The U.S. Department of Education announced that the 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online form will be available for students this fall, following months of beta testing.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a letter to Congress on Aug. 26 certifying that the form will launch by the congressionally mandated Oct. 1 deadline.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, our team has prioritized technical competence and expertise, which has led to the earliest testing launch of the FAFSA form in history,” McMahon said in an Aug. 27 press release.
McMahon said that the Trump administration began beta testing with students and colleges for the 2026-2027 FAFSA form on Aug. 3. Beta testing is a popular industry best practice in which an organization releases a product to a limited group of users, allowing it to test and refine the product before full deployment.
The Department of Education said this year’s beta testing allowed it to “identify bugs and technical issues, refine usability and design, and improve performance for the fall launch.”
As of Aug. 26, McMahon said that more than 1,000 students have successfully submitted the 2026-27 FAFSA form during the beta testing periods. The department expects “tens of thousands more” to finish the form before its availability to the general public by Oct. 1.
Students who submit the 2026–27 FAFSA form during the beta phase will not need to resubmit, as they are submitting the actual FAFSA form. The department said that once the form is processed, students will be able to make corrections as they would during the normal application cycle.
Any current and aspiring student can request early access to fill out the FAFSA at StudentAid.gov/joinbeta.
