This article was originally published in EducationNC.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on Tuesday, October 15, announced the launch of the second phase of testing (Beta 2) for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) 2025-2026 – which will begin for everyone. students and families by December 1.
The announcement follows two weeks after the first round of testing (beta 1), during which “the department discovered no critical bugs,” according to a press release.
During Beta 1, which began Oct. 1, more than 650 students successfully submitted applications, the DOE said, and dozens of student corrections were successfully completed. Nearly 600 higher education institutions also received 6,266 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) generated by these applications.
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FAFSA Executive Advisor Jeremy Singer said the department’s original goal was to submit and process forms for 100 students during Beta 1.
“Instead, we had more than six times as many students and were able to see the forms move from submission to processing – and even corrections – without any major issues,” Singer said. “We have learned a tremendous amount from being able to observe students, families and community organizations interacting with the FAFSA form in real time, and we are on track for a full launch on or before December 1.”
Beta 2 launched Tuesday, DOE officials said at a news conference. This second round of testing includes 16 organizations that will work together to recruit thousands of students from diverse income, geographic, family and educational backgrounds, the department said.
Beta 2 also includes returning students for the first time during the testing period. Ahead of the Dec. 1 launch for all students, DOE officials said there will also be a third and fourth round of testing. Beta 3 is expected to launch in early November.
The beta testing for the 2025-26 FAFSA follows the rocky launch of the “Better FAFSA” earlier this year, which had multiple issues and delays and caused stress for students and families seeking help paying for college.
While many students experienced delays, students from mixed-status families, or students whose parents do not have Social Security numbers, were particularly affected by the problems.
On Tuesday, DOE officials told the press that “many” mixed-status students had successfully submitted their applications during Beta 1.
“During the extensive beta 1 testing, the Department identified opportunities to improve the usability of the FAFSA form, which was expected given that the Department has prioritized application stability,” the DOE news release said. “Improving usability will continue to be a focus of the department following the full launch of the FAFSA form on or before December 1.”
For Beta 1 testing, DOE employees attended FAFSA events in six cities across the country from October 1 to 3, 2025-26: Birmingham, Alabama; Santa Barbara, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Dallas, Texas; and Alexandria, Virginia.
The department expects that more attendees of these events will continue to submit the FAFSA form, along with students who will be targeted during Beta 2.
Bennett College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are participating in the upcoming phases of testing.
“On behalf of the Department of Education, I would like to extend a huge thank you to all the students, family members, counselors, financial aid experts and others who participated in the testing process,” said U.S. Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “Their efforts help us make the FAFSA ready for everyone.”
You can read more about the beta 1 results and upcoming testing on the department’s website.
FAFSA Resources
This article first appeared on EducationNC and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
