Is FAFSA Free Or Is There A Fee

Q: I am getting ready to apply for FAFSA to see if I am eligible for any federal financial aid programs for college. I have been looking around online to find the answers to some of my questions and have come across a few sites charging a fee to complete the FAFSA. Is FAFSA free or does FAFSA charge a fee to file?

A: FAFSA is 100% completely free to file. There are absolutely no charges or fees associated with filing a FAFSA. The FAFSA acronym stands for Free Application For Federal Student Aid. To help avoid any college financial aid scams, students should avoid giving personal information (including social security number and/or financial information) to any organization or website claiming that you need to pay a fee to file the FAFSA. Again, if you are filing the FAFSA on the official FAFSA website run by the Federal Student Aid Office of the U.S. Department of Education, you will never be asked to pay for this service. The FAFSA website will be able to provide you with answers to any questions you have about completing the FAFSA. If you cannot find the answer to your question on the official FAFSA website, you can also call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).