Law School FAFSA Codes: Federal School Code Guide for U.S. Law Schools

^{Last Updated: September 2026}

Paying for law school often requires a combination of scholarships, personal resources, and student loans. For U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens seeking federal student aid, one of the most important steps is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

When you complete the FAFSA, you identify the colleges, universities, and law schools that should receive your financial aid information. A school's Federal School Code helps make sure your FAFSA results are sent to the correct institution.

Federal School Codes can change, and some law schools use the code of their parent university while others have a separate law-school-specific code. For that reason, law school applicants should always verify a code before submitting or updating their FAFSA.

The U.S. Department of Education maintains the official Federal School Code List and updates the list periodically. The current 2026–27 Federal School Code List was updated in August 2026.

What Is a FAFSA Federal School Code?

A Federal School Code is a unique identifier assigned by the U.S. Department of Education to an institution participating in federal student aid programs.

When completing your FAFSA, you select the law schools or universities that should receive your FAFSA information. Those schools then use the information, together with their own financial aid policies and applications, to determine the financial aid for which you may qualify.

Federal School Codes generally contain six characters. Some contain only numbers, while others include a letter.

Examples include:

Yale Law School: 001426
Harvard Law School: E00471
Georgetown University Law Center: G21075
Stanford Law School: E00341

Because the law school may not use the same Federal School Code as the university's undergraduate division, always search for the specific institution named by your law school's financial aid office.

Law School FAFSA Codes: Quick-Reference List

The following are Federal School Codes for several frequently searched U.S. law schools. These codes have been checked against current school financial aid information.

Law School	Federal School Code
UC Berkeley School of Law	001312
University of Chicago Law School	001774
Columbia Law School	002707
Cornell Law School	002711
Duke University School of Law	002920
Georgetown University Law Center	G21075
Harvard Law School	E00471
University of Michigan Law School	E00506
NYU School of Law	002785
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School	003378
Stanford Law School	E00341
UCLA School of Law	001315
USC Gould School of Law	001328
University of Virginia School of Law	003745
Yale Law School	001426

Important: This table is intended as a convenient quick reference, not a replacement for the Department of Education's official database. Before submitting your FAFSA, confirm the code through your law school's financial aid office or the current Federal School Code List.

This is particularly important because historical FAFSA codes are not always reliable. Some law schools that previously maintained separate codes now direct applicants to use their parent university's code.

How to Find the FAFSA Code for Any Law School

If your law school is not listed above, you do not need to search through an old static directory.

Go to the official FAFSA application through Federal Student Aid and search for the institution you want to add.

You can generally search using:

The school's name
The university's name
City
State
Federal School Code

Check the law school's financial aid website if more than one listing appears for the university. Some universities have separate Federal School Codes for their law, medical, business, or other professional schools.

For example, Harvard Law School specifically instructs law students to use E00471, while Berkeley Law directs applicants to use UC Berkeley's general school code, 001312.

How Many Law Schools Can You Put on the FAFSA?

Applicants completing the FAFSA online can currently list up to 20 schools at one time. Federal Student Aid recommends adding schools you are considering even if you have not yet been admitted.

This is useful for law school applicants because admissions and financial aid decisions frequently occur on different schedules.

You do not have to know which law school you will attend before completing your FAFSA.

If you apply to more schools later, you can return to your FAFSA and add or remove schools after your form has been processed. Schools receiving your FAFSA information cannot see which other schools you listed.

Should You Add a Law School Before You Are Accepted?

Yes.

Federal Student Aid recommends listing schools you are considering even if you have not yet been accepted.

Waiting for an admission decision before submitting financial aid information could cause you to miss an institutional priority deadline.

The admissions office and financial aid office generally operate separate processes. Completing the FAFSA therefore does not imply that you have committed to attending the school.

If you are applying broadly, add the schools that are realistically under consideration and monitor each law school's financial aid deadlines separately.

For more information about financing a legal education, see TLS's Funding Your Legal Education and Guide to Law School Loans.

Do Law Students Have to Include Their Parents on the FAFSA?

For federal FAFSA purposes, a student pursuing a graduate or professional degree is generally considered an independent student.

That means law students generally report their own financial information and, if married, information required from their spouse rather than their parents.

However, there is an important distinction between federal aid and institutional law school aid.

A law school can require additional financial information when determining eligibility for its own need-based grants or scholarships. Depending on the school, this may include:

Parental income and assets
A CSS Profile
A school-specific financial aid application
Tax documentation
Additional supporting financial documents

For example, Georgetown Law requires the CSS Profile from certain JD applicants seeking need-based grant assistance, while Penn Carey Law also requires a CSS Profile from first-year students seeking institutional aid.

Therefore, "I do not need my parents' information for the FAFSA" does not necessarily mean "I do not need my parents' information for law school financial aid."

Always review each law school's financial aid requirements separately.

Does Completing the FAFSA Guarantee Financial Aid?

No.

The FAFSA is an application used to establish eligibility for federal student aid and can also provide information used by institutions in assembling financial aid packages. Your FAFSA Submission Summary is not itself a financial aid offer. Schools provide their own financial aid offers after evaluating your eligibility and, generally, after admission.

Your final financing package could include a combination of:

Law school scholarships
Institutional need-based grants
Federal student loans
Federal Work-Study, when available
Outside scholarships
Private education loans
Personal or family resources

Before borrowing, compare the total cost of attendance—not just tuition. Housing, health insurance, books, transportation, bar-related expenses, and everyday living costs can substantially change the true cost of earning a JD.

TLS's 6 Ways to Save Tuition Money Before Beginning Law School provides additional ideas for reducing costs before enrollment.

LawCrossing also provides a detailed Guide to Law School Scholarships and Grants and an overview of Law School Tuition and the Cost of Attendance.

FAFSA and Federal Student Loans for Law Students

Completing the FAFSA is generally the first federal step for eligible law students seeking federal student loans.

Federal student loan rules for graduate and professional students changed significantly beginning July 1, 2026. In particular, Direct PLUS Loans are generally no longer available to graduate or professional students beginning a new program after that date, although limited exceptions may apply to certain previously enrolled borrowers. Direct Unsubsidized Loans remain available under updated borrowing limits.

Because federal loan limits, interest rates, repayment programs, and eligibility rules can change, applicants should use current Federal Student Aid information rather than relying on older law school financing guides when making borrowing decisions.

The amount of debt you accept can have consequences long after graduation. LawCrossing's Mastering Law School Debt: Expert Strategies to Achieve Financial Freedom and Career Success discusses strategies for evaluating and managing law school debt.

Students considering government, nonprofit, or other qualifying public-service careers may also want to review LawCrossing's Legal Career Paths That Qualify for Loan Forgiveness.

For applicants comparing schools based on cost, scholarships, employment outcomes, and potential earnings, LawCrossing's Compensation, ROI & Market Intelligence resources can help put tuition and borrowing decisions into a broader career context.

When Should You Complete the FAFSA for Law School?

Complete the FAFSA as early as practical once the application for the relevant academic year becomes available.

There is not one universal law school financial aid deadline. You may need to consider:

The federal FAFSA deadline
Your state's financial aid deadline
The law school's FAFSA priority deadline
Institutional scholarship deadlines
CSS Profile deadlines
Deadlines for school-specific financial aid applications

A school's priority financial aid deadline may be much earlier than the federal FAFSA deadline.

Do not assume that you can safely wait until you decide where to enroll.

Create a financial aid checklist for every law school on your application list and verify the requirements directly with each financial aid office.

Can You Change the Law Schools on Your FAFSA Later?

Yes.

After your FAFSA has been processed, you can make certain corrections, including adding additional schools to receive your FAFSA information. The online FAFSA can have up to 20 schools listed at one time.

This can be useful if:

You submit additional law school applications
You are admitted from a waitlist
You decide that another school should receive your financial information
You accidentally selected the wrong university or campus

Whenever you make a change, verify that the correct institution appears before submitting the update.

Why You Should Always Verify a Law School FAFSA Code

Law schools merge, close, change names, create new campuses, or begin using different university-level financial aid systems.

A FAFSA code copied from an old forum discussion, blog post, or historical law school guide may therefore no longer be correct.

Federal Student Aid publishes updated Federal School Code information periodically, with scheduled updates generally made throughout the year.

The safest process is:

Check your law school's current financial aid instructions.
Confirm the Federal School Code.
Search for the school through StudentAid.gov.
Make sure the institution and location displayed are correct.
Submit your FAFSA before the school's priority deadline.
Check your FAFSA Submission Summary after processing.
Monitor the law school's financial aid portal for additional requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions About Law School FAFSA Codes

What is a law school's FAFSA code?

A FAFSA code, officially called a Federal School Code, identifies the institution that should receive your FAFSA information.

Does every law school have its own FAFSA code?

No. Some law schools have a separate Federal School Code, while others use their university's main code.

For example, Harvard Law School uses a law-school-specific code, E00471, while Berkeley Law instructs applicants to use UC Berkeley's university code, 001312.

Can I submit my FAFSA before being accepted to law school?

Yes. Federal Student Aid recommends adding schools you plan to apply to or have already applied to even if you have not been accepted yet.

How many law schools can I list?

The online FAFSA currently allows you to list up to 20 schools at one time.

Can law schools see the other schools on my FAFSA?

No. Schools receiving your FAFSA results cannot see the other institutions you included on the form.

Do law students need parental information on the FAFSA?

Graduate and professional students are generally considered independent for federal FAFSA purposes, so parental information generally is not required. If you are married, spouse information may be required. Individual law schools can separately require parental financial information for institutional grants or scholarships.

What if I entered the wrong FAFSA code?

After your FAFSA has been processed, you can make certain corrections and add or change schools. Review your FAFSA Submission Summary and confirm that the schools you intended to select received your information.

Where can I find the most current law school FAFSA code?

Start with the school's current financial aid website and confirm the institution through the U.S. Department of Education's Federal School Code List.

Key Takeaways for Law School Applicants

The FAFSA is an important part of financial planning for many law students, but an outdated Federal School Code can delay the process.

Remember:

Federal School Codes identify the institutions receiving your FAFSA information.
Some law schools use a separate code; others use their university's code.
You can currently include up to 20 schools on the online FAFSA.
You do not need to wait for an admission decision before adding a school.
Law students are generally independent students for federal FAFSA purposes.
Institutional need-based aid may require additional parental or financial information.
Federal School Codes and financial aid rules can change.
Always verify the code with the law school and Federal Student Aid before submitting your FAFSA.

Finally, look beyond the FAFSA when deciding how much law school you can realistically afford. Compare scholarships, expected debt, employment outcomes, geographic opportunities, and likely starting salaries before accepting a financial aid package.

The goal is not simply to find enough money to attend law school. It is to finance your legal education in a way that leaves you with the greatest possible career flexibility after graduation.

Related Top-Law-Schools.com Resources

Related LawCrossing Resources

Related Top-Law-Schools.com Forum Discussions

The TLS forums contain community experiences and discussions about scholarships, law school debt, FAFSA, and financial aid. Because financial aid rules change, older forum posts should be treated as peer discussion rather than current federal guidance.

Important Financial Aid Note

Federal student aid regulations, Federal School Codes, institutional financial aid forms, loan programs, and law school requirements can change. Applicants should confirm all current requirements with Federal Student Aid and the financial aid office of each law school before making financial decisions.