Frequently Asked Questions - FSA ID

What is an FSA ID and who needs one?

Do parents and students need to wait until the 2024-2025 FAFSA opens in December to create an FSA ID?

How do I or other contributors create an FSA ID?

Do parents without a social security number also need to have an FSA ID?

What if my parents are not in the United States?

My parent remarried. Is their spouse required to get an FSA ID as well?

Will parents and students need to create new FSA ID if they have had an FSA ID in the past?

I created an FSA ID at a FAFSA night at my high school and could not use it immediately. Do you recommend creating it a few days before?

Why do I have to set up two-step verification for my StudentAid.gov account?

Does each contributor need a unique phone number or email for multi-factor authentication?

Do both parents need to create an FSA ID?

What if the student and parent already have an FSA ID?

If a parent does not want to or refuses to create an FSA ID, is there an alternative for that parent to provide consent, such as mailing consent page with a wet signature?  

What is an FSA ID and who needs one?

  • The FSA ID is a username and password combination you use to log in to U.S. Department of Education (ED) online systems. The FSA ID is your legal signature and shouldn't be created or used by anyone other than you—not even your parent, your child, a school official, or a loan company representative.
  • All students and contributors must create a StudentAid.gov account to complete the FAFSA form online.
  • Students and contributors will use their FSA ID account username and password to log in to their accounts.
  • Even if a parent or spouse contributor doesn't have a Social Security Number, they can still get an FSA ID to use on the 2024-2025 FAFSA. Details for this process will be made available when the FAFSA opens in December 2023.

Do parents and students need to wait until the 2024-2025 FAFSA opens in December to create an FSA ID?

  • No! The FSA ID process is not changing. Parents and students can create the FSA ID and have it ready any time before the FAFSA application starts.  

How do I or other contributors create an FSA ID?

  • To create an FSA ID, you'll need:
    • Your Social Security number (SSN)
    • Full name
    • Date of birth
    • Email address or mobile phone number - required to log in and verify account
    • Username: you will create a memorable username
    • Password: you will create a unique password
    • Challenge Questions: you will choose challenge questions and answers to retrieve your account information if you forget it.
  • This Federal Student Aid video has step-by-step instructions for creating an FSA ID.

Do parents without a social security number also need to have an FSA ID?

  • Yes! Starting 2024-25, parents and/or spouses who are not U.S. Citizens or Eligible Noncitizens will use their Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to create an FSA ID to authorize the direct data exchange with the IRS.

What if my parents are not in the United States?

  • Your parents' citizenship status doesn't affect your eligibility for federal aid. They cannot create an FSA ID, but you can complete the FAFSA on paper and ask for their signatures. For FAFSA purposes, you must provide your parents' income, no matter where they reside.

My parent remarried. Is their spouse required to get an FSA ID as well?

  • If the parent you indicate on the FAFSA is the parent who remarried, it will depend on how they filed taxes. If they filed jointly, only one parent needs an FSA ID. If they filed separately, both the parent and step parent will need their own FSA ID.

Will parents and students need to create new FSA ID if they have had an FSA ID in the past?

I created an FSA ID at a FAFSA night at my high school and could not use it immediately. Do you recommend creating it a few days before?

  • There are situations when a parent creates their FSA ID, verifies it and is ready to use, but sometimes the system asks them to wait 24-48 hours to use it. It depends on the information matching system. 
  • It is best to create your FSA ID a few days before starting the FAFSA online. FSA IDs made on the day of might work but will not have full functionality yet, like using the Direct Data Exchange (FADDX) to transfer tax information.

Why do I have to set up two-step verification for my StudentAid.gov account?

  • Two-step verification, a form of multi-factor authentication (MFA), helps protect your StudentAid.gov account with additional protection from fraud.

Does each contributor need a unique phone number or email for multi-factor authentication?

  • Yes! Each contributor must have their own, unique phone number or email.
  • A student and parent cannot use the same phone number email for Multi-factor Authentication (MFA).
  • A student and their spouse cannot use the same phone number or email for MFA.
  • Two parents cannot use the same phone number or email for MFA.

Do both parents need to create an FSA ID?

  • This depends on the family's situation. For example, if a student has married parents who filed taxes separately, both parents will need to make an FSA ID.

What if the student and parent already have an FSA ID?

  • Great! Just ensure all existing FSA IDs are verified and ready to use when the FAFSA 2024-25 opens sometime in December 2023.

If a parent does not want to or refuses to create an FSA ID, is there an alternative for that parent to provide consent, such as mailing consent page with a wet signature?

  • Starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, a separate signature page will no longer exist. There are two alternative options for contributors to provide consent who refuse to create an FSA ID:
    • The first option would be the student applying using the paper FAFSA and obtaining wet signatures from all contributors, including the parents, who also affirm their consent.
    • The other option is for the student completes their section and self-reports information for the parent section on the FAFSA form. When the student submits their FAFSA form without the parent's signature, it will be placed in rejected status by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS). The parent can then provide their signature and consent on a paper copy of the FAFSA Submission Summary. This method is not recommended due to complexity and increased processing time.  

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