Verification Process

You might see a note on your Student Aid Report saying you’ve been selected for verification; or our office might contact you to inform you that you’ve been selected.

Verification is the process schools use to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA is accurate. UWG's Financial Aid Office has the authority to contact you for documentation that supports the information you reported on your FAFSA.

If you’re selected for verification, don’t assume you’re being accused of doing anything wrong. Students are selected at random by the Department of Education. All you need to do is provide the documentation our office asks for—and be sure to do so by the published deadline (see below), or you won’t be able to get financial aid prior to the payment deadline. To determine which documents are required, please log in to your OneLogin account and review your "Eligibility Requirements" within the Financial Aid section; instructions can be viewed below. You can now submit and sign forms electronically! 

Instructions for Reviewing Outstanding Requirements: 

  1. Review your myuwg email address frequently for notifications of missing requirements
  2. Sign in to your OneLogin account to view outstanding requirements
  3. Search for “Financial Aid Verification” in the search box and click the ‘Financial Aid Verification’ tile.
  4. Sign in to the new screen that appears with your full OneLogin email address and your OneLogin password.
  5. If prompted to confirm your information, please enter it exactly as it appears on your FAFSA.
  6. Complete any outstanding documents

UWG's Priority Document Deadlines:

  • Fall Semester - July 1
  • Spring Semester - November 1
  • Summer Semester - April 1

IRS Data Retrieval Tool:

If you used the Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) when filling out your FAFSA, and you have not changed any of the information retrieved, you will not have to verify that information. If you didn’t use the IRS DRT and you’re selected for verification, log back in at studentaid.gov to see whether you can use IRS DRT to fill in the relevant fields on your FAFSA. If not, the Financial Aid Office will require you to submit an IRS Tax Return Transcript as part of the verification process. You can find your tax transcript through the IRS’s Get Transcript service; detailed instructions linked below. Watch the video or view the example below if you have questions about requesting your IRS Tax Return Transcript. Please note that an IRS Tax Return Transcript is the only transcript type that can be accepted.

The IRS Data Retrieval Tool is available on the 2021-2022 FAFSA! Please see the steps below on transferring your tax information into the FAFSA!

Why

  1. Easy: Transfer info with the click of a button.
  2. Fast: Instantly retrieve your information.
  3. Accurate: Correctly fill in your information.

How

  1. Log in to your current FAFSA* form or start a new application on the Federal Student Aid site.
  2. In the finances section of the online form, you will see a "Link to IRS" button if you are eligible to use the IRS DRT.
  3. Click the "Link to IRS" button and log in with your FSA ID to be transferred to the IRS to retrieve your info.
  4. Once at the IRS site, enter your information exactly as it appears on your federal income tax return and click the "Submit" button.
  5. Check the "transfer My Tax Information into the FAFSA form" box and click the "Transfer Now" button.
  6. You will know that your federal tax return information has been successfully transferred because the words "transferred from the IRS" will display in place of the IRS information in FAFSA form.

*For your protection, your tax information will not be displayed on either the IRS site or fafsa.gov.

The IRS DRT can be used by both students and parents.

To learn more about the IRS DRT, visit the Federal Student Aid site.

 

Infographic containing the six steps for IRS Data Retreival Tool

Resources

IRS Document Request Instructions

Victims of Identity Theft

If you or your parents have been victims of documented identity theft and cannot get a return transcript or use the DRT, you may request and submit a Tax Return DataBase View (TRDBV) transcript as well as a statement they have signed and dated indicating that they were victims of tax-related identity theft and that the IRS has been made aware of it. They do this by calling the IRS’s Identity Protection Specialized Unit (IPSU) at (800) 908-4490. After the IPSU authenticates the tax filer’s identity, he/she can ask the IRS to mail the TRDBV transcript, which is an alternate paper transcript that will look different than a regular transcript but  is official and can be used for verification. Those who cannot obtain TRDBV transcript may instead submit another official IRS transcript or equivalent IRS document, but it must include all of the income and tax information required to be verified by the school.