If your FAFSA Submission Summary shows tracking group V4 or V5, your school has to confirm you are who you say you are before it can release aid. The good news for 2026-27: you now have four ways to prove your identity — in person, by video call, with an in-person notary, or through a NIST IAL2 service — and the old Statement of Educational Purpose is gone. Here’s exactly what each method involves and how to pick the one that fits your situation.

What V4 and V5 actually require

V4 verifies one thing — your identity. V5 verifies your identity plus your income and household. Per the 2026-27 FSA Handbook Application and Verification Guide, V4 (Custom) students “must verify the following: Identity,” while V5 (Aggregate) “is essentially a combination of V1 and V4” — you verify your tax and household data and your identity. This page covers the identity half. For the income side of V5, see our V1/V4/V5 groups explainer and the V5 aggregate deep-dive.

One thing to know up front: for V5, the Handbook is blunt — “No disbursements of Title IV aid may be made for the award year in which the student is selected until the V5 verification is satisfactorily completed.” So your aid sits on hold until the identity step is done.

The four ways to verify your identity in 2026-27

For 2026-27, the Department of Education expanded the acceptable methods. The FSA Handbook lists four:

  • In person. You appear and present acceptable identification to an institutionally authorized individual at the school. The Department says it encourages in-person verification “as the preferred method.”
  • Video call. If your school determines you can’t appear in person, “the applicant may appear on a video call to present identity documentation to an institutionally authorized individual.” The school keeps a dated record of who reviewed your ID.
  • In-person notary. You present your ID, in person, to a notary and submit a signed notary statement. Per the Department’s Dear Colleague Letter (Nov. 26, 2025), “if a student chooses to verify their identity through a notary, they must do so in-person. Online notarization is not an acceptable method for our requirements.”
  • NIST IAL2 third party. You can be verified “by an entity that is compliant with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Identity Assurance Level 2 (NIST IAL2).” The school must receive documentation directly from that entity confirming your identity was verified and the date.

The video call and NIST IAL2 options are the new ones, added so remote and out-of-state students aren’t forced to travel.

The Statement of Educational Purpose is gone

For prior years, V4 and V5 students had to sign a Statement of Educational Purpose certifying the aid would go toward their education. It is no longer required: the Department removed the Statement of Educational Purpose beginning with the 2025-26 award year, and it remains not required for 2026-27. The Department’s Dear Colleague Letter states plainly: “institutions can no longer require applicants to submit a Statement of Educational Purpose.” If a school form or third-party “service” still demands one for 2026-27, treat that as a red flag — and double-check the request is coming from your actual financial aid office.

What ID to bring

Bring a valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID — the Handbook lists “a U.S. passport, a driver’s license, or other state-issued ID.” “Unexpired” is taken literally: the ID just has to be valid at the moment it’s checked, “even if it will expire before the end of the award year.” If yours is expiring, that’s fine for the check itself, but renew it soon if you’ll need it again.

Confined or incarcerated students get a specific accommodation: acceptable documentation “includes official IDs issued by the correctional facility or other official correctional facility record” that shows identifying information and a photo.

Which method should you choose?

Match the method to your circumstances:

  • You live near or attend on campus → in person is simplest and is the preferred route.
  • You’re online, out-of-state, or can’t travel → ask your financial aid office about a video call first; it’s free and direct. A NIST IAL2 service is the alternative.
  • Your school points you to a notary → use an in-person notary only. Skip any “online notarization” or remote-notary app — it won’t be accepted.
  • You’re incarcerated → use a correctional-facility-issued ID per the rule above.

Whatever you pick, the school controls the channel. Confirm with your financial aid office which method it accepts and how to submit — and upload only to its official portal, never a link from an unexpected email.

Don’t let the clock stall your aid

The Handbook gives schools a window: they must report your identity result “no more than 60 days following your first request to the student for documentation of identity.” That clock doesn’t start until the school asks — but it can only finish once you respond. Submit promptly so your result is reported and your aid can move. For how this fits the broader timeline and the hard Pell deadline, see our verification deadlines guide.

If you’re not sure which group you’re in or which documents apply to your situation, the free decoder above will walk you through it.

Sources

Verified June 2026 for the 2026-27 award year. This guide is informational and is not legal or financial advice.