What is Federal Verification?

The Department of Education selects students each award year to complete verification.   Northeastern University will verify 100 percent of students federally selected by the Department of Education by verifying the required data elements unless the student falls into an exclusion category.

There are extremely limited circumstances under which a selected student may be exempted from completing verification. SFS makes determinations about which students fall into verification exclusion categories and will waive documentation requests in that event

The FAFSA Submission Summary, available on StudentAid.gov after a FAFSA application is processed, will indicate if the student has been selected for Federal Verification, and SFS will send documentation requests and instructions to the student’s Northeastern email address.

Student Financial Services will request any required documentation, and documentation requests may vary depending on the verification tracking group you have been selected for and individual circumstances. While not an exhaustive list, below are commonly used documents to complete verification:

Income Confirmation

Income verification is based on information from the prior-prior year. Dependent students must provide confirmation of their income and of their parent(s)’ income. Independent students must provide confirmation of their income and their spouse’s income, if applicable. This is accomplished through the following documentation:

• Direct transfer from the IRS (FA-DDX

Family Size Confirmation

Students may be required to verify family size by providing information on a Verification Statement or other form.

Identity Verification

Both dependent and independent students may be required to verify their identity by presenting their ID and completing a Statement of Educational Purpose. This can be done in person by appearing at 354 Richards Hall on Northeastern’s Boston campus or, if an in-person appearance is not possible, in the presence of a notary. The student must present the following:

• An unexpired valid government-issued photo identification (ID), such as a driver’s license, other state-issued ID, or passport. Northeastern will maintain a copy of the student’s photo ID that is annotated with the date it was received and reviewed, and the name of the official at the institution authorized to receive and review the student’s ID.
• In addition, the student must sign the Statement of Educational Purpose in the presence of an SFS representative (if in person) or an authorized notary.

Northeastern may collect electronic signatures for verification materials so long as it includes assurances. Forms completed through the SFS Document Upload Portal. Forms on the SFS Document Upload Portal are considered authenticated and meet electronic standards as the contributor ID is validated from the FAFSA Data. Otherwise, authentication is accomplished through a PIN or password process where the PIN or password has been assigned only after authentication of the identity of the person to whom the PIN or password is assigned.

A valid signature on a tax return may include the following

• Physical signature of the tax-filer (E-signatures are NOT acceptable)
• Name and Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) of the preparer
• Preparer’s SSN or EIN, with a signed, stamped, typed, or printed name and address

All signatures must be collected at the time of verification and cannot be collected after the verification deadline for the award year.

Verification confirms the information reported on your FAFSA. If Student Financial Services must update or correct FAFSA information, it can potentially impact eligibility for your eligibility for federal, state, and institutional grants and loans. Students will be notified of any changes to their financial aid offer via their University email address with instructions on how to view their updated offer. In some cases, verification may have no impact on your financial aid offer.

Incoming Undergraduate Day, Graduate Day, and Law students who are selected for verification prior to the start of classes must complete the verification process before aid is disbursed to the student’s account. All CPS students and returning Undergraduate Day and Law students must complete verification to be packaged with aid. Please note that processing times can vary according to peak volume, and timely response to documentation requests will help prevent delays in financial aid processing.

Students must submit verification documentation at least 60 days before the end date of their last period of enrollment (or the last date enrolled) to be eligible for all federal and institutional funding. For example, an Undergraduate Day student graduating after the fall semester must submit all required verification documents at least 60 days before the end of the fall term.

Students who submit verification documentation after the deadline will be reviewed up to 120 days after their last date of attendance, or September 20th of the following award year, whichever is earlier. However, students may not be eligible to receive all their financial aid if they have completed verification very late.