The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form that needs to be filled out for you to receive financial aid from the government for college. But filling out the FAFSA for divorced parents isn't always straightforward.
The FAFSA is set to launch on October 1, and this year marks the second year that parents and students will experience the simplified FAFSA.
The simplified FAFSA cuts down on the number of questions asked, allows you to directly transfer information from your tax returns, and it uses a new “Student Aid Index” instead of the complex Expected Family Contribution.
Divorced parents may see some big changes when they complete the next FAFSA. In this article, I'll explain what divorced parents need to know when it comes to completing the FAFSA.
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The Parent Who Provides The Most Financial Support Completes The FAFSA
If your parents are divorced or legally separated, only one parent needs to complete the FAFSA. Your parents are considered divorced or legally separated as long as they are separated the day that you file the FAFSA.
However, the FAFSA isn’t a family court. If your legal parents live together, regardless of their marital status, they will both need to provide financial information to complete the FAFSA. If this describes your parents, you should select “Unmarried and both legal parents living together” when describing your parents' marital status.
Assuming your parents are divorced or legally separated according to the FAFSA, only one parent needs to provide information to complete the FAFSA. The FAFSA definition of the custodial parent is the parent that provides the most financial support for the student.
Previously, the custodial parent was the parent that a student lived with most during the prior year. This change means that many students will now need a different parent to complete the FAFSA. However, generally the custodial parent is still likely providing the most financial support - especially taking into consideration all the household expenses and such that are provided for the child.
If the parent completing the FAFSA is legally remarried, then they must also include their spouse’s financial information when completing the FAFSA. This is true even when your parent and their spouse were not remarried during the tax year two years prior (which is the year for determining financial aid eligibility).
Depending on parental circumstances, this could lead to less need-based aid for certain students (including a lower Pell Grant amount). However, you can still apply for grants, scholarships, and other forms of aid to cover any losses.
Common Questions On FAFSA For Divorced Parents
Here are some of the most common questions:
If my parents are divorced, do both my legal parents need to provide information for the FAFSA?
In general, no. The parent that provided most of your financial support (regardless of custodial rights) is the only parent that needs to complete the FAFSA. However, if your parents are unmarried but maintain the same household, then they will both need to provide information to complete the FAFSA.
What if my parents were married in the prior, prior tax year, but they are now divorced?
Applicants or FAFSA contributors may need to manually enter information about their income if changes to a personal situation mean that the tax information no longer reflects their current financial situation. This includes cases where marital status has changed from the filing tax status two years prior.
What if the parent completing the FAFSA is remarried?
If the parent completing the FAFSA is remarried, both your parent and their spouse (your step-parent) must provide financial information to the FAFSA. This could lead to an over-representation of support for the student attending college, but it is the new practice by the U.S. Department of Education.
Do divorced or separated parents need special documentation to fill out the FAFSA?
The only special thing that you need is the date of the legal separation of your parents. Aside from this, all FAFSA applicants need to provide the same basic information:
- Your Social Security number and the Social Security Number for the parent completing the FAFSA.
- Your driver’s license number or state issued ID if you have one.
- Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen.
- Federal tax information or tax returns for you and the parent completing the FAFSA.
- You and your parent’s non-taxable income records (including child support and alimony)
- Checking and savings account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (aside from your primary residence).
If the parent completing the FAFSA is remarried, they must also provide all this information for their spouse (the student’s stepparent).
How does the FAFSA treat household size for divorced parents?
The default household size will be based on the number of dependents on the filing parent’s tax return. However, applicants may update their family size if it changes after filing the tax return. It is important to note that family size is subject to verification, and applicants that self-report higher family sizes may expect a bit more scrutiny around this number.
While the new FAFSA no longer considers the number of family members in college as part of the formula for determining need, the total size of a household influences the overall need calculation. There may be some situations where the family size present on the tax return over or under-represents a person’s actual family size.
Editor: Colin Graves Reviewed by: Robert Farrington
Hannah Rounds is a data-driven personal finance writer with over a decade of experience helping readers understand how to make smarter money decisions. She specializes in breaking down complex financial topics (from student loans to investing tools) using a practical, analytical approach rooted in real-world data.
She holds a B.A. in Economics from Furman University (Summa Cum Laude), where she received the Arthur Magill Economics Award and the J. Carlyle Ellet Economics Prize. She has written extensively on taxes, investing, student loans, and financial technology, focusing on how data shapes smarter financial decisions.
When she’s not writing or analyzing spreadsheets, Hannah enjoys exploring new budgeting tools and finding fresh ways to make finance easier for families.