Clear FAFSA fraud flags. Keep ghost students out.
Since April 26, 2026, the Department of Education has screened FAFSA applications for identity fraud in real time. When a flagged student is admitted or enrolled, your office confirms who they are before aid goes out. VerifiNow gives your staff an in-person and live-video workflow that records each confirmation.
- Government ID
- US driver's license. AAMVA data validated.
- Face match
- Live face matches the ID photo.
- Liveness
- Live person present.
- Location
- GPS 39.7392° N, 104.9903° W, Denver, CO
- Bound to
- FAFSA identity confirmation, live video
- Recorded
- Sep 21, 2026, 2:15:07 PM ET
If aid reaches an ineligible applicant, your school pays it back.
Federal Student Aid says aid disbursed to an ineligible student is improperly disbursed and must be returned, even when the school had no fraud flag or verification selection at the time. The financial responsibility sits with the school.
FSA Electronic Announcement APP-26-09, July 17, 2026, question 5.2 (source 2)
What changed, and when
FSA adds a video-call option for V4 and V5 identity verification, and treats identity as verified when a NIST IAL2-compliant entity did the check (source 1).
Real-time fraud detection goes live inside the FAFSA form. Applicants land in one of four risk categories, and high-risk applicants confirm identity through a live camera process (source 3).
The House passes the No Aid for Ghost Students Act (H.R. 7892), 249 to 172, to put FAFSA fraud screening into law (source 4).
FSA confirms schools can't refuse to process aid for admitted or enrolled students flagged as moderate, high, or highest risk. They must offer in-person or video-call identity confirmation (source 2).
In the Senate, the HELP Committee scheduled its markup of the companion bill, S. 4428, for September 24, 2026.
Clearing a flagged student, step by step
FSA's in-form check runs only on a mobile device. Students who can't complete it, or don't pass it, come to your office (source 2).
The flag arrives
A fraud-related reject or comment code appears on the student's ISIR, for example Reject 74.
The student picks a channel
In person, staff scan and authenticate the ID with LiveVerifi on any iOS or Android device. On video, staff launch VerifiNow inside a Zoom or Microsoft Teams call.
The confirmation is recorded
The session record holds the ID image, the date and time, and the face match and liveness results.
Your office records the outcome
Staff enter the result in the FAFSA Partner Portal, including the FAA Fraud Override where it applies, and aid processing continues.
What FSA asks you to keep
Video-call confirmation
A copy of the ID, electronic or paper, showing the date it was presented and the name of the authorized staff member who reviewed it. A legible screenshot from the call can serve as that copy.
Verification by a NIST IAL2-compliant entity
The date the student's identity was verified and the name of the entity that verified it.
VerifiNow's remote flow is designed to meet NIST Identity Assurance Level 2: government photo ID, validation against issuing-source data where available, a face match to the ID, and liveness.
FSA Electronic Announcement APP-25-16, June 6, 2025 (source 1)
Identity-bound across the student lifecycle
Federal aid is one target. These are others, and none of them depends on FSA's screening.
Enrollment and admissions
Verify applicants during the online application. Results flow into Slate, with manual review when confidence thresholds aren't met.
Aid disbursement and refunds
Step up verification before disbursement, and before refund or bank details change.
Remote exams and live classes
Confirm the enrolled student is the one taking the exam, inside Zoom or through your LMS via REST API.
Student portal and records
Require a step-up check for transcript requests, grade changes, and other sensitive actions. SSO supported.
Faculty and staff onboarding
Verify new hires and tie employment verification to the confirmed identity.
Counters and exam centers
LiveVerifi on any phone or tablet, with AAMVA barcode and MRZ validation. No specialist hardware.
Standards, stated precisely
NIST IAL2
VerifiNow's remote identity proofing is designed to meet NIST SP 800-63 Identity Assurance Level 2, the standard FSA names for third-party verification.
V4 and V5
V4 and V5 are verification tracking groups that FSA assigns to students whose identity must be confirmed. VerifiNow supports the in-person and video options schools use to complete them.
Title IV responsibility
Title IV compliance is your institution's obligation under its Program Participation Agreement. VerifiNow supplies the identity evidence and records that support it.
Higher education questions
Does the Department of Education screen FAFSA applications for identity fraud?
Yes. Since April 26, 2026, FSA has run real-time identity fraud detection inside the FAFSA form. Applicants are placed into risk categories, and high-risk applicants confirm their identity through a live camera process on a mobile device.
Do flagged students have to verify in person?
No. FSA says schools don't have to require in-person identity confirmation to clear fraud rejects. If a student can't appear in person, the school must offer the other options in Electronic Announcement APP-25-16, including a video call.
Can we decline to process aid for a flagged student?
Not for students who are enrolled or admitted. FSA says schools can't keep a policy of refusing to process aid for enrolled or admitted students flagged as moderate, high, or highest risk. Schools have no obligation to applicants who aren't enrolled or admitted.
What should we keep on file after a video-call confirmation?
A copy of the ID, electronic or paper, showing the date it was presented and the name of the authorized staff member who reviewed it. A legible screenshot from the call can serve as that copy.
Does VerifiNow meet NIST IAL2?
VerifiNow's remote identity proofing is designed to meet NIST Identity Assurance Level 2. FSA treats a student's identity as verified when an IAL2-compliant entity performed the check, and your office keeps the date and the entity's name.
How long does verification take a student?
Students finish verifying in under 25 seconds, and results return within 5 seconds of submitting the ID and selfie.
Sources
- Federal Student Aid, Electronic Announcement APP-25-16, "Significant Actions to Prevent Fraud through Identity Verification," June 6, 2025.
- Federal Student Aid, Electronic Announcement APP-26-09, "Real-Time FAFSA Fraud Detection and Identity Confirmation: Frequently Asked Questions," July 17, 2026.
- Congressional Research Service summary of S. 4428, No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026, via GovInfo.
- NASFAA, "House Passes No Aid for Ghost Students Act," June 2026.
See the fraud-flag workflow in 30 minutes.
We'll walk through in-person and video confirmation using your aid office's actual process.
