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020 Chubb Hall
Athens, OH 45701
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740.593.4140

Who Fills Out the FAFSA

The student always needs to provide demographic and financial information. Most students will also be required to invite their parents to be contributors on the FAFSA, providing their information. Review the information below to determine whose information is needed on the 2025-26 FAFSA.

If the student meets the FAFSA requirements to be an independent student, demographic and financial information is required by:

  • The student
  • The student’s spouse, if the student is married

If the student doesn’t meet the FAFSA requirements to be independent student, demographic and financial information is required by:

  • The student
  • Both biological/adoptive parents, if they are married to one another or living together, but unmarried
  • The biological/adoptive parent who provided the majority of the student’s financial support in the prior 12 months, if the parents are divorced, separated, or never married to each other*
    • The spouse of the parent who provides the majority of financial support, if that parent is married

*If both parents provided an equal amount of financial support in the prior 12 months, you are required to provide parental information for the parent with the highest amount of income and assets.

Students must provide their required parent name, social security number, date of birth, and contact information. See below to determine which parent information to provide:

  • If biological/adoptive parents are married to one another and completed 2023 taxes as married filing, jointly
    • Provide information for either parent. Only one parent must provide consent to transfer tax information.
  • If biological/adoptive parents are married to one another and completed 2023 taxes as married, filing separately OR are unmarried, but living together
    • Provide information for both parents. Since they filed taxes separately in 2023, both parents must provide consent to transfer their individual tax information.
  • If biological/adoptive parents are divorced, separated, or never married to each other
    • Provide information for the parent who provided the majority of your financial support in the prior 12 months
    • If both parents provided an equal amount of financial support in the prior 12 months, provide information for the parent with the highest amount of income and assets
    • If the required parent is currently remarried and filed taxes separately in 2023, provide information for the spouse of that parent

Your parent(s) will receive an email requesting they provide their information on the FAFSA. Parent(s) must consent to their tax information being transferred from the IRS into the FAFSA.

Financial information necessary includes:

  • 2023 Federal Tax Information (transferred from IRS)
  • 2023 W-2 Forms, to determine whose information is provided for individuals filing jointly
  • Assets, including net worth of investments, businesses, farms, child support received, saving and checking account balances
  • Foreign Income