FAFSA application shows wrong last name - can't fix with social security number
I'm beyond frustrated right now! The college advisor at our high school helped us fill out my daughter's FAFSA application last week, but somehow her first name got entered as her last name on the form. Now when I try to log in to fix it, the system says "applicant cannot be identified by SSN" and won't let me make any changes. I've called the Federal Student Aid number THREE times but keep getting disconnected after 45+ minutes on hold. The deadline for her university's priority financial aid is in 2 weeks! Has anyone dealt with this kind of name error on FAFSA? Is there a special form I need to fill out to get this fixed?
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Kaitlyn Otto
omg the SAME thing happened to my son!! they put "Michael" as his last name instead of "Thompson" and we couldn't get it fixed for WEEKS. so frustrating. did u try filling out a correction form on the website? that didnt work for us btw
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Kristian Bishop
•No I haven't seen any correction form? Where would I find that? The system won't even let me log in to her account now because of the name/SSN mismatch.
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Axel Far
This is actually a common issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. When there's a name mismatch between what's entered and what's in the Social Security Administration database, the system creates this error. You need to fill out a FAFSA Correction Request Form (FC-023) and upload it along with a copy of your daughter's social security card and ID. The form is located under the "Help" section, then "Forms", then "Correction Requests" on the studentaid.gov website.
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Kristian Bishop
•Thank you so much! I'll look for that form right now. Do you know how long it typically takes to process these correction requests? Her priority aid deadline is coming up fast.
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Axel Far
•Unfortunately, name corrections are taking 10-15 business days to process right now due to the high volume of applications. Since you're approaching a priority deadline, I'd recommend also contacting your daughter's university financial aid office directly to explain the situation. Most schools will grant an extension while you're resolving FAFSA technical issues as long as you notify them in advance.
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Jasmine Hernandez
THE EXACT SAME THING happened to me!!!! I filled out my son's FAFSA and somehow his middle name (James) became his last name instead of our actual last name (Rodriguez). It's like the form just DECIDED to rearrange his name! I spent HOURS trying to get it fixed and when I called they just kept transferring me around and nobody could help. This system is BROKEN!!! Why can't they just let us edit our own information?!?!
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Kaitlyn Otto
•right???? like why would they make it so hard to fix something so simple? then they wonder why ppl get so stressed about financial aid stuff!
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Luis Johnson
So for the name issue, I had to wait on hold for almost 2 hours with FSA support to get this fixed for my nephew. If you're having trouble getting through on the phone, I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to a real FAFSA agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual hours-long wait. They have this video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and their website is claimyr.com. Saved me so much time and frustration when we were dealing with our name issue.
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Kristian Bishop
•Thank you for this tip! I'll check out that service. I've now been disconnected 4 times trying to reach someone at FSA.
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Ellie Kim
•is that service legit? seems like it might be a scam or something idk
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Luis Johnson
•It's definitely legitimate. My financial aid counselor at the community college actually recommended it to me. You still talk directly to the official FAFSA representatives, this just helps you skip the hold time.
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Fiona Sand
I work in a university financial aid office, and we're seeing this name error a lot with the new FAFSA rollout. Here's what you need to do: 1. Complete the FC-023 form as mentioned above 2. Include a CLEAR copy of your daughter's social security card and photo ID 3. Call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 (better to call early morning) 4. Ask them to add a "processing note" to her file regarding the pending name correction 5. Contact your daughter's college financial aid office with the confirmation number from your correction submission Most importantly, request that they flag her file for a "name mismatch exemption" which allows them to process her aid package while the correction is pending. This is a standard procedure for the 2025-2026 application cycle due to all the system issues.
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Kristian Bishop
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I just submitted the FC-023 form with her documents attached. I'll call tomorrow morning to get that processing note added and then contact her university.
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Mohammad Khaled
I had a similar problem but it was with my birthday being entered wrong. It took about 2 weeks to get fixed through the correction form but my SAI score was wrong during that time and then they had to recalculate everything. Make sure you check all the calculations once the name is fixed because it might impact the aid amounts!
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Kristian Bishop
•That's a good point - I hadn't thought about this affecting her SAI calculation. I'll definitely double-check everything once we get past this name issue.
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Ellie Kim
have you tried going back to that NACEE place that helped you fill it out? they should fix their mistake since they caused the problem in the first place...
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Kristian Bishop
•I did call them yesterday, but they said once it's submitted they can't make changes directly. They offered to help me with the correction form though, so I might take them up on that if I can't get this fixed through the website.
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Kaitlyn Otto
one more thing!! make sure u print out proof that u submitted the correction form and keep the confirmation number! my friend had to prove she tried to fix her fasfa when her school was asking why the info was wrong
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Kristian Bishop
•That's a great tip - I took screenshots of the confirmation page and saved the email receipt too. I'm not taking any chances with this!
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Fiona Sand
Just wanted to follow up - recently the Department of Education announced a special process for name/SSN mismatches for the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Your daughter's college financial aid office can now process a "provisional SAI" while name corrections are pending. Make sure to specifically request this when you contact them, as not all schools are automatically implementing this flexibility. The technical term they need to hear is "provisional processing exemption under the April 2025 guidance.
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Kristian Bishop
•Update: I finally got this resolved! Called FSA this morning using that Claimyr service someone recommended above and got through in about 20 minutes. The agent added a processing note and gave me a confirmation number. Then I called my daughter's university financial aid office, mentioned the "provisional processing exemption" and they were able to flag her file so her aid won't be delayed while the correction processes. Thanks everyone for your help!
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Rajiv Kumar
Wow, so glad to see this got resolved! I'm actually dealing with a similar issue right now where my son's middle name got swapped with his last name on the FAFSA. Reading through all these responses has been super helpful - I had no idea about the FC-023 form or the provisional processing exemption. Going to try that Claimyr service tomorrow morning to get through to FSA faster. It's crazy how many people are having name entry problems with this year's FAFSA! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions.
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