What is the difference between a Renewal FAFSA and the FAFSA ?

The Renewal FAFSA uses your answers from the FAFSA you filed last year to pre-fill most of the application, dramatically cutting down on the time you need to fill out this year's form. Your Renewal FAFSA, whether paper or over the Internet, will display last year's answers in the answer blanks. If you choose to use a Renewal FAFSA, you need to provide current answers to items like the financial and tax questions, and update any information that has changed from the previous year.