Your dependency status determines which information you must report when filling out the FAFSA.
- You will report your and your parents' information if you're a dependent student.
- If you are an independent student, you will report your own information (and, if you're married, that of your spouse).
Federal and state student aid programs are based on the concept that it is primarily your and your family's responsibility to pay for your education.
A dependent student is assumed to have the support of parents, so the parents' information must be reviewed along with the student's to get a complete picture of the family's financial resources.
If you're a dependent student, your parents are not required to pay anything toward your education; this information is used to determine the student's maximum eligibility for federal student aid.
If you are living financially independent from your parents by choice, circumstances, employment, or geography, you are not claimed on your parents' tax forms, and or parents' refusal to help pay for college does not does not constitute independence per Federal guidelines.
Determining Dependency Status
Your answers to personal circumstance questions on the FAFSA determine whether you are considered a dependent or independent student.
Here are the questions that determine your dependency status for the 2026–27 school year.
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Were you born before Jan. 1, 2003?
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Yes
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No
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As of today, are you married? (Answer “No” if you are separated but not divorced.)
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Yes
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No
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At the beginning of the 2026–27 school year, will you be enrolled in a master’s or doctorate program (such as an M.A., MBA, M.D., J.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., graduate certificate, etc.)?
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Yes
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No
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Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training? (If you are a National Guard or Reserves enlistee, are you on active duty for other than state or training purposes?)
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Yes
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No
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Are you a veteran of the U.S. armed forces?*
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Yes
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No
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Do you have children or other people (excluding your spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you now and between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027?
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Yes
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No
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At any time since you turned age 13, were you an orphan (no living biological or adoptive parent)?
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Yes
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No
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At any time since you turned age 13, were you a ward of the court?
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Yes
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No
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At any time since you turned age 13, were you in foster care?
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Yes
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No
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Are you or were you a legally emancipated minor, as determined by a court in your state of residence?
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Yes
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No
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Are you or were you in a legal guardianship with someone other than your parent or stepparent, as determined by a court in your state of residence?
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Yes
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No
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At any time on or after July 1, 2025, were you unaccompanied and either (1) homeless or (2) self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?**
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Yes
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No
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*Answer “Yes” (you are a veteran) if you (1) have engaged in active duty in the U.S. armed forces (army, marine, naval, air, or space service); served full-time as a Reservist or member of the National Guard or were called to federal active duty by presidential duty for a purpose other than training; or served on active duty for training or inactive duty for training in the U.S. armed forces and were disabled from injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty; and (2) were released under a condition other than dishonorable. Also answer “Yes” if you are not a veteran now but will be one by June 30, 2027. *Answer “No” (you are not a veteran) if you (1) have never engaged in active duty in the U.S. armed forces; (2) are currently a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) student, a cadet, or midshipman at a service academy; (3) are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces and will continue to serve through June 30, 2027; or (4) were engaged in active duty in the U.S. armed forces but released under dishonorable conditions. Also answer “No” if you are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces and will continue to serve through June 30, 2027. **You’ll be allowed to fill out the FAFSA form as an independent student if you indicate that you are unaccompanied and homeless or at risk of being homeless on the FAFSA form. If you don’t have a determination from an individual at an eligible agency, the financial aid office at your college or career school is required to make a determination of your status based on a written statement from you or a documented interview with you. Contact your school’s financial aid office to complete this process. An individual at an eligible agency includes one of the following:
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If you answered “yes” to any of the questions, you’re considered an independent student and will not provide information about your parents on the FAFSA form.
If you answered “no” to every question, you’re considered a dependent student, and you must provide information about your parents when you fill out the FAFSA form.
Learn more about how to fill out the FAFSA form and reporting your parents' information.