Program Integrity
Final Rule
Verification
Requirements
Verification – Definitions
FAFSA
ISIR and SAR
Specified Year – base or prior-prior year
§668.52
Verification – Definitions
Subsidized student financial assistance –
need based
Unsubsidized student financial assistance –
not need based
§668.52
Verification -
Applicant Selection
Schools must verify ALL CPS-selected
applicants
30% cap on school-defined applicants
eliminated
Schools must verify all selected applicants
unless verification exclusions apply
Schools must complete verification prior to PJ
§§668.53-668.54
Verification Exclusions
Excluded from verification:
Applicant dies, does not receive aid, or receives
only unsubsidized aid
Transfer student if prior school completed
verification
Parent or spouse resides outside U.S. and cannot
be contacted
Parents (both) or spouse mentally incapacitated
Parents or spouse cannot be located
§668.54
Verification Exclusions
No longer excluded from verification
Legal residents of Commonwealth of Northern Mariana
Islands, Guam and American Samoa
Citizens of Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated
States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau
Incarcerated applicants
Recent immigrants
Parents who are deceased
Parents or spouses who are physically incapacitated
Verification - Updates
Must update FAFSA information if household size or
number in college changes
Must update dependency status changes during the
award year (unless due to change in marital status)
May update dependency status changes due to
change in marital status during the award year-
To address inequity or
To reflect ability to pay
§§668.55;668.58
Information to be
Verified
Department to annually publish a list of
verification data in the Federal Register
Selected applicants‟ SARs/ISIRs will list
specific data items to be verified
Items to be verified may change
annually and differ from applicant
to applicant
§668.56
Documentation
Verification of AGI, income earned from work
and taxes paid
Tax return or tax transcript
Signature of at least one filer
Do not need original signature
Numbers obtained via IRS Data Retrieval (“02”
IRS Request Flag code)
Applicant not required to file tax return
Signed statement listing income or W-2s
§668.57
Documentation (cont’d)
Unable to obtain tax return
Copies of W-2s
Self-certified statement of AGI
IRS grants 6-month tax filing extension
No requirement to obtain copy once filed
If school requires copy once filed, it MUST re-
verify AGI and taxes paid
§668.57
Documentation (cont’d)
Can accept tax returns signed by tax preparer
(instead of tax filers)
Signature or stamp
Preparer name and address and
Social Security number (SSN) or
Employer Identification Number (EIN) or
Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN)
§668.57
Interim Disbursements
If verification does not change eligibility, school may
make interim disbursement of:
Pell Grant,
Perkins Loan,
Work-study,
SEOG, and
Subsidized Stafford Loan
If interim disbursement creates overpayment, school
is liable
§668.58
Tolerances
For subsidized student financial assistance,
any change to a single dollar item of $25 or
more must be submitted to CPS –
The $400 tolerance for dollar items is replaced by
the $25 tolerance
No change was made for non-dollar items
Pell Grant eligibility must be recalculated and
the award paid based on the revised EFC
§668.59(a)
Recovery of Funds
If the school makes an „interim disbursement‟
of subsidized student financial assistance and
does not receive corrected ISIR/SAR by
deadline, it must reimburse the program as
appropriate.
§668.61