Financial Aid Verification

What does it mean to be selected for verification?

Verification is a process to confirm that the information you or your parents provided on your FAFSA is accurate. Laredo College Student Financial Aid & Veterans Affairs Services Center is federally obligated to verify all financial aid applicants that have been selected by the U.S. Department of Education.

Who selects the student’s FAFSA application for verification?

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) randomly selects some Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSAs) for verification others are selected by the institution to clarify discrepancies in the data entered on the FAFSA.

Please be advised not all students selected for verification have to submit the same documents. Every case is different.  

Students are notified by the Department of Education that they have been selected for verification when they print out their student aid report (SAR) after their application has been reviewed and processed by the Department of Education (DOE). Furthermore, Laredo College Student Financial Aid & Veterans Affairs Services Center will send an email or text notifying the students that he or she were selected for verification.

Student Financial Aid Verification Tool:

The Student Financial Aid Verification Tool is a web-based software that will facilitate the collection of data between students and the Student Financial Aid & Veteran Affairs Service Center. No more wasting time waiting in line or making trips to campus. The Student Financial Aid Verification Tool is here to alleviate the wait and is available to students 24/7. Those students who have completed their FAFSA and are selected for verification must turn in all requested documents via the student verification tool. Pending documents can be submitted using the mobile device of their choice. To access the Student Financial Aid Verification Tool please login into your PasPort account, go to the student tab located at the top of the page and click my finances.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, students who do not use the “IRS Data Retrieval Tool” when completing the FAFSA are more likely to get selected for verification. It does not mean that all students that use the “IRS Data Retrieval Tool” won’t be selected. Student selected for verification will have to provide an IRS Tax Return Transcript that can take weeks to obtain and delay your verification process. 

Please note that the IRS DRT may not be available for immediate use after filing your federal taxes. If you filed your taxes electronically, it could take up to 2 weeks for your tax information to become available on the DRT. If you filed a paper tax return, please allow 6-8 weeks to use the DRT.

How do I request a copy of my IRS Tax Transcript or Verification of Non-filing?

IRS Tax Transcripts can be requested one of several ways:

Online through http://www.irs.gov. Under the “Tools” section, select “Get a Tax Transcript”, or by calling 1-800-908-9946