The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced the launch of the second stage of testing, Beta 2, for the 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®).
Over the last two weeks through the first stage of testing, thanks to the help of community-based organizations, hundreds of students across the country successfully submitted their FAFSA form, the Department processed these forms, and institutions were able to access the records sent to them. Students were also able to make corrections to their forms. Throughout this process, the Department did not uncover any critical bugs.
Though Beta 1 FAFSA events have now concluded, submissions will continue to increase as students and families from those events—including those needing additional information from parents or spouses—continue to complete the form. Colleges and universities will also continue to ingest Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs). Throughout the extensive Beta 1 testing, the Department encountered opportunities to improve the usability of the FAFSA form, which was expected given that the Department has prioritized the stability of the application. Improving usability will continue to be a focus of the Department following the full launch of the FAFSA form on or before Dec. 1.
“Our goal in this first stage of testing was to submit and process FAFSA forms for 100 students so that we could ensure the process worked as expected. Instead, we had more than six times that number of students and we were able to see the forms move from submission to processing – and even corrections – without any major issues,” said FAFSA Executive Advisor Jeremy Singer. “We learned a tremendous amount from being able to observe students, families, and community-based organizations interacting with the FAFSA form in real time, and we are on track for a full launch on or before Dec. 1.”
Department staff were on site to observe and support students and families in six cities across the country – Birmingham, Alabama; Santa Barbara, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Dallas, Texas; Alexandria, Virginia – during FAFSA events from Oct. 1–3 as hundreds of students and their families, as well as staff from community-based organizations and local colleges, gathered in school gymnasiums and auditoriums to complete and submit the 2025–26 FAFSA form and provide feedback about the experience.
Through those events:
- Over 650 students successfully submitted applications
- 586 unique institutions received 6,266 ISIRs generated by those applications
- Dozens of student corrections were successfully completed
“On behalf of the Department of Education, I want to offer a huge thank you to all of the students, family members, counselors, financial aid experts, and others participating in the testing process. Their efforts are helping us get the FAFSA ready for everyone,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal.
Beta 2, which launches today, includes 16 organizations that together will recruit thousands of students, including applicants from diverse income, geographic, family, and educational backgrounds. These include first generation students, first-time filers, returning students, and mixed-status families, among others. Half of the organizations are institutions of higher education that will ask their current students to submit the FAFSA form as returning students for the 2025–26 cycle – which will mark the first time returning students take part in beta testing. These institutions of higher education will also begin downloading and testing ISIRs to the extent that their financial aid systems are able to do so.
The Department is committed to increasing transparency and will continue to share information about FAFSA testing broadly with all stakeholders. More detail about Beta 1 results and upcoming beta testing can be found at FAFSA.gov/beta.
Updated Resources and Tools to Support Students, Families and the Financial Aid Community
The Department is providing important resources to support the financial aid community and students and families in preparing for the 2025–26 FAFSA cycle, including:
- Financial Aid Toolkit – updated resources for school counselors, college access professionals and mentors with information about the FAFSA process;
- FAFSA Issue Alerts page – a list of known issues with the form updated in real-time as bugs are fixed in beta testing;
- FAFSA videos – updated videos to help students and families understand the importance of the FAFSA form, who is a FAFSA contributor, and what happens after submitting the form:
- What Is FAFSA®?
- Why Do My Contributors and I Need Our Own StudentAid.gov Accounts for the FAFSA® Form?
- Who Is a Contributor on the FAFSA® Form?
- What Happens After Submitting Your FAFSA® Form?