Federal Student Aid has released volumes of the 2026-27 FAFSA Specifications Guide. The volumes contained in this guide contain FAFSA Processing System (FPS) technical information for the 2026-27 award year and are only available as PDF documents at this time.
Update on January 21, 2026:
FSA has updated Volumes 1, 4B, 5, 6, and 7. For more information, review the Change History Table in each volume.
View the latest specification guide here.
2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide
- Introduction: 2026-27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Introduction
- Volume 1 – Summary of Changes: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 1
- Volume 2 – FPS Schedule and Getting Help: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 2
- Volume 3 – Electronic Data Exchange and FAFSA Processing: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 3
- Volume 4A –
- Record Layouts: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 4A
- 2026–27 ISIR Record Layout: 2026–27 ISIR Record Layout
- Volume 4B – Processing Codes: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 4B
- Volume 5 – Edits and Rejects: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 5
- Volume 6 – ISIR Guide: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 6
- Volume 7 – Comment Codes: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 7
- Volume 8 – Agency Matches: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide – Volume 8
- Volume 9 – Testing and Web Demo System
SOURCE: 2026–27 FAFSA Specifications Guide (December 2025 Update)