FAFSA application disappeared after student signature error - entire form gone!

omg yes!! this happened to my daughter last week too! the system is SO glitchy this year. we had to start over and it was a NIGHTMARE. make sure u have all ur tax documents ready again.. ugh sorry ur dealing with this

This is actually a known issue with the new digital signature verification system. What likely happened is that your application wasn't fully deleted, but rather got stuck in a processing state that's not visible to users. I'd recommend taking these steps before starting over: 1. Clear your browser cache and cookies completely 2. Try logging in from a different device (preferably desktop over mobile) 3. Wait 24-48 hours as sometimes the system automatically resolves these processing errors If none of that works, you'll need to contact Federal Student Aid directly to see if they can recover your application data on their end. The official information shows that applications with signature errors should remain accessible for 45 days.

The exact same thing happened to me!!! I spent HOURS entering everything and then it all disappeared. When I called FSA, I waited 2.5 HOURS only to be disconnected. I ended up having to submit everything again which was beyond frustrating. Make sure you have all your tax docs handy for round 2... and take screenshots of each page as you complete them this time. That way if something happens again, you at least have proof of what you entered.

I had luck getting through to an FSA agent by using Claimyr (claimyr.com). You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. They can actually have an agent call you back instead of waiting on hold for hours. The agent was able to recover my daughter's application that had a similar signature issue. Apparently they can see applications in their system even when they disappear from our view. Worth a try before starting over from scratch!

you probably just need to wait. the systems are SO overloaded this year with all those changes to the FAFSA. we had an error message too and everything came back after like 3 days. don't stress.

One more technical detail to be aware of - applications that encounter signature errors specifically are being flagged for additional verification this year due to the new digital signature process. If you do need to start over, make sure both the student AND parent are physically present at the same time when completing the form to avoid signature issues. Also, the system works better with Chrome or Edge browsers than Safari or Firefox based on my experience with several clients.

UPDATE: I got through to someone at FSA using that Claimyr service another commenter suggested. It worked surprisingly well - I got a call back in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. They found our application in their system! Apparently it was flagged for a verification issue unrelated to the signature problem. The agent reset something on their end and said it should reappear in our account within 24 hours. I'll update again tomorrow to let everyone know if it worked. Thanks for the help, everyone!

FINAL UPDATE: Our application is back! It showed up this morning with a status of "Processing" and all our information intact. The agent was right - they hadn't lost our data after all. Such a relief not having to start over. For anyone else having this problem, definitely try contacting FSA directly before assuming you need to start over. And that Claimyr service was definitely worth it to avoid the hold times.