Dependency Status
Your dependency status determines whose information you must report when you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form.
- If you’re a dependent student, you will report your and your parents’ information.
- If you’re an independent student, you will report your own information (and, if you’re married, your spouse’s).
A dependent student is assumed to have the support of parents, so the parents’ information must be assessed along with the student’s information to get a full picture of the family’s financial resources. If you’re a dependent student, it doesn’t mean your parents are required to pay anything toward your education; this information is simply used to determine your maximum eligibility for federal student aid.
Your answers to questions on the FAFSA® form determine whether you are considered a dependent or independent student.
Here are the questions that determine your dependency status for the 2024–25 school year.
Here are the questions that determine your dependency status for the 2024–25 school year.
| Were you born before Jan. 1, 2001? | Yes | No |
| As of today, are you married? (Answer “No” if you are separated but not divorced.) | Yes | No |
| At the beginning of the 2024–25 school year, will you be working on a master’s or doctorate program (such as an M.A., MBA, M.D., J.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., graduate certificate, etc.)? | Yes | No |
| Are you currently serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training? (If you are a National Guard or Reserves enlistee, are you on active duty for other than state or training purposes?) | Yes | No |
| Are you a veteran of the U.S. armed forces?* | Yes | No |
| Do you have children or other people (excluding your spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you now and between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025? | Yes | No |
| At any time since you turned age 13, were you an orphan (no living biological or adoptive parent)? | Yes | No |
| At any time since you turned age 13, were you a ward of the court? | Yes | No |
| At any time since you turned age 13, were you in foster care? | Yes | No |
| Are you or were you a legally emancipated minor, as determined by a court in your state of residence? | Yes | No |
| Are you or were you in a legal guardianship with someone other than your parent or stepparent, as determined by a court in your state of residence? | Yes | No |
| At any time on or after July 1, 2023, were you unaccompanied and either (1) homeless or (2) self-supporting and at risk of being homeless?** | Yes | No |
*Answer “Yes” (you are a veteran) if you (1) have engaged in active duty (including basic training) in the U.S. armed forces (army, marine, naval, air, or space service) and were released under a condition other than dishonorable; (2) served full-time as a Reservist or member of the National Guard or were called to federal active duty by presidential duty for a purpose other than training; or (3) served on active duty for training or inactive duty for training in the U.S. armed forces and were disabled from injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. Also answer “Yes” if you are not a veteran now but will be one by June 30, 2025.
*Answer “No” (you are not a veteran) if you (1) have never engaged in active duty in the U.S. armed forces; (2) are currently a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) student, a cadet, or midshipman at a service academy; (3) are a National Guard or Reserves enlistee activated only for state or training purposes; or (4) were engaged in active duty in the U.S. armed forces but released under dishonorable conditions. Also answer “No” if you are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces and will continue to serve through June 30, 2025.
**You’ll be allowed to fill out the FAFSA form as an independent student if you indicate that you are unaccompanied and homeless or at risk of being homeless on the FAFSA form for the first time and you don’t have a determination from an individual at an eligible agency. An individual at an eligible agency includes one of the following:
- your high school or district homeless liaison or designee
- the director or designee of an emergency or transitional shelter, street outreach program, homeless youth drop-in center, or other program serving those experiencing homelessness
- the director or designee of a project supported by a federal TRIO program or a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant
- a financial aid administrator
Answered “Yes” to One or More of the Questions Above
If so, then for federal student aid purposes, you’re considered to be an independent student and will not be required to provide information about your parents on the FAFSA form.
Answered “No” to Every Question
If so, then for federal student aid purposes, you’re considered a dependent student, and you must provide information about your parents when you fill out the FAFSA form.
Not living with parents or not being claimed by them on tax forms does not make you an independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid
If your legal parents (biological or adoptive parents) are married to each other, or are not married to each other and live together, you should report information about both of them on your FAFSA form. However, we recognize that many situations are a little more complicated, so we’ve provided information on how to figure out which parent(s) should provide information on the 2024–25 FAFSA form as a contributor.
A contributor refers to anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on your 2024–25 FAFSA form.
You still must answer the questions about your parents if you’re considered a dependent student.
You can’t be considered independent of your parents just because they refuse to help you with this process. If you do not provide their information on the FAFSA form, the application will be considered “rejected,” and you may not be able to receive any federal student aid. The most you would be able to get (depending on what the financial aid office at your college or career/trade school decides) would be an unsubsidized Direct Loan. The FAFSA instructions will tell you what to do if you are in this situation.
Learn more about how to fill out the FAFSA form when your parents aren’t supporting you and won’t provide their information.
If you have no contact with your parents and don’t know where they live, or you’ve left home due to an abusive situation, select “Yes” to the “Do unusual circumstances prevent the student from contacting their parents or would contacting their parents pose a risk to the student?” question on the 2024–25 FAFSA form. You’ll be considered provisionally independent. To complete your application, you should contact the financial aid office at the college or career/trade school you plan to attend to find out what supporting documentation you’ll need to submit directly to the school.
Learn more about how to fill out the FAFSA form if you have unusual circumstances that prevent you from providing parent information.
If your personal circumstances change after you submit your 2024–25 FAFSA form, contact your college’s or career school’s financial aid office to ask what the requirements are to update your dependency status. The financial aid staff will tell you what to do.