Federal Student Aid Releases Technical Guidance on FAFSA Fraud Detection
Published May 04, 2026
By AACOM Government Relations
Federal Policy Financial Aid OME Advocate
- On April 15, 2026, FSA announced that as of April 26, 2026, ED will implement a real-time identity fraud detection feature within the FAFSA form to assess risk as students and families complete the form.
- Applicants will be classified as either low risk, moderate risk, high risk or highest risk after a real-time screening is conducted. High-risk applicants will be required to complete an additional identity confirmation process for their FAFSA to be processed. The highest-risk applicants will have their FAFSA forms processed with a reject code.
- ED expects that financial aid administrators will not need to take any action on most of rejected applications, and when a legitimate student is impacted, starting on May 3, 2026, schools will be able to assist applicants in resolving their application’s rejected status.
- View FSA’s electronic announcement for more information.