Verification

Approximately 30 percent of all FAFSA applications will be selected by the U.S. Department of Education for a process called verification. To be eligible to receive most forms of financial aid, applicants selected must verify the information provided on the FAFSA.

If your application is chosen for verification, we will notify you of the additional paperwork which must be completed. Verification must be completed before your financial aid can be finalized and before any aid can be applied to your student tuition account.

Applicants selected for verification are required to complete the Suffolk University Verification Worksheet. In addition, tax filers (student and parent, if applicable) must verify their taxable income. Currently, there are multiple ways to verify income. Students and parents can utilize the IRS Data Retrieval process available within the FAFSA, submit signed income tax returns, or submit a tax return transcript from the IRS.

In addition, please keep in mind that dependent students must verify tax information for both the parent(s) and the student if tax returns were filed.

Parents or independent students who did not file a federal tax return must request a Verification of non-filing transcript  from the IRS. Dependent students who did not file a federal tax return must submit a verification of non-filing form.

In some situations, students will be asked to submit additional verification materials. Please be sure to complete any requested documentation.

Students will receive two notices requesting the required verification documentation. Failure to submit the requested information will result in the loss of financial aid eligibility. In addition, documentation must be received while the student is still enrolled in the term for which they are applying for aid. Documentation received after this time will be processed on a case by case basis and eligibility for financial aid funding cannot be guaranteed.