Creating a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) Guide - With SSN

For students and contributors (i.e., parent) who have a Social Security Number (SSN)

This guide was developed to help students and their parent(s) create an FSA ID for the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). An FSA ID will be necessary for all individuals (students and their parent(s)) when completing the FAFSA. Parents will be referred to as “Contributors,” and they will be asked to provide information on an applicant’s FAFSA. If a student and their contributor(s) already have an FSA ID, they will not need to create a new FSA ID, however, additional verification steps may need to be completed for the 2024-2025 FAFSA.

Contributors that have previously signed the FAFSA by printing and mailing in the ‘Parent Signature Page’ will now need to create an FSA ID to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA. You can create an FSA ID regardless of if you have an SSN or not. To create the FSA ID, follow the steps below for contributors who have an SSN. A separate guide is available for contributors who do not have an SSN. Please note that there is an identity verification process when creating an FSA ID. Information gathered from the identity verification process is solely used to confirm your identity and will not be shared with other agencies.

Note: A contributor can be the biological or legally adoptive parent, a parent’s spouse/partner, or student’s spouse/partner. This will be contingent on the student’s dependency status and parent status.

Please be aware of the following requirements:

• Students and contributors will need an active and reliable email address which will need to be verified, so it is important that you use an email account that can be accessed easily.
• It is recommended that the FSA ID be created a few days before you start the 2024-2025 FAFSA, as it takes 1-3 days for the identity verification process.
  • Once students and contributors successfully create an FSA ID you can complete and submit the FAFSA the same day, however, a FAFSA Submission Summary will not be provided until the FSA ID is verified. This means that the Student Aid Index (SAI) will not be immediately calculated, and a Pell estimate will not be provided.
  • The SAI is what will be used in place of the formerly used Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to determine how much federal aid the student is eligible to receive.
• Parents who are not married but living together or married but file taxes separately, will both need to have an FSA ID. The FAFSA will require both contributors to sign-in separately to submit their information because they filed taxes separately.

• 1

  Log In

  • Go to studentaid.gov
  • Click on ‘Create Account’ located toward the upper right corner of the page.
  • Click on ‘Get Started’ (or ‘Log In’ if you already have an FSA ID).
• 2

  Personal Information

  • Enter First Name, Middle Initial (if applicable), Last Name, Date of Birth and Social Security Number (SSN).
  • Make sure to enter your name and SSN exactly as they appear on your Social Security card.
• 3

  Account Information

  • Create Username.
  • Enter active email address (required).
    • You will need to have a separate email address for each FSA ID created. Each email address can only be associated with one studentaid.gov account. If you do not have an email address, you can create a free one using an email provider (e.g., Google, Yahoo, AOL).
  • Confirm email address.
  • Create Password.
• 4

  Contact Information

  • Enter your permanent mailing address (optional).
  • Enter your mobile phone number (this will also be used as a verification method for Step 8).
• 5

  Communication Preferences

  • Set the best way for the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) Office to contact you regarding FAFSA updates, or if they need to assist you with unlocking your studentaid.gov account (an account is locked after 3 failed log-in attempts).
• 6

  Challenge Questions

  • Choose and answer four security questions to use if you forget your FSA ID (username and password) and need to recover your account login information.
• 7

  Confirm and Verify

  • Confirm the information you entered. You can edit and update at this time if needed.
  • You will need to read and agree to the FSA’s Terms and Conditions to continue.
• 8

  Enable Two-Step Verification

  • Two-Step Verification will be used every time you log in to studentaid.gov. Choose from one of the options below:
    • Option 1: Verify your email address and/or mobile phone number.
      • You should have entered this information in previous steps.
    • Option 2: Use an Authenticator App
      • Click on ‘Set up an Authenticator App,’ then scan the QR code with your mobile phone to download from your mobile app store (such as Google Play Store or Apple Store).
  • Once you complete the Two-Step Verification process, you will receive a ‘backup code.’ Write down the backup code and keep it in a safe place. This code will be used to log in to your account if you no longer have access to the other verification methods previously linked to your account (i.e., mobile phone number and/or email address).
• 9

  Next Steps

  • Once you have your FSA ID and your identity has been verified:
    • Go to studentaid.gov
    • Click on ‘Log In’ located toward the upper right corner of the page.
    • Enter the Username and Password used when you created your FSA ID Account.
    • Access the 2024-2025 FAFSA, which will be available by December 31, 2023.
  • For additional questions or support, please visit the Federal Student Aid Contact Centers for assistance via phone, email, or live chat.