Washington ? Student aid applicants, check the fine print. That information you put on your application to the U.S. Department of Education is being shared with the Pentagon, Justice Department and other agencies even private companies like debt collectors.

A report released Wednesday by congressional investigators found government agencies frequently share information gleaned from various federal applications sometimes without the applicant’s knowledge of where it might go. And it’s legal.

“People are generally unaware of all of the sharing,” said Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a civil liberties organization based in Washington.

The information sharing ranges from passport application data which can be shared with foreign governments to details on farm loan applications. The law requires that agencies that receive the applicant’s form must disclose how they use the information.

Education Department spokeswoman Stephanie Babyak said applicants were told in detail on the paper and electronic forms of their applications that information would be shared. They list some but not all federal agencies that will receive information, and they don’t always specify what outside companies might also see it.

The General Accounting Office Congress’ investigative arm checked four often-used government forms to see how the agencies collected and shared information both inside and outside government. The report listed all the ways agencies share personal data, some of which are not explicitly listed on the form itself.

The four forms were the Education Department’s student aid request, Agriculture’s standard loan form for farmers, Labor’s federal workers’ compensation form and a passport application from the State Department.

Much of the sharing is due to “computer matching agreements,” a way to automate routine checks.

For example, the Education Department gives information on financial aid applicants to:

The Justice Department to see if they have been convicted of a drug-related offense.

The Department of Veterans Affairs to check a veteran’s eligibility status for student aid.

The Selective Service System to make sure a male applicant has registered for the draft.

The Immigration and Naturalization Department to see if an applicant is eligible for federal benefits.

If an applicant is delinquent on a federal loan, application information goes to a private collection bureau. The Education Department also sends the student’s personal financial information to state agencies to coordinate student aid.

Investigators found the agencies largely complied with federal information sharing and privacy regulations.

The sharing is allowed under an exception in the Privacy Act, which protects a person’s information from sharing without prior consent. Called the “routine use exception,” agencies must make a public statement in the Federal Register every time they want to share data in a new way.