Can spouses apply jointly for a Parent PLUS loan with FAFSA?

Unfortunately, Parent PLUS loans can only have one parent borrower. The Department of Education doesn't allow joint applications for these loans. One parent will need to be the primary borrower who completes the credit check and signs for the loan. The other parent could cosign as an endorser if the primary borrower has credit issues, but that's not the same as being joint borrowers with equal responsibility.

My husband and I faced this exact problem last year!!! We both wanted to be on the loan but NOPE the govt doesnt let you do that. We ended up just putting it in my name even though we both pay it. Its super annoying because we share all our other debts equally but this one is technically just on MY credit report even though my husband helps pay. The system is so backwards!!

Not sure but I think you can each take out separate PLUS loans to split it maybe?

While you can't apply jointly, a strategy that worked for our family was alternating years. I took out the Parent PLUS loan for freshman year, my spouse for sophomore year, me again for junior, etc. This balanced the debt between us. Just make sure you're both comfortable with the total amount and have a clear agreement between yourselves about payment responsibilities, even if the federal government only recognizes one borrower per loan.

i had this same wuestion when my son started at Statw University lol...the financial aid guy said only one parent can apply for the PLUs loan but you both can pay it back however you want to arrange that privatly bewteen you. its just in the governments system it doesnt show both names.

Have you tried calling the Federal Student Aid Info Center directly? I was having the worst time trying to figure out the exact same thing last year and kept getting disconnected or waiting on hold for hours. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person who could help. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and then call when an agent is ready. Saved me hours of frustration! There's a video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent I spoke with confirmed what others are saying - only one parent can be the legal borrower, but they had some good suggestions about how to manage the responsibility between spouses.

Actually, there's a legal aspect to consider here. Even though the Parent PLUS loan is in one parent's name officially, if you're married and live in a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin), debt acquired during marriage is legally considered shared debt regardless of whose name is on it. So while the federal government only recognizes one borrower, state law might treat you as joint borrowers anyway depending on where you live.

This whole PLUS loan system is DESIGNED to be confusing!!! They WANT us to mess up so they can charge more fees and interest. Why else would they make it so complicated?? And don't even get me started on the crazy interest rates they charge parents compared to what banks offer!!

One additional consideration about having only one parent as the PLUS loan borrower - if you're worried about what happens if something happens to the borrower, the loan is discharged upon death of the borrower. So even though you can't be joint borrowers, there is some benefit to having it in just one name from a risk perspective. Just something to think about when deciding which parent should be the official borrower.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! This is exactly the kind of real-world advice I was looking for. It sounds like the consensus is that we're stuck with one borrower per loan, which is disappointing but at least now I know what our options are. I'm leaning toward either the alternating years approach that Aisha suggested or possibly splitting it with separate loans, though those extra fees are concerning. I think we'll start by figuring out which of us has the better credit score and go from there. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their experiences - this community is so helpful for navigating all this financial aid confusion!

Hey there! I just went through this exact same situation with my twin daughters starting college this fall. What we ended up doing was having me apply for the PLUS loan since I had the slightly better credit score, but we set up a joint savings account specifically for making the loan payments so we're both contributing equally each month. It's not the same as being official co-borrowers, but it works for us practically speaking. Also, pro tip - make sure whoever applies has checked their credit report recently for any errors that might cause issues with approval. The PLUS loan credit check is pretty lenient compared to private loans, but it's still worth being prepared!