Verification for Federal Aid

If you have been selected for verification, all document requests will be posted as action items in your Workday student portal. Most documents can be submitted by uploading them directly to the action item.

General documentation requirements are:

• Completed verification worksheet
• Federal income tax information from those who did not or could not transfer their Federal Tax Information (FTI) or for those whose information did not transfer properly. The tax information can be provided by:
  
  • submitting a copy of your IRS Tax Return Transcript, which can be ordered from the IRS website.  |  Watch tutorial
  • submitting a signed and dated copy of your income tax return (1040 form) with Schedule 1 and/or Schedule 3 if those were filed.
• Other forms of documentation (such as W-2s) may be requested to resolve any conflicting information found during the federal verification process.

The U.S. Department of Education selects certain applicants to verify their identity and complete a Statement of Educational Purpose. These students are identified by being selected for V4 or V5 verification.

If selected for V4 or V5 verification, you must finalize the identity verification and Statement of Educational Purpose before a financial aid representative. You must provide a valid, unexpired government-issued photo identification such as a passport or driver's license.

If you cannot present yourself to a financial aid representative, you may complete the identity verification and Statement of Educational Purpose in the physical presence of a notary; Online notaries are not allowed. Once the form is completed, please mail the original form and a copy of the photo identification to the address below. Copies or scans of the form cannot be accepted.

Palm Beach State College - Office of Financial Aid
4200 Congress Avenue, MS#07
Lake Worth, FL 33461

2025-2026 students: The statement of educational purpose section has been
paused for the remainder of the 2025-2026 aid year, however, identity verification must still be completed

The deadline to submit verification documents is dependent on the type of federal student aid you are eligible to receive. If the deadline is not met, you become ineligible for that aid program.  This cannot be appealed and is a federal requirement. (Click here for federal verification deadlines.)

During peak times, processing can take at least 4 weeks. Be advised that as documentation is reviewed, we might find that additional documents are needed, which might add more time to processing. For this reason, please make sure to submit your verification documentation early to allow ample time for your verification to be processed. If your verification is not finalized before your payment deadline then you must arrange an alternative payment method until verification is finalized. 

No, verification must be completed first. The only exception is if you are selected after federal aid has paid to your account; those funds will not be sent back to the U.S. Department of Education unless completion of verification necessitates it or you fail to submit the required documents.