The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) unlocks access to federal financial aid programs and anywhere from 17 million to 21 million postsecondary students complete the FAFSA annually. A significant portion of these students cannot receive their aid without completing an additional, lengthy audit-like process called verification to confirm that their FAFSA is accurate. Verification has recently come under scrutiny for its questionable value to the taxpayer and the burden it places on students and institutions. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has set goals to decrease overall verification rates and suspended some types of verification during the COVID-19 pandemic. The offering of this relief is an admission of the burden caused by verification, but the lack of extension is confusing at best for students. National College Attainment Network (NCAN) and National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) joined together to survey both financial aid administrators as well as college access and success advisers on the impact of verification on their students and their work within this landscape of verification relief and scrutiny. This paper explores those experiences and offers recommendations to decrease the burden verification places on students and financial aid administrators alike.