Why Did The 2026-27 FAFSA Open Early? What To Know

Times are a-changing: On Sept. 25, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as FAFSA, was officially open. This marks the earliest launch of the form in the program’s history. But why did the 2026-2027 FAFSA open early, and what else has changed this year? Here’s what to know.

College students know the FAFSA well; it’s the application that awards financial aid, federal Pell Grants, and university-specific scholarships to current and incoming college students. Most universities and colleges require the form to be submitted in order to calculate need-based financial aid for students. However, students have not yet experienced the FAFSA being available for submission this early. 

From 2016 to 2022, the form has opened on Oct. 1. However, this streak broke with the 2024-2025 academic year, in which the application opened on Dec. 31, 2023, with a phased release process. The following year, a full rollout of the FAFSA did not occur until Dec. 1, 2024, for the 2025-2026 academic year. The delays were the result of technological simplifications to the form, such as making it streamlined and importing IRS information automatically — except, due to testing issues, the form was significantly delayed, thereby making the whole process even more complicated than usual. 

Due to this delay, the FAFSA Deadline Act was passed in Dec. 2024, mandating the Oct. 1 rollout date for the form. This year, the form opened a week earlier than its estimated go-live date, giving families ample time to navigate the application process. 

Students and families are able to begin filling out the application immediately. However, along with the surprise opening, there are some changes you should know about the 2026-2027 academic year FAFSA. 

What changes have been made to the 2026-2027 FAFSA? 

For starters, parents and guardians can now be added as contributors to the form via email confirmation code, which makes that process speedier and simpler. Additionally, account verification is expected to be much quicker than it was in the past, which can relieve the stress of knowing whether your form was received or not. 
As far as what changes might look like to the aid awarded based on the FAFSA, some assets that were previously allowed to be reported on the FAFSA for aid calculation are no longer counted, due to the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier in 2025, according to Forbes. These assets include families’ net worths of farms they own and the net worth of commercial fishing businesses. Additionally, the net worth of family-owned businesses with 100 employees or fewer cannot be reported. 

As a student who prioritizes filling out the FAFSA each year, the unexpected launch is both exciting and a bit overwhelming. However, getting started early — and knowing about the application changes before diving into it — can be a helpful way to avoid financial aid stress next academic year.

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