Federal Verification Process

After filing a FAFSA form, students may be randomly selected, by The Department of Education for review in a process called "Verification." Under federal regulations, the Financial Aid Office is required to verify the accuracy of the information reported on your FAFSA form.

In compliance with federal guidelines there are certain data elements that we are required to verify.  In order to do so, we may need to collect additional documentation and/or have you transfer data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

If You Are Selected for Verification

Over the summer, you will receive an email from the Financial Aid Office detailing the Verification Process.  If we require any additional documentation from you, we will specify that in the email. 

Required for all:

• Verification Worksheet
• Verification of Parent/Student Income & taxes (use IRS data retrieval or official tax transcript - see below)

Required for some:

• Verification of high school completion status**
• Verification of identity/statement of educational purpose**


**IF these are required, students will be contacted with instructions 


The IRS Data Retrieval (IDR) process:

IDR enables FAFSA to retrieve tax data directly from the IRS allowing you to automatically have your family’s income information transferred into your FAFSA. Log in to your FAFSA form in order to access the IDR.

• Once logged in, choose “make corrections”
• Click on “Financial Information”
• On the question “Did you file a tax return,” select “already completed”
• This will allow you access to IDR
• View “option to link to the IRS”
• Click “transfer now”
• RESUBMIT FAFSA

Request an official tax transcript:

• Go to the IRS website
• Under "Tools," select “Get Tax Transcript by mail”
• Complete the form with your Social Security number, date of birth, address, and Zip Code
• Under "Type of Transcript," select "Return Transcript"
• For "Tax Year," select the year appropriate for the academic year

Once the IRS accepts your request for a Tax Return Transcript, allow 5-10 days to receive it. The Transcript will be sent to the address on your tax return. Please send a copy of your Tax Return Transcript to our office by fax at (909) 607-7941 or mail at Financial Aid Office, 333 N College Way, Claremont CA  91711.