UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls

Apply for Aid

Verification

FAFSA Verification 

The federal government requires all institutions of higher education, including UWRF, to examine data from selected students in a process called verification. In this process, financial aid offices are required to check the accuracy of information reported on all selected FAFSAs. If you would like to learn more about Verification, please visit StudentAid.Gov.

There are three ways to know if you have been selected for verification:

  1. On your SAR (Student Aid Report) which you receive via email from FAFSA after they have processed your application.
  2. You will receive an email from the UWRF Financial Aid Office to your UWRF email account once we have your FAFSA information and you have been accepted at UWRF through the admissions process.
  3. You will have items from the Financial Aid Office on your eSIS To-Do List (click on the item to see which office it is from) such as a verification worksheet or tax data. 

You must follow the instructions to complete and turn in the documents on your eSIS To-Do List before we can complete your financial aid award process. If you have any questions as you complete any of these documents, please let us know.

 

Verification Forms

* Please note you may need to access these forms from your desktop/laptop.

 

2023-2024 Verification Forms
(fall 2023 - summer 2024)                         

23-24 Dependent Verification Worksheet

23-24 Independent Verification Worksheet

23-24 High School Completion Status

23-24 Identity & Statement of Educational Purpose
Students can do either of the following:

  1. Come in to the Financial Aid office with unexpired, valid, government-issued photo ID to sign the form in the office (Monday - Friday, 7:45am - 4:30pm, 133 Rodli Hall)
  2. Download the form and sign form in front of a Notary. Submit signed form, along with a copy of the ID verified by the Notary, to the Financial Aid office. Download the 23-24 Identity & Statement of Educational Purpose: To be signed in presence of a notary

 

IRS Data Retrieval Tool

The Federal Government now requires the use of the IRS Data Retrieval tool to transfer your tax information to UW-River Falls.
However, there are the exceptions to why you may not be eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, including:

  • Married filing separately (If you or your parents filed as "Married Filing Separately," you need to request a transcript for both filers.)
  • Filed an amended tax return
  • Applied for filing extensions (If you or your parents applied for a tax filing extension, the verification process cannot be completed until you have filed your taxes).
  • Tax return was too recently filed

If you have filed an amended tax return, you must ALSO submit a 1040X.

If you are unable to submit your tax information via the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, your FAFSA will bypass the option to Link to IRS; instead you must follow the directions below to request an IRS Tax Return Transcript.

 

IRS Tax Return Transcript

*Note: Effective July 2019, the IRS will mail tax transcript requests only to your address of record. Do NOT request your transcript be sent directly to UWRF.

You can request your IRS Tax Return Transcript online or by calling 1-800-908-9946.
You must request the Tax Return Transcript.
If you have filed an amended tax return, you must ALSO submit a 1040X.

Required data for Tax Return Transcript

  • Social Security Number
  • Date of birth
  • Address used on your return

Once you have received your Tax Return Transcript from the IRS, you must submit it along with your completed Verification Worksheet by mailing or bringing it to:

UWRF Financial Aid Office
133 Rodli Hall
410 S. 3rd Street
River Falls, WI 54022

You may also submit your completed information by fax: 715-425-0708.

Remember: You cannot be awarded financial aid until your verification process is completed.