New FAFSA Fraud Detection System Going into Effect this Month

The Department of Education announced the implementation of a real-time fraud detection process for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. This represents an escalation of the agency’s anti-fraud efforts that have prevented at least $1 billion in attempted fraudulent FAFSA submissions since early 2025.

The new fraud detection system was built by the Department and an as-yet-unnamed financial services firm and will launch on April 26, 2026.

How It Works

Every new FAFSA submission will be screened as the applicant completes the form and assigned to one of four risk tiers – Low, Moderate, High, and Highest. Most filers will not encounter roadblocks in this process and will be able to complete the form without issue. A small number of filers will need to complete additional steps to confirm their identity online. Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) will still be generated for all schools listed in an applicant’s form even if they do not complete the requested identity verification. In those cases, the ISIRs will be placed into rejected status and given a new Comment Code to explain the rejection reason.

FAFSA filers who land in the Low and Moderate Risk categories will not be subject to additional identity verification. High Risk filers will have to complete an additional identity verification process online before their submissions are approved. Filers in the Highest Risk category will not be able to complete their FAFSA online and their form will be rejected.

Identity Confirmation

High Risk applicants will be required to complete an identity verification on a mobile device – meaning a phone or tablet – and not a desktop or other internet-connected device. They will be asked to present a valid form of government-issued identification, such as a driver’s license, passport, tribal identification card, etc. as part of the automated, online process.

Applicants who cannot or do not wish to complete this process online, or who are placed into the Highest Risk category, will need to contact their chosen schools’ financial aid offices to complete through alternative methods.

Retroactive Screenings

The Department will conduct a one-time retroactive screening of all 2026-2027 FAFSA forms submitted before April 26. Applicants flagged as potentially fraudulent in this review will be selected for V5 verification.

For more information, please contact:
Justin Monk