The U.S. Department of Education announced that it will expand the online beta testing period for the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to all users later this month, and before officially releasing the new form.
The announcement comes after successful testing results since beta testing began on Oct. 1. Since then, the department said, more than 14,000 students have successfully submitted their 2025–26 FAFSA forms. The department has also successfully processed the forms and sent over 81,000 records to more than 1,850 schools and 43 states.
Additionally, the department said it has not found any critical bugs during the beta testing period, and reported the FAFSA system is working end-to-end. With successful results under its belt, the department has been focused on improving the user experience in the application. The user experience enhancements have translated into a 95 percent satisfaction rating for beta participants.
“Throughout weeks of beta testing, we have seen thousands of applicants successfully complete the 2025–26 FAFSA form and tens of thousands of records be sent to institutions across the country,” said FAFSA Executive Advisor Jeremy Singer. “And while we know that all new software launches come with hiccups, the consistency of the experience and the feedback of beta participants gives us confidence that the 2025–26 FAFSA form is ready to handle the large volume of applicants that await its arrival.”
Before the end of the month, the department will expand online beta testing to all students and families, in line with industry best practices. The final testing period will have two phases: Beta 4 and Expanded Beta 4.
In Beta 4, the department has invited thousands of students to complete the new form. The students were recruited by members of the college access and financial aid communities – such as community-based organizations, high schools, and institutions of higher education – that the department has previously worked with.
In Expanded Beta 4, the department will open Beta 4 to any interested student or family. During this testing period, any individual who wants to access the online form as part of the Beta 4 testing period will be able to do so on the FAFSA website. During that time, the Department will continue to carefully monitor the FAFSA form, overall system performance, and support operations – such as its contact center – and adjust operations as needed. This final phase will allow the department to test the FAFSA system with higher volumes of users, while giving students an opportunity to submit online 2025–26 FAFSA forms before Dec. 1.
Once the department has determined that the FAFSA system is operating smoothly with high volumes of users, it will exit beta testing and the department will announce the official release of the 2025–26 FAFSA form. The department said this will happen by Dec. 1.
Ahead of the FAFSA form exiting beta testing, the department recently released a suite of resources to assist students and families in completing and submitting the FAFSA form during the 2025–26 cycle. The resources include:
- “Creating Your StudentAid.gov Account” Page – A new resource that explains what families and partners need to know about creating a StudentAid.gov account.
- Pro Tips for Completing the FAFSA Form – Updated tips for preparing to fill out and submitting the FAFSA form. This resource will also be linked from the StudentAid.gov Dashboard to promote easier access for students and their required contributor(s).
- Federal Student Aid Estimator – Provides an estimate of the 2025–26 Student Aid Index (SAI) and Federal Pell Grant eligibility calculation.
- “Who’s the Parent on the FAFSA Form?” Wizard – A new, stand-alone tool to help students and families determine who will need to provide contributor information on the 2025–26 FAFSA form prior to starting the application.
- Federal Student Aid YouTube Channel: FAFSA Videos – Updated videos to help students and families understand the importance of the FAFSA form, who is a FAFSA contributor, and what happens after submitting the form.
