You can file the FAFSA as many times as you want. There is no lifetime cap on submissions, and you fill out a new form for every academic year you want federal financial aid.1Federal Student Aid. 3 FAFSA Deadlines You Need To Know Now The limits that matter sit on the aid itself: Pell Grants run out after the equivalent of six full-time years, and federal student loans stop at fixed dollar ceilings both per year and across your lifetime.
Filing the FAFSA Each Year
There is no multi-year FAFSA. Each application covers a single academic year, and as long as you stay enrolled in an eligible program and meet eligibility requirements, you can keep filing indefinitely.1Federal Student Aid. 3 FAFSA Deadlines You Need To Know Now
The FAFSA for the 2026–27 academic year opens on October 1, 2025, and the federal deadline to submit it is June 30, 2027.2Federal Student Aid. 2026-27 FAFSA Form The federal deadline is usually the last one that matters to you. Your state and your school each set earlier deadlines of their own, and many distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis until the money runs out.1Federal Student Aid. 3 FAFSA Deadlines You Need To Know Now File early each year to see the full range of grants, loans, and work-study you qualify for.
The Pell Grant Six-Year Lifetime Cap
The Pell Grant is the largest federal grant for undergraduates, with a maximum scheduled award of $7,395 for the 2026–27 year.3Federal Student Aid. 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant Maximum and Minimum Award Amounts The government tracks your usage through a figure called Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU). Once your LEU hits 600%, you are permanently done with Pell.4Federal Student Aid. Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU)
Each full scheduled award consumes 100% of LEU, so 600% works out to six full-time academic years, or roughly twelve semesters.4Federal Student Aid. Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) Part-time enrollment burns through LEU more slowly. A student attending half-time receives roughly half the scheduled award and uses about 50% of LEU per year.
Two other Pell boundaries are worth knowing. Pell is undergraduate-only. Once you earn a bachelor’s degree, you lose eligibility regardless of how much LEU you have left.5Federal Student Aid. Student Eligibility for Pell Grants And if you take summer classes on top of fall and spring, Year-Round Pell lets you receive up to 150% of your scheduled award in a single year.6Federal Student Aid. 2025-2026 Federal Pell Grant Maximum and Minimum Award Amounts That accelerates graduation, but it also drains the 600% cap faster. A full-time student receiving Year-Round Pell every year could exhaust the entire lifetime cap in four years rather than six.
Federal Student Loan Limits
Federal student loans have two layers: an annual cap for each year in school and an aggregate cap on the total unpaid principal you can carry. Both apply to Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and filing another FAFSA does not get you past either.
Annual Borrowing Limits
How much you can borrow in a given year depends on your grade level and whether you are a dependent or independent student. Dependent undergraduates can borrow the following combined subsidized and unsubsidized amounts:7Federal Student Aid. Annual and Aggregate Loan Limits
- First year: $5,500, with no more than $3,500 subsidized
- Second year: $6,500, with no more than $4,500 subsidized
- Third year and beyond: $7,500, with no more than $5,500 subsidized
Independent undergraduates, and dependent students whose parents cannot get a PLUS Loan, qualify for higher annual amounts:7Federal Student Aid. Annual and Aggregate Loan Limits
- First year: $9,500, with no more than $3,500 subsidized
- Second year: $10,500, with no more than $4,500 subsidized
- Third year and beyond: $12,500, with no more than $5,500 subsidized
Graduate and professional students can borrow up to $20,500 per year in Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Subsidized loans are not available at the graduate level.7Federal Student Aid. Annual and Aggregate Loan Limits
Aggregate Lifetime Limits
Aggregate limits cap the total unpaid principal you can have outstanding across all federal student loans of these types. Once you reach the ceiling, additional Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized borrowing stops even if you keep filing the FAFSA:8eCFR. 34 CFR 685.203 – Loan Limits
- Dependent undergraduates: $31,000 total, no more than $23,000 subsidized
- Independent undergraduates: $57,500 total, no more than $23,000 subsidized
- Graduate and professional students: $138,500 total (including any undergraduate borrowing), no more than $65,500 subsidized
Because the limit measures outstanding principal, paying down your loans restores borrowing capacity. As your balance drops below the aggregate cap, you can borrow again up to the ceiling.
PLUS Loans Are Not Capped the Same Way
Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS Loans work under a different rule. Neither has an aggregate lifetime cap. The most you can borrow in either program is the school’s cost of attendance minus any other financial aid you receive, and eligibility requires passing a credit check.9Federal Student Aid. How Much Money Can I Borrow in Federal Student Loans?
Other Ways Your Aid Can End Before the Caps
Filing the FAFSA every year is only part of staying eligible. Two other rules can shut off your aid earlier than the Pell and loan ceilings suggest.
The first is satisfactory academic progress (SAP). Every school that participates in federal student aid must have an SAP policy, and if you fall below it, your aid can be suspended even after a timely FAFSA.10Federal Student Aid. Staying Eligible Policies vary by school, but they generally look at your GPA (often a 2.0 minimum), the percentage of attempted credits you actually complete (often around two-thirds), and a maximum timeframe: you cannot attempt more than 150% of the credits your program requires. For a 120-credit degree, that ceiling is 180 attempted credits.11Federal Student Aid. School-Determined Requirements Changing majors, retaking failed courses, or transferring with credits that don’t fully apply can push you toward that limit faster than you expect. Schools do allow SAP appeals based on circumstances like the death of a relative, serious illness, or other situations beyond your control.12eCFR. 34 CFR 668.34 – Satisfactory Academic Progress
The second is an Unusual Enrollment History (UEH) flag. If you have received Pell Grants or Direct Loans at multiple schools recently, especially at institutions where you did not earn credit, the federal processing system may flag your FAFSA for review. Your new school will investigate your enrollment history over the four prior award years, and if you cannot document a satisfactory reason for the pattern, the school must terminate your eligibility. That determination is not appealable to the Department of Education.13Federal Student Aid. NSLDS Financial Aid History
Checking What You Have Left
Log in to your account at studentaid.gov to see how much Pell Grant LEU you have used and what your outstanding federal loan balances look like. The dashboard shows your total federal aid history, including your progress toward the 600% Pell cap and the disbursement amounts and balances for each of your federal loans.10Federal Student Aid. Staying Eligible Look at it before every academic year. If you are approaching an aggregate loan ceiling or running low on Pell eligibility, you have time to adjust your enrollment plans or line up other funding before a gap opens up mid-degree.