FAFSA Verification

What is verification?

Why is am I being chosen for verification?

There are several possibilities for being selected for FAFSA verification. Keep in mind that more possibilities exist, but the following are the main reasons for being selected:

• You were selected randomly.
• The submitted FAFSA application has incomplete data.
• The data on the FAFSA application appears to contradict itself.
• The FAFSA application has estimated information on it.

How to Obtain a Free Tax Return Transcript from the IRS

If your FAFSA is selected for verification, and you did not use the IRS Data Retrieval option or you changed the IRS data, you will be required to request a tax return transcript from IRS and submit it to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. Personal copies of tax returns can no longer be accepted.

Three ways to request your Tax Return Transcript: by phone, online, or by mail.
Please make sure you request a Tax Return Transcript.

To order by phone:
· Call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946, then select the following prompts:
· Option 2 (Tax Return Transcript)
· Enter and verify Social Security number (if joint return both SSN’s required)
· Enter and verify number of street address
· Press 2 for Tax Return Transcript and indicate which year (i.e. 2013)

To order online:
· Go to www.irs.gov, then select the following:
· Click Order a Tax Return or Account Transcript located in the left-hand column
· Click Order a Transcript under Step 3
· Enter your SSN, Date of Birth, Street Address, and Zip Code
· Click Continue
· Select Transcript for Tax Year (i.e. 2013)
· Click Continue

A tax return transcript can be ordered by mail:
· Complete Form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return)
· Form 4506-T is available online at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf.
· Mail to the address indicated on the form
Your transcript(s) will be mailed within 5 to 10 days from the IRS.

Verification Instructions

Before you can receive federal financial aid, you must provide Pratt with certain documents in a timely manner. You can find a list of all the requested documents by logging into your E-Central portal, following these steps:

• Log in to E-Central
• Click on Forms
• Click on A Financial Aid Checklist
• All documents required to complete will be listed

During the verification process, please continue to monitor your student email account for important information and additional questions from our office.

​​Minimum Requirements for Verification

Dependent Students

The specified verification form(s) listed on your Checklist are required to be completed.
An email was sent to Parents’ Email that was listed on the FAFSA containing the process that must happen in order for the verification documents to completed.

Below is the process to complete the PARENT verification process:
*You must know your students PCC Student ID number in order to complete this process.

1. Only one parent must complete this process, if applicable.
2. Go to https://prattcccentral.etrieve.cloud/
3. Authenticate yourself using one of the following email platforms
   1. Microsoft
   2. Facebook
      1. (*If you do not have an email or account with one of these providers, you will need to set one up*)
4. After authenticating, navigate to the “Forms” section to see the full list of forms available for submission. Please note, you will only need to submit the forms that are listed in the email that was sent to your student.
5. Upon completion of the entire form and the form is submitted, PCC Financial Aid Office will validate the information provided. Once validated, the form will be forwarded to your student.
6. Department of Education regulations state that the Verification Worksheet must be signed by both the parent and student.
7. Your PCC student will need to log into their E-Central account using their login credentials to submit the Verification Worksheet to the PCC Financial Aid Office.
   In the email sent to your student, there is a list of all items that you may need to upload. *Please refer to this email to ensure that the correct documentation is being uploaded. *
   1. Tax Documentation, W-2s or other financial documents.
   2. By law we cannot send you all the documentation that is needed. Again, please confirm with your PCC student what documentation is needed.

Please allow up to 24 hours for this process. Currently, our system does not allow the PCC Financial Aid Office to send out a list of certain documents that are needed. Please speak with your PCC Student to ensure that the correct documentation is being uploaded.

Independent Students

The specified verification form(s) listed on your Checklist are required to be completed.

• Log in to E-Central
• Click on Forms
• Click on A Financial Aid Checklist
• All documents required to complete will be listed

Any other documents requested in your financial aid requirements or by email request from our office.

Other than using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, once you have submitted documents to our office, please do not make any changes to your FAFSA as this will slow down the verification process.

Priority Dates and Deadlines

Fall – August 1
Spring – December 1

If this date falls on a weekend, the information is due the following Monday.

Consequences for submitting documents after the priority date

You must be prepared to either pay upfront for your classes or sign up for the payment plan. Your aid offer will then be created once your verification is complete. Verification processing and offer completion usually takes additional time due to the number of applicants being processed in the month before classes start.

It is in your best interest to submit your documents early.