Verification Process

As your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is processed, you may be selected by the US Department of Education to verify the accuracy of your information. Additional forms may need to be completed. Financial Aid staff will need to receive and verify this additional documentation from you before an award can be made. It is very important that you submit any required documentation as soon as possible to avoid delays in processing time. You may review the status of the submission of these forms in your Self-Service account.

Why is your file being verified?

There are several possibilities for being selected for FAFSA verification. Keep in mind that more possibilities exist, but the following are the main reasons for being selected:

  • You were selected randomly.
  • There was a drastic change in the information originally provided.
  • You have information that appears to conflict.
  • The submitted FAFSA application has incomplete data.
  • The data on the FAFSA application appears to contradict itself.
  • The FAFSA application has estimated information on it.

During verification, the Financial Aid office is required to collect documentation to check the accuracy of your FAFSA information. These documents may include a Marriage Certificate, a Social Security Card, an Alien Registration Card, Verification Worksheets and a IRS Federal Transcript. The type of documents required will vary from student to student, and not all students selected for FAFSA verification will have to submit the same documents.

The documents that we can now accept to verify your tax information have changed based on policy changes from the US Department of Education. You must submit an IRS tax Transcript, upload your taxes on the FAFSA, or submit a signed copy of your 1040 with all attached schedules. Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to populate your FAFSA tax information will make the verification process more efficient because the tax information will be verified by the IRS Data Retrieval. Once you have collected all the required documents, deliver, email, or fax them to the Financial Aid office.

Verification Forms

Use the appropriate forms if you have been asked by Durham Tech's Financial Aid office to submit additional documentation to apply for financial aid. The notification email will include the verification group number you are assigned. You only need to fill out the forms for that verification group.