What is the deadline for Florida Bright Futures?

You must submit the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) by August 31 of your high school graduation year -- August 31, 2027 for the class of 2027. It opens October 1 of senior year. August 31 is also the last test date Bright Futures counts for its final evaluation.

Do I need to file the FAFSA for Bright Futures?

No. Bright Futures is merit-based and uses the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA), not the FAFSA. The FAFSA is what qualifies you for Florida's need-based Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG), and each college sets its own FAFSA deadline for it.

Is there a single Florida state financial aid deadline?

No. Bright Futures uses the FFAA deadline of August 31 after graduation. Four smaller state scholarships on the same FFAA (for children of deceased or disabled veterans, Rosewood, farmworker, and Ocoee scholarships) are due April 1. The need-based FSAG uses each college's own FAFSA deadline. The Benacquisto Scholarship has no application.

Florida State Financial Aid Deadlines: The FFAA, Bright Futures' August 31 Cutoff, FSAG, and Benacquisto

Florida's state financial aid deadlines depend on which program you mean, because Florida runs its aid through two different applications. Bright Futures, the state's merit scholarship, uses the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA), which opens October 1 of senior year and is due August 31 of your high school graduation year. The need-based Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG) uses the FAFSA, and each college sets its own deadline. The Benacquisto Scholarship for National Merit Scholars has no application at all.

All figures here are from the Florida Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA): its 2026-27 program fact sheets, its 2027-28 FFAA guide, its state aid calendar, and its 2024-25 annual report.

The two applications, side by side

	Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA)	FAFSA
What it's for	Bright Futures and four smaller state scholarships	FSAG (need-based) and federal aid
Opens	October 1 of senior year	October 1
Deadline	August 31 of graduation year (Bright Futures)	Set by each college
Who files	Seniors and recent graduates	Everyone seeking need-based aid

Most Florida seniors should file both. They don't overlap: the FFAA doesn't qualify you for FSAG, and the FAFSA doesn't qualify you for Bright Futures.

Bright Futures: FFAA by August 31

Bright Futures pays 100% of tuition and specific fees at a Florida public college for Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) and 75% for Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS). To be considered, you must complete the FFAA no later than August 31 of your high school graduation year. OSFA's FFAA guide notes that freshmen, sophomores, and juniors can't file; the application opens October 1 of senior year.

The other dates on OSFA's calendar:

January 31: test score and volunteer or paid work hours deadline for Bright Futures' Early Evaluation, the mid-senior-year check of your status.
May: volunteer or paid work hours deadline for the Final Evaluation. OSFA tells students to ask their high school counselor for the exact date.
August 31: the last test date counted for the Final Evaluation, and the FFAA deadline.

What you need to qualify -- the GPA, test score and service hours -- is covered in Bright Futures FAS and FMS cutoffs. For the class of 2027, FAS requires a 1330 SAT, 29 ACT or 95 CLT. Bright Futures uses its own weighted GPA calculation, not your transcript GPA.

In 2024-25, 37,114 students received a first-year Bright Futures award (21,280 FAS and 15,151 FMS), and 120,887 received one in total, per OSFA's annual report.

The four other programs on the FFAA -- Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans, the Rosewood Family Scholarship, the Florida Farmworker Student Scholarship, and the Randolph Bracy Ocoee Scholarship -- are due April 1, not August 31.

FSAG: the FAFSA, by your college's deadline

The Florida Student Assistance Grant is Florida's largest need-based grant. For 2025-26, awards run from $200 to $3,260 a year. In 2024-25, 155,293 students received one, averaging $1,726.

There's no state FSAG application and no statewide date. You file the FAFSA "in time to be processed error-free by the deadline specified by the institution," per OSFA, and each college decides who gets FSAG and how much. Each college works from a fixed state allocation, so missing your college's priority date can mean missing the grant. See how FSAG works.

Benacquisto: no application

The Benacquisto Scholarship pays a Florida resident who becomes a National Merit Scholar the full in-state cost of attendance, minus Bright Futures and the National Merit award. OSFA's FAQ is explicit: you don't need to file the FFAA to receive it. Your college verifies eligibility using a roster from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. In 2024-25, 491 new students received it, and the average award was $18,307. See how the Benacquisto Scholarship works.

Deadlines to put on the calendar (class of 2027)

October 1, 2026: FFAA and FAFSA open.
Your college's FAFSA priority date: for FSAG. Check each college's financial aid page.
January 31, 2027: Bright Futures Early Evaluation test score and service hours deadline.
April 1, 2027: FFAA deadline for the four smaller state scholarships.
August 31, 2027: Bright Futures FFAA deadline and last counted test date.

Admission deadlines are separate. For when to apply to each Florida public university, see Florida public university application deadlines for fall 2027.

What this means for you

File the FFAA early in senior year, not in August. The deadline is late, but filing early lets you see your Early Evaluation status and fix gaps in test scores or service hours.
File the FAFSA by your college's date, not August 31. FSAG runs out, and its deadlines are usually much earlier than Bright Futures'.
If you're a National Merit Semifinalist, don't wait on an application for Benacquisto. There isn't one. What matters is becoming a National Merit Scholar and choosing an eligible Florida college. Florida's class of 2027 Semifinalist cutoff is 216.