Students and contributors completing the FAFSA will soon see an update that affects those living in U.S. territories and foreign countries. On December 7, 2025, Federal Student Aid (FSA) is adjusting how the FAFSA handles country and state information to improve consistency across StudentAid.gov and related systems. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s Changing?
FSA is updating the country and state dropdown lists used throughout the FAFSA experience. The biggest change:
Applicants in U.S. territories must now select “United States” as their country.
- Territories such as:
- Puerto Rico
- Guam
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- American Samoa
- Northern Mariana Islands
…will no longer appear as country options. Instead, applicants will select United States as their country and then choose the correct territory from the state field.
Applicants in Canada will select “Canada” as their country. They will then select the appropriate Canadian province in the “State” Field.
Applicants in Mexico will select “Mexico” as their country. There will not be a “State” selection and the field will be grayed out. Previously, FSA allowed some users to enter Mexico as the state.
Applicants from all other foreign countries will select their Appropriate Country Code for the “Country” field. There will not be a “State” selection and the field will be grayed out.
This aligns FAFSA systems with standard address conventions and resolves recent issues introduced in late 2025.
Will Applicants Need to Do Anything?
For most users, no action is required — FSA will automatically update country codes where needed.
However, some applicants must review or confirm their address:
- Applicants who previously selected “Canada” or “Foreign Country” as a state of residence
- Anyone whose existing address information no longer matches the updated field structure
- Contributors (parents, spouses, etc.) whose mailing address isn’t confirmed
When you log in after December 7, StudentAid.gov may prompt you to update your mailing address. FSA will also send email notifications by the end of December to anyone who needs to take action.
Important: If a student has a contributor who has not resolved their mailing address information, that student will not be able to submit their application or a correction until the contributor has confirmed their mailing address in their StudentAid.gov account. Similarly, if a student or a second contributor has not resolved their mailing address information, a contributor will not be able to make a correction until they have confirmed their mailing address in their StudentAid.gov account.
Note to Financial Aid Administrators: If a financial aid administrator makes a correction to an unrelated field in the FAFSA Partner Portal, the financial aid administrator will be prompted to update the student’s address if FSA or the student has not yet updated it.
SOURCE: (APP-25-29) Upcoming Country Field Adjustments on the FAFSA and Related Error for U.S. Territories