Making your StudentAid.gov account

One login for each person

A StudentAid.gov account is a username and password tied to one person's identity. You use it to sign the FAFSA, to read your FAFSA Submission Summary and, if you borrow, to sign loan documents and track what you owe. The same account stays with you through every year of school.

Parents and spouses who are asked to add information to your form are called contributors, and each contributor needs an account in their own name. Sharing one login, or creating an account on someone else's behalf, causes signature problems and can lock people out. A parent can sit beside you while you set yours up, but the typing and the choices should be yours.

What to have ready

You will need your name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card, your date of birth, your Social Security number, a mailing address, and an email address and mobile number you check often. Each email address and each mobile number can be linked to only one account. A parent and a student therefore need separate contact details for this.

After you submit your details, the site checks your identity against Social Security records, which can take a few days. Leave room for that wait before any deadline. A contributor without a Social Security number can still make an account through an extra identity check that studentaid.gov explains step by step.

Keeping the account yours

Choose a password you have not used anywhere else and store it somewhere safe. Save any backup or recovery code the site shows you, and switch on whatever sign-in protection the account settings offer. If you forget your details, the login page has its own steps for recovering a username or resetting a password.

Guard this login the way you would guard a bank password. Anyone who has it can sign federal documents in your name, so no school, scholarship service or adviser should ever ask you to hand it over.

Inviting your contributors

Once your own account works, the FAFSA itself asks for each contributor's name, date of birth, Social Security number and email address. The form then sends that person an invitation to log in and complete their part. They can do this from their own device, at a time that suits them.

The details you type for a contributor must agree with the details on their account. Ask each one for the exact spelling of their legal name before you enter it, since a mismatch can stop the invitation from linking to the right person.