Creating the FSA ID
Who needs an FSA ID?
- Student
- Student's Spouse, if student is married
- All Parent Contributors, even if only one parent will be needed to grant consent (For help determining who your required parent contributor is, please visit our Who Fills Out the FAFSA webpage.)
Students and Parent Contributors who have not previously created an FSA ID must do so at studentaid.gov . Please note that it takes 3-5 days for Federal Student Aid to complete the required Social Security database validation. The FSA ID must be validated before it can be fully utilized for FAFSA completion. This means that students and parents should apply for an FSA ID at least a week prior to completing the FAFSA. There are negative impacts when an FSA ID is used prior to completed validation. These include:
- Inability to use the IRS Direct Data Exchange requiring manual tax entry and subsequent FAFSA updates and corrections
- Issues preventing submission of Parent Contributor invitations
- Problems logging back into the FAFSA if it is not submitted in one session
When typing out the address for a student or parent, ensure that you are typing out the entire name of the state instead of an abbreviation. Abbreviations for states will not allow you to advance to the next section.
If you are unable to proceed past the page with your address, remove your address and continue with only your phone number and email. After completing the FSA ID process, add your address by logging into studentaid.gov and editing the contact information under settings.