ID verification

Students filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) may encounter a new identity-verification step beginning this week, as the Trump administration moves to tighten safeguards against fraud. The Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid said an automatic feature added to the FAFSA portal on Sunday now screens each applicant for identity-fraud risk in real time.

Applicants flagged as low or moderate risk will see no change to the process. Those deemed high risk will be prompted to complete a automated camera check, presenting one valid government-issued ID—such as a driver’s license, passport, tribal identification card, or permanent resident card.

If the identification is approved, the student can proceed. If it is denied or verification cannot be completed on the spot, the applicant’s Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR)—the electronic report used to determine eligibility for institutional, state and federal aid—will be rejected.

In those cases, students must contact the financial aid office at their chosen college or university to complete identity verification in person. Financial aid advisers can then resolve the rejection manually. The department describes the measure as the latest phase of an identity-fraud prevention project that began last June, a push that has increased administrative workloads on campus.

Officials say the stricter screening is intended to protect taxpayers and ensure awards go to real, eligible students rather than so-called “ghost students,” individuals who receive federal aid without attending classes. Many colleges have acknowledged the problem but say they lack the tools to address it comprehensively.

The California Community College system reported that in the 2024–25 academic year, about 31 percent of applications were fraudulent, and nearly $10 million in federal aid and $3 million in state and local aid went to ghost students. Since bolstered identity-verification procedures were introduced last year, the department says it has prevented more than $171 million in fraud in California and $563 million nationwide.

Last summer, the Education Department increased the number of students it flagged for potential fraud but relied on institutions to carry out verification digitally or in person—prompting warnings from student advocacy groups and financial aid associations that the added burden could make it harder for eligible students to receive aid.

At the time, the Trump administration said the number of flagged students would be relatively small and that financial aid staff would shoulder the additional workload only through the end of summer. An automated verification add-on was originally slated to take effect when the 2026–27 FAFSA cycle began in September, but those changes did not materialize as planned, and concerns from aid offices grew.

The new automated identity-verification tool, arriving months later than initially expected, is being greeted as a relief by many financial aid administrators. The department says it will significantly reduce colleges’ workloads, though it will not eliminate manual checks entirely.

Financial aid experts caution that some concerns and potential complications remain as the system rolls out.