The 2026/27 FAFSA opened ahead of schedule. The U.S. Department of Education announced the 2026-27 Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is now open. This is a week ahead of the announced release date of October 1st. The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD) encourages students to file their FAFSA before February 2nd, 2026 to be considered for the most financial aid available.
Dr. Bennett Boggs, Commissioner of the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development says. “The FAFSA is an important first step to applying for grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans that help provide Missouri students more affordable access to degrees or short-term training certificates..”
The FAFSA is the main way to determine students’ eligibility for most federal and state financial aid. In Missouri, eligible students who complete the FAFSA before February 2 will receive funding through Access Missouri, a need-based grant that assisted over 44,000 students during Fiscal Year 2025.
To file a 2026-27 FAFSA, students need a studentaid.gov account (or login information if they already have an account/FSA ID) and 2024 tax information. Students will also need to determine if they are a dependent or independent student, and dependent students will need to identify their parent/contributor.