Just wanted to jump in as someone who literally just resolved this exact same issue yesterday! I'm a parent helping my son with his FAFSA and we were stuck in the "missing signatures" loop for over a week. After reading through all these helpful comments, I tried the combination approach: used Chrome browser, cleared cookies completely, had my son sign first, waited 24 hours, then I signed. But the absolute game-changer was realizing we needed to continue clicking through ALL the pages after the signatures - there were actually 3 more screens after the signature confirmation page before we got to the actual final submission with the confirmation number! The FAFSA interface is so misleading because it makes you think you're done after signatures, but you're not. Once we got that final confirmation number and email, our application moved to "processing" status within hours. For anyone still struggling - don't stop at the green checkmarks for signatures, keep clicking "Next" until you see an actual confirmation number on your screen!

As a newcomer to this community and the FAFSA process, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions here! I'm starting my son's 2025-2026 FAFSA application next week and was already feeling overwhelmed, but reading through all these detailed troubleshooting steps has given me a roadmap for avoiding this signature issue entirely. The key takeaways I'm noting down: use Chrome browser, clear cookies first, complete ALL screens until I get an actual confirmation number (not just stop at signature confirmations), and if we do get stuck, try the 24-hour signing method or contact FSA directly. It's so reassuring to see a community where parents and students actually help each other navigate these technical nightmares. Hopefully FSA gets their act together soon, but in the meantime, this thread is going to save so many families from weeks of stress!

Update: My Student Aid Index calculation just came through! Only took 4 days, which seems really fast. And I was approved for the same Pell Grant amount as last year, so I guess not being routed to the IRS verification didn't hurt anything. Thanks everyone for calming my nerves!

Congrats on getting your SAI so quickly! This is really helpful to see how the new system is working. I'm a first-time FAFSA filer and was also confused about not getting the IRS verification step - I kept double-checking that I had completed everything correctly. It's reassuring to hear that the streamlined process can actually speed things up rather than cause problems. Thanks for sharing your update!

This is such a relief to read! I've been pulling my hair out for the past two days trying to figure out this signature issue with my son's FAFSA. We submitted everything last month and got the processing confirmation, but then saw that dreaded "Action Required: Signature" message when we checked the status. I was starting to panic thinking we'd have to restart the entire application! The step-by-step instructions from Mason Stone are exactly what I needed - I had no idea there was a separate "Sign & Submit" section at the end. Going to log in right now and get both of our signatures completed. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences, it really helps to know this is such a widespread issue and not something we did wrong!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to have found this thread! I'm currently dealing with this exact same signature issue with my daughter's 2025-2026 FAFSA. We completed and submitted everything three weeks ago, got the processing confirmation email, but when I logged in yesterday there was that confusing "Action Required: Signature" message. I honestly thought we had already signed everything when we first submitted! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - especially Mason Stone's detailed step-by-step instructions. It's both frustrating and reassuring to see that this is such a widespread problem with the new system. I had no idea there was a difference between using your FSA ID to log in and the actual legal signature at the end of the form. Going to follow those exact steps tonight when my daughter gets home from school so we can both complete the signature process together. Really hoping our SAI shows up within that 3-5 day timeframe since we have some early scholarship deadlines approaching. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - this community is a lifesaver!

I'm going through something very similar right now! My partner and I have been together for 8 years but aren't married specifically because of FAFSA considerations for my two kids. We just started the home buying process last month. From what I've learned so far, the most important thing is understanding that FAFSA looks at YOUR assets, not your partner's, since you're not married. So if you own 25% of a $400k house, they're looking at your $100k in equity, not the full $400k. One thing that's been helpful for me is using the Federal Student Aid Estimator tool to run different scenarios. I plugged in numbers for owning 0%, 25%, and 50% of our potential home purchase, and the difference in estimated aid was smaller than I expected - maybe a few hundred dollars per year rather than thousands. The bigger question for me has been the legal protection aspect that others mentioned. I've decided I'd rather have some asset impact on FAFSA than risk losing my investment if something happens to our relationship. My kids will only be in college for a few more years, but I need housing security for much longer than that. Have you looked at any specific schools' net price calculators? Some are more sensitive to home equity than others in their aid formulas.

I've been following this thread with great interest since I'm also navigating the unmarried-partner-home-buying situation with college-bound kids! One resource that might be helpful is reaching out directly to the financial aid offices at your kids' target schools. I found that many aid counselors have seen these situations before and can give you school-specific guidance on how they handle partial home ownership in unmarried partnerships. Also, regarding the CSS Profile that someone mentioned - it's worth noting that while CSS Profile schools often have more aid available, they also tend to look more closely at assets including home equity. However, many have policies that cap how much home equity they'll consider (often 2-3x annual income), which could work in your favor given the income difference between you and your fiancé. The more I read everyone's experiences, the more convinced I am that the legal protection aspect should be the primary consideration. The FAFSA impact seems manageable, but losing your housing security would be devastating. Have you considered getting pre-qualified to see what ownership percentage would make sense based on your actual financial contributions?

Unfortunately, the FAFSA doesn't have a general "comments" section where you can explain special circumstances. However, after you submit the FAFSA, you can contact each college's financial aid office directly to explain your situation. This is called a "Professional Judgment" or "Special Circumstances" review. Financial aid officers have discretion to adjust your Student Aid Index (SAI) based on documented special circumstances that aren't captured by the standard FAFSA questions. This might include: - Unusual medical expenses not covered by insurance - Job loss or reduction in income since the tax year reported - One-time income events that inflated your reported income - Unusual family circumstances I highly recommend reaching out to each school's financial aid office after submitting the FAFSA. Be prepared to provide documentation of your circumstances.

Just wanted to add one more important tip - when you're filling out the FAFSA, make sure to answer the parent marital status question correctly. Since you're divorced, select "Divorced or separated" rather than "Single" even though you might consider yourself single. The FAFSA uses specific definitions, and this choice affects which subsequent questions you'll see. Also, I noticed you mentioned being frustrated about this situation - totally understandable! But try not to let the stress overwhelm you. Thousands of single parents navigate this process successfully every year. Once you get through it the first time, renewals in subsequent years are much easier since most of your information carries over. One last thing - if your daughter is considering taking out student loans, make sure you both understand the difference between federal subsidized/unsubsidized loans and private loans. The FAFSA determines eligibility for federal aid, which typically has much better terms than private alternatives.