Verification
Financial Aid Handbook
Verification
Each year, a portion of FAFSA applications are selected for verification, a process used to confirm the accuracy of the information provided on the FAFSA. Students may be selected by the U.S. Department of Education or by Coe College based on institutional criteria. If your FAFSA is selected for verification, the Office of Financial Aid will notify you and provide a list of required documentation.
Verification requirements vary by student and are determined by federal guidance. In most cases, income information transferred directly from the IRS via the FA-DDX (FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange) is considered verified and does not require additional documentation. However, students and contributors whose tax data could not be retrieved, or who are selected for additional verification items, must submit other documentation as requested.
Common Verification Items
- IRS tax transcripts or IRS tax return (only if data could not be retrieved via FA-DDX)
- Adjusted Gross Income
- U.S Income Tax Paid
- Untaxed Portion of IRA or Pension Distribution
- Tax Exempt Interest Income
- IRA Deductions and Payments
- Foreign Income Exempt from Federal Taxation
- Documentation of income and living expenses if the income submitted on the FAFSA appears to be insufficient to support the number of family members reported
- Family size during the academic year
- Identity Confirmation
- Students selected for identity verification must present an unexpired, valid, government-issued photo ID. If unable to appear in person at the Financial Aid Office, the student may complete this requirement during a live video call with an authorized financial aid staff member.
The forms our office may ask you to complete as part of the FAFSA verification process are available on Coe.edu and my.coe.edu in PDF format.
- Household Verification Worksheet — Dependent or Independent
- Non-Tax Filer Certification (Parent and/or Student)
Returning students selected for verification may not receive a financial aid offer until all requested documents are received and reviewed by the Office of Financial Aid. Prospective students will receive a preliminary financial aid offer prior to completion of verification. In order to finalize the aid offered, all requested documents should be received by the Office of Financial Aid at least two weeks prior to the end of your award period. Federal Regulations require that students selected for verification must complete the verification process before a financial aid administrator is permitted to make special circumstance adjustments to their FAFSA data.
Your financial aid is subject to change if verification results in a change to your Student Aid Index (SAI). During the verification process, the Office of Financial Aid will contact you if clarification is needed on any of the data reported on the FAFSA. You will receive a revised financial aid offer if corrections that were made to your FAFSA resulted in changes to your financial aid eligibility.
Unusual Circumstances
If you have been granted a tax filing extension by the IRS, or if you are unable to obtain a tax transcript because you were the victim of identity theft, you should contact the Office of Financial Aid for guidance on alternative documents that can meet income verification requirements.
Failure to Submit Verification Documents
Please be aware that failure to submit all requested documents could ultimately result in the suspension of your financial aid application. The deadline for reinstating your financial aid application (by submitting the requested documents) is two weeks prior to the end of your award period. Failure to submit documents may result in the termination of your financial aid application. Current and deposited incoming Coe students can monitor the status of the documents requested and submitted by accessing the Financial Aid tab on my.coe.edu.