---
title: "FAFSA checklist"
method: POST
path: "/v1/tools/fafsa"
---

# FAFSA checklist

`POST /v1/tools/fafsa`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.counselorai.app`
- URL: `https://api.counselorai.app/v1/tools/fafsa`
- Auth: HTTP bearer

Produce a FAFSA action checklist for one student, keyed to their grade, dependency status and income band. Answers the process question a family actually has: what do we do, in what order, by when. Does not compute an award.

## Headers

- `Idempotency-Key` string
- `X-Max-Credits` integer

## Request body

- object
  - `studentName` string: The student this is about. Used in the output text.
  - `grade` '9' | '10' | '11' | '12' | 'transfer': How far out the family is. 12 means act now.
  - `dependency` 'dependent' | 'independent' | 'unsure': Dependency drives whose income is reported. unsure is a valid answer and changes the checklist.
  - `income` 'under30' | '30to60' | '60to100' | 'over100' | 'unknown': Household income band. Drives whether Pell is in play.
  - `specials` string[]: Situations that change the filing rules: divorced or separated parents, a stepparent, a sibling also in college, undocumented status, foster care, housing instability, disability, a mid-year income change.
  - `schools` string: Schools on the list, if known. Deadlines differ by school.
  - `timeline` string: Where they are in the cycle.
  - `notes` string: Anything else that should shape the output.

## Response `200`

Tool output

- object
  - `request_id` string
  - `tool` string
  - `output` object
    - `text` string, required: The generated output.
    - `meta` object: Pipeline metadata (pipeline, verify status, fix pass).
    - `verification` object: Whether a model verify pass checked this text, and its verdict.
      - `checked` boolean
      - `method` string, nullable
      - `status` 'PASS' | 'FAIL' | 'null', nullable
      - `score` integer, nullable
      - `fix_applied` boolean, nullable
    - `grounding` object: What the generation was anchored to. fact_sheet is the exact ground truth the verify pass checked dollar figures, names, and dates against; null for tools without a fact-grounded verify pass.
      - `fact_sheet` string, nullable
      - `fields_reflected_in_prompt` string[]
      - `fields_mapped_or_transformed` string[]
      - `fields_not_reflected` string[]
    - `input_fidelity` string: 'strict': this lane never truncates silently; an over-limit input is rejected with a validation error, so the output was built on exactly what was sent.
  - `billing` object
    - `status` 'settled' | 'pending'
    - `credits_charged` integer, nullable
    - `credits_remaining` integer, nullable

## Other responses

- `402`: Insufficient credits or approved spending limit exceeded. Inspect error.code.
- `429`: Rate limited. Retry after the Retry-After header.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/counselorai/apis/counselorai-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/counselorai/apis/counselorai-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/counselorai/apis/counselorai-api/revisions/1d93eed35463?raw)