you used on your tax return.)

Important Note: Do not ask the IRS to send the tax transcript statement directly to the Financial Aid Office as we will shred it. Please send the tax transcript to your mailing address, and then submit it to the Financial Aid Office.

Please note that we cannot accept a Tax Account Transcript. This form has limited information on it, and we will ask you to request the correct return transcript documentation.

Please submit verification worksheets and Tax Return Transcripts to the Financial Aid Office using one of the following methods:

• Direct Upload: Upload documentation via the action item(s) assigned in your Workday Student account
• Drop Off: Chapel Hall, Room G-02
• Mail: Gallaudet University Office of Financial Aid
  800 Florida Avenue NE
  Washington DC 20002

Important Notes:

• Once verification begins, you may be asked to submit additional documentation. If we need additional documentation, additional action items will be assigned to your Workday Student account.
• Keep copies of everything you send us, including worksheets and tax documents.

Questions:

1. I have VR support. Do I still need to complete verification?
   Yes! All students selected for verification must complete it if they want financial aid, including VR.
2. I don’t live with my parents, and they don’t support me, so I don’t have to include them on my FAFSA and verification.
   If you are under the age of 24, unmarried and do not meet the financial aid definition of an independent student, you are required to include your parent(s) tax information on your FAFSA. The only exception is if you have an unusual circumstance that prevents you from contacting your parents, which would make you provisionally independent until the Financial Aid Office can review your unusual circumstance to determine if you’re eligible for an independent status (not guaranteed). To help determine if you are a dependent or independent student, review this link: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/dependency.
3. The Financial Aid Office will complete verification for me, so I don’t have to do anything.
   This is false, and the worst thing you can do! By ignoring the action items assigned to you in Workday and not submitting requested documents, there is no way for the Financial Aid Office to complete verification. If you choose to do this, financial aid will not be released to you, so it is very important that you provide requested verification documents.
4. I completed my FAFSA already, so you can find all my information on the FAFSA.
   You still need to submit additional items, even though you completed your FAFSA. Your FAFSA was submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education selected you for verification based on your FAFSA. We need you to submit documents separate from your FAFSA, so the verification process can be completed. 
5. I submitted my verification documents. Will my financial aid be added to my account as soon as I submit the documents?
   Once all the required documents have been submitted, the Financial Aid Office will review and compare the verification data with the information reported on our FAFSA. If the data is accurate, your financial aid eligibility will be determined, and you will be notified of any financial aid awarded to you. If there are inconsistencies between the verification data you submit and the FAFSA reported data, the Financial Aid Office will make the necessary changes to your FAFSA and will proceed with any financial aid awarding once corrected FAFSA results are received from the U.S. Department of Education. In some cases, we may need additional documentation from you to clarify information, or request that you make FAFSA corrections that cannot be made by Financial Aid Office staff.