FAFSA Social Security verification error - locked out of daughter's account!

This exact thing happened to me with my son last month! The SSA verification system has been super buggy with the new FAFSA. Call the Federal Student Aid office directly - we waited 2+ hours but finally got someone who manually verified his info. The system is messed up right now because they're still working out bugs from the FAFSA Simplification Act changes.

This is a common issue with the new FAFSA system. The problem happens because of a mismatch between how the name is formatted in the FSA ID system versus how it's stored in the Social Security Administration database. Even a single space, hyphen, or capitalization difference can trigger this error. Here's what worked for my students (I'm a college advisor): 1. Try entering her name EXACTLY as it appears on her Social Security card - including middle names/initials 2. If she has a hyphenated last name, try it both with and without the hyphen 3. Double check her date of birth - even one digit off will cause this error 4. The system sometimes has trouble with special characters (apostrophes, hyphens, etc.) If none of that works, you'll need to contact FSA directly to have them manually verify her identity and reset the account connection to her SSN.

my kid had this 2 i think its because of the new SAI thing instead of EFC they changed everything and now nothing works right smh

After trying to reach FSA for THREE DAYS about this exact issue, I finally got through using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a system that holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of hold time, and I finally got my daughter's account verification fixed. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ showing how it works. The FSA agent told me they're getting thousands of these SSA verification errors daily because of the new system.

Lol everyone blaming the "new FAFSA" but these errors happened with the old system too. My older kid had same issue in 2019. Sometimes its just a government computer glitch nothing to do with SAI or whatever.

As someone who works in a financial aid office, I can tell you this is unfortunately widespread right now. The technical solution depends on exactly which error message you're getting: 1. If it says "SSA cannot verify identity" but doesn't mention an existing account, that's usually a name/DOB formatting issue. 2. If it specifically says "an account is already established with this SSN" that usually means she might have created an account in the past that she's forgotten about. Try the account recovery option using her email rather than creating a new account. If that doesn't work, you MUST call FSA directly. While your case is pending, I strongly recommend contacting your daughter's schools to let them know she's experiencing a technical issue with her FAFSA submission - most schools will grant extensions for verified technical problems.

We had this EXACT issue and what finally worked was going to our local Social Security office in person!!! They printed out an official verification letter with her exact name/DOB/SSN as it appears in their system. Then we used PRECISELY that formatting when creating a new FSA ID (had to use a different email). Worked instantly! The issue was that her legal first name is Katherine but goes by Kate, and somehow the systems were cross-referencing differently.

its insane how bad the FAFSA website works like how do they expect students to get financial aid when they can't even login????????

UPDATE: We finally got this fixed! For anyone with the same problem, here's what worked: 1. We called FSA using the Claimyr service that someone suggested (huge time saver!) 2. The agent found that my daughter had created an account back when she took the PSAT (she completely forgot about this) 3. The name format in that old account didn't match her SS card exactly 4. They had to merge the accounts and verify her identity manually The agent said they're seeing tons of these cases because of database integration issues with the new system. Her FAFSA is finally submitted! Thanks everyone for your help!

This thread is so helpful! As someone who's about to start this process with my youngest, I'm bookmarking all these solutions. Quick question - for those who had to call FSA, about how long did the actual fix take once you got through to an agent? My daughter's application deadline is coming up fast and I want to know if this is something that can be resolved in one call or if it requires multiple follow-ups.

Thanks for this detailed thread! I'm going through the exact same issue with my son right now. The "account already established" error is driving me crazy. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like the PSAT connection might be our problem too - he definitely created some kind of College Board account for testing. I'm going to try the Claimyr service to get through to FSA and see if they can merge accounts like they did for Andre's daughter. Really appreciate everyone sharing their solutions - this community is a lifesaver!