Financial Aid Verification

The verification process

If you are selected for verification, Missouri State University will compare the information from your FAFSA to the corresponding items from your tax return, and any errors on your FAFSA will be corrected by our office. If clarification is needed, you will be contacted through your MSU email account.

Your role in verification

You will be notified of what documents our office needs in order to complete your verification. Generally, the documents that will be requested are:

• A copy of your and your parent(s) federal Tax Return or Transcript
• Copies of all your and your parent(s) W-2’s, if you are a dependent student
• If you did not file a tax return, a Verification of Non-Filing Letter from the IRS, unless you are a dependent student (your parents are listed on your FAFSA)
• A completed copy of either the Dependent Verification Worksheet or the Independent Verification Worksheet

You and your parent(s) should submit these documents to our office as soon as you can upon receiving notification that you were selected for verification. The sooner we receive your verification documents the sooner we can complete your verification and award financial aid. You will not be eligible to receive any financial aid until the verification process has been completed.

Contact the office of student financial aid at 417-836-5262 if you have any questions.

Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool

Every FAFSA is subject to verification, but the time it takes can be reduced by transferring your IRS data directly to your FAFSA. You may use the Data Retrieval Tool either during the initial application or during a correction. Doing so may also reduce the amount of paperwork requested from you or your parents.

*Estimated to allow 2 weeks for processing. Date must be adjusted if the last day enrolled is prior to end of semester, such as in a withdrawal.