What Are the Requirements For Implementing Provisional Independent Student Status For 2024-25?

Schools must reach out to all dependent students who do not provide parental data on the FAFSA (regardless of reason) and inform them about the procedures for requesting a dependency override using professional judgment (PJ).

For the 2024-25 award year, under Section 479A(c)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, [20 USC 1087TT(c)(2)], when students are completing the FAFSA, they will be granted the ability to request treatment as a provisional independent student. This will provide a process for students with unusual circumstances who cannot provide parental information on the FAFSA and who demonstrate unusual circumstances that differentiate the individual student from a group of students. Students requesting provisional independent student status will be able to complete the FAFSA as an independent student and will receive an estimated student aid index (SAI) and estimated Federal Pell Grant. The financial aid office must then notify students who request provisional status of the institution's process for a dependency override. In order for the aid administrator to make a final determination, the student must then submit documentation and complete the dependency override process in accordance with changes to the law regarding dependency overrides and in accordance with required institutional procedures.

Institutional Procedures: Under HEA 479A(c) [20 USC 1087TT(c)(2)(B)] and GEN-22-15, upon receiving the accepted student's FAFSA, the aid office must:

• Notify the student [within a reasonable time defined by the school] of the institution's process, requirements, and timeline for a PJ adjustment that will result in a review of the student's request for a dependency override within a reasonable timeframe after the student completes the FAFSA;
• Provide the student with a final determination of the student's dependency status and Title IV aid offer as soon as practicable after all requested documentation is provided;
• Retain all documents related to the dependency override, including documented interviews, for at least three years after the student's last enrollment, and shall abide by all other Title IV recordkeeping requirements; and
• Presume that any student who has obtained a dependency override for any preceding award year at an institution of higher education to be independent for each subsequent award year at the same institution unless the student informs the institution that circumstances have changed, or the institution has specific conflicting information about the student's independence.

The aid office processes the PJ request as it normally would to clear Reject Code 1 and Comment Code 003. The 2024-25 draft FAFSA Specifications Guide, Volume 6–ISIR Guide states this:

"If a student answers “Yes” to question 7 on the FAFSA form (Student Unusual Circumstances), the student will receive a provisional status as an independent student as well as a provisional SAI calculation; however, the record will still be rejected, pending further action from the student’s FAA. The student should work with the FAA to determine if they qualify for a professional judgment. If the student does qualify, the FAA will need to submit the professional judgment. Once that professional judgment is processed, the student’s status changes from “provisionally independent” to “independent,” and their SAI calculation is no longer considered provisional."

As with prior award years, you indicate the student qualifies for a dependency override either on the paper FAFSA (College Use Only section) or in the FAFSA Partner Portal (formerly FAA Access). The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has not released guidance on making FAFSA corrections using the FAFSA Partner Portal, so you'll have to find the FAA Access equivalent when the systems go live for 2024-25.

If the dependency override is approved, the school is required to carry that decision forward to future award years without collecting documentation unless the student reaches out to the school and indicates their circumstances have changed.

If a student pursues provisional independent student status and is not determined to be an independent student by a financial aid administrator, such student shall only be eligible for a Direct Unsubsidized Loan for that award year unless such student subsequently completes the FAFSA as a dependent student. See AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&A, If a Student's Parents Refuse To Provide Support, How Does the Student Complete the FAFSA To Borrow a Direct Unsubsidized Loan?

Documentation: Under HEA 479A(a)(2) [20 USC 1087TT(a)(2)], documentation must substantiate the special or unusual circumstances of an individual student and may include, but is not limited to:

• A documented interview between the student and the financial aid administrator;
• Submission of a court order or official federal or state documentation that the student or the student's parents or legal guardians are incarcerated in any federal or state penal institution;
• A documented phone call or a written statement, which confirms the specific unusual circumstances with:
  • A child welfare agency authorized by a state or county,
  • A tribal welfare authority or agency,
  • An independent living case worker, such as a case worker who supports current and former foster youth with the transition to adulthood, or
  • A public or private agency, facility, or program servicing the victims of abuse, neglect, assault, or violence, which may include domestic violence;
• A documented phone call or a written statement from an attorney, a guardian ad litem, or a court-appointed special advocate, or a person serving in a similar capacity which confirms the specific unusual circumstances and documents the person's relationship to the student;
• A documented phone call or written statement from a TRIO or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP) representative, which confirms the specific unusual circumstances and documents the representative's relationship to the student;
• Documents, such as utility bills or health insurance documentation, that demonstrate a separation from parents or legal guardians;
• In the absence of documentation described here, other documentation the financial aid administrator determines is adequate to confirm the unusual circumstances; or
• Supplementary information, as necessary, about the financial status or personal circumstances of eligible applicants as it relates to the special circumstances or unusual circumstances based on which the applicant is requesting an adjustment.

For 2023-24 implementation, see AskRegs Q&A, What Are the Requirements For Implementing Provisional Independent Student Status For 2023-24?

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