FAFSA FSA ID login nightmare - stuck in parent access loop with no help line

Ughhh I feel ur pain! Same exact thing happened with me trying to do my daughter's FAFSA last month. The system is so broken! Have u tried logging in from a completely diff device? For some weird reason my login worked on my phone but not on my desktop. Also their system remembers old FSA IDs even from years ago so if you ever made one before 2022 it might be trying to use that one.

check if ur using the right website. theres two diff ones now with the new FAFSA... studentaid.gov for the main site and then theres fafsa.gov that sometimes redirects wrong. also are u using the email address or the username to login?? they're different

This is a common issue with the new FAFSA system rollout. I recommend three specific steps: 1. Clear ALL browser cookies and cache completely before attempting login again 2. Make sure you're using your FSA ID, not your son's (parents frequently mix these up) 3. Check if your email has any password reset messages from past attempts - sometimes these take hours to arrive and contain important information If you're still locked out after these steps, there's a special FSA ID recovery form that's separate from the normal password reset. You can find it by clicking "Forgot FSA ID" and then selecting the "Verify Identity" option.

I went through this exact nightmare in January and spent WEEKS trying to get through to customer service. I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to a real FSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. It was worth every penny to finally get my account unlocked. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and their website is claimyr.com. The FAFSA agent was able to manually verify my identity and fix whatever weird glitch was happening with my account.

As someone who works in a university financial aid office, I can tell you this is unfortunately extremely common with the new FAFSA system. There are a few technical workarounds I've seen work for parents: 1. If you have ANY other children who previously submitted FAFSAs, try using that original FSA ID information. The system often has trouble with parent accounts across multiple children. 2. Try accessing during off-peak hours (4-6am ET) when the system has less traffic. 3. If you absolutely cannot get in, there is a paper FAFSA option as a last resort, though it will take longer to process. Rest assured colleges are VERY aware of these issues and many have extended their priority deadlines. I would recommend contacting your son's college financial aid office directly to explain the situation.

THIS SYSTEM IS BROKEN BY DESIGN!!!1! I had the EXACT same issue and called for TWO WEEKS before finally getting through. When I finally reached someone, they told me my account was flagged because I had "too many password reset attempts" which THEY NEVER WARNED ME ABOUT! How are we supposed to know these secret rules? The whole thing is designed to prevent students from getting aid. And they wonder why college enrollment is dropping!

I had a similar problem and discovered my FSA ID was linked to an old email account I haven't used in years. Could that be your issue? Also, there's a specific account recovery process that's different from password reset. On the login page, click "Forgot FSA ID" (not password), then select "Recover My FSA ID" and you'll need to verify with your Social Security number, DOB, and name exactly as you entered it originally. Hope this helps!

jst wnt 2 say the whole FAFSA process is SO BAD this year omg. took my family like 3 weeks to finally submit. hang in there

UPDATE: Finally got it working! After trying the account recovery process again and getting nowhere, I used the Claimyr service that someone suggested above. Got connected to an actual FSA agent in about 15 minutes! They confirmed my identity and found that my account had been automatically locked due to "suspicious activity" (which was just me trying to log in multiple times). They manually unlocked it and helped me reset everything properly. Was able to complete my portion of my son's FAFSA last night. What a nightmare this has been, but thank you all for your help and suggestions!