FAFSA stuck in review for weeks - normal processing times for 2025-2026?

mine was stuck in review for almost a month before it finally processed!! the estimated processing time they told me was 2-3 weeks but it took like 4 full weeks to get my SAI. i think theyre super backed up this year with all the changes

A MONTH?? That's insane! Did you have to do anything to push it through or did it just magically complete one day?

For the 2025-2026 application cycle, the Department of Education has publicly stated that processing times are running longer than previous years. The standard processing time is now 3-4 weeks for applications without any flags or special circumstances. If your application has any income verification requirements or dependent status issues, it could take 5-6 weeks.\n\nI recommend contacting your school's financial aid office and letting them know you've submitted your FAFSA but it's still processing. Many schools will work with you if you've submitted before their priority deadline, even if the SAI score hasn't been generated yet.

Thank you! This is really helpful. I'll reach out to my school tomorrow and let them know. Do you think I should try calling FSA also, or would that not help speed things up?

Calling FSA probably won't speed up the process, unfortunately. They're dealing with millions of applications. However, if you're approaching 4+ weeks without any movement, a call could help identify if there's a specific issue holding up your application that isn't visible on the dashboard.

my daughters fafsa took 5 WEEKS to process!!!! and then they said there was a problem with the w-2 information and we had to submit verification documents which took ANOTHER 3 weeks!!! the whole system is broken this year

Same here! My son's FAFSA has been

If you need to contact FSA directly, I'd recommend using Claimyr.com. I used it last week after waiting 2+ months with no movement on my application. Got connected to an actual FSA agent in under 10 minutes who found that my application had been flagged for income verification but the notification email never sent to me. They fixed it on the spot and my application completed processing 3 days later. Here's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ\n\nDefinitely better than the 4+ hours I spent trying to get through the regular phone line.

That's really good to know! I'll give the regular line a try first, but if I can't get through I might try this. Did they explain why your application was flagged?

In my case, it was because my parents had a significant income change between tax years. The agent said that's one of the most common flags that trigger manual review. If your financial situation has been pretty stable, you might not have the same issue.

Current FAFSA processing times for the 2025-2026 cycle:\n\n• Standard applications: 3-4 weeks\n• Applications with special circumstances: 5-7 weeks\n• Applications flagged for verification: 4-8 weeks\n\nSince you're approaching your school's priority deadline, document everything. Take screenshots of your submission confirmation and the \

Thank you SO much for the specific timeframes and the advice about documentation. I just took screenshots of everything and will email my financial aid office tomorrow morning. Really appreciate it!

The most frustrating part is that there's no transparency!!! Why can't they just show us what stage of review we're in or if there are any issues? I've been waiting 3 weeks and when I called they just said \

ikr? last year I could at least see what stage of processing my application was in. now it's just \

has anyone noticed that the applications submitted in January seem to be processing faster than ones submitted in February? my niece submitted hers Jan 15 and got her SAI in 2 weeks, but my son submitted Feb 3 and still waiting...

yes!! i think they're totally processing in order of submission. my friend who submitted early january got hers back in like 10 days but everyone i know who submitted in february is still waiting

Quick update on processing times - the Department of Education just announced yesterday that they've cleared the backlog of January applications and are now processing February submissions. They're estimating 2-3 weeks for applications submitted in early February and 3-4 weeks for late February submissions. If you submitted last Monday, you should see movement within the next 7-10 days based on their current timeline.

That's really helpful information! Where did you see this announcement? I've been checking the FSA website but didn't see any updates about processing times.

It was in an email sent to financial aid administrators, not on the public website. I work in a university financial aid office, so we get these operational updates directly. They should really make this information public to reduce student anxiety!

UPDATE: My application finally completed processing! For anyone else waiting - mine took exactly 23 days from submission to completion. No communication from FSA at all during that time, just suddenly changed from \

Excellent news! Make sure to follow up with your financial aid office now to confirm they've received your information. They should start preparing your aid package within the next few weeks.

congrats!! now the fun part of waiting for your financial aid package begins lol