FAFSA application stuck at SSA verification - can't complete despite SSA saying my info is correct

same exact thing happening to me rn!! ive tried 4 times & keep getting that stupid error. social security # is definately right but keeps saying "not verified" 🙄

This is actually a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA form that quite a few students are experiencing. The problem is with the interface between StudentAid.gov and the Social Security Administration's verification system. Here's what you can try: 1. Clear your browser cache/cookies and try a completely different browser 2. Wait 24-48 hours before attempting again (sometimes their systems need time to reset) 3. Try using the mobile app instead of the website (or vice versa) 4. Make sure your name on the FAFSA exactly matches your Social Security card - even middle initials matter 5. If you've recently changed your name, that could be causing the discrepancy If none of that works, you'll need to contact Federal Student Aid directly to have them manually override the verification issue.

I've had the EXACT same problem!! Been trying for 2 weeks now and nothing is working. Called FSA three times already and can't get through to an actual person - just keep getting disconnected or stuck on hold for literally HOURS. This is seriously affecting my ability to get financial aid!!! I'm a first-gen student and my parents don't understand any of this. If I miss the priority deadline because of this stupid technical glitch I might lose out on thousands in grants. WHY IS THIS SO COMPLICATED???

I work in a college financial aid office and we've seen this issue with dozens of students this cycle. The problem is usually resolved by one of two approaches: 1. If you have a middle name or suffix (Jr, II, etc.) in your SSA records, make sure it's entered EXACTLY the same way on your FAFSA. The SSA system is extremely particular about this. 2. If your exact name isn't the issue, you'll need to contact FSA directly to request a manual override. Unfortunately, their phone lines are overwhelmed right now with the new FAFSA rollout issues. In the meantime, document all your attempts to resolve this (screenshots of errors, dates of calls). If you miss deadlines, your school's financial aid office can often make accommodations if you can prove you were actively trying to resolve technical issues.

I had this EXACT problem last month! After trying everything, I finally got through to an actual FSA agent who fixed it in like 5 minutes. The trick was using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they got me past the hold system and connected to a real person at FSA who could override the SSA verification block. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Seriously worth it for peace of mind, and I got my SAI calculated within 48 hours after they fixed the verification issue. Good luck!

They just needed my basic info to confirm my identity - name, DOB, SSN, and the email associated with my FAFSA account. The agent said it was a known issue with the verification system and applied an override on their end. Took less than 10 minutes once I actually got connected to someone.

this happened to my roommate 2 weeks ago... try putting ur middle name initial only even if ur SS card has full middle name... weird but it worked for him lol

Just wondering... have u tried completing it at a different time of day? Sometimes the FSA systems get overloaded during peak hours (evenings especially). I had better luck submitting mine at like 6am when server traffic was lower. Might not fix ur specific issue but worth a shot?

Update: I FINALLY got through to someone at FSA after using that Claimyr service that someone mentioned above. They confirmed it's a system bug affecting people whose SSNs were issued in certain states (didn't specify which ones). The agent manually verified my info and pushed my application through. Now my SAI is calculating! HUGE relief. Just sharing in case others are still stuck.

Quick update on this issue: FSA just released a statement acknowledging the SSA verification problems. They recommend: 1. Verify your name, DOB and SSN exactly match your Social Security card 2. Try the system again after 72 hours (they're doing backend fixes) 3. If still having issues, contact them directly They've also extended priority deadlines at many schools due to these technical difficulties, so check with your financial aid office about extensions if needed.

UPDATE: Problem solved! After trying literally everything else, I used Claimyr to get through to FSA (took about 15 minutes instead of hours on hold). The agent confirmed it was indeed a system error on their end - something about a mismatch in how my state's SSN records are formatted in their new system. They manually verified my info and pushed my application through! My SAI is finally calculating now and should be ready in 3-5 business days. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions - and definitely check if your school has extended FAFSA deadlines due to all these system issues.

Congrats on getting it resolved! I'm dealing with this same issue right now and have been stuck for over a week. Your experience gives me hope that there's actually a solution. I've tried all the usual troubleshooting (different browsers, clearing cache, checking my info 100 times) but nothing works. Quick question - when you used Claimyr, did you have to pay for the service or was there a free option? And did the FSA agent mention anything about how long these backend fixes might take? I'm wondering if I should just wait the 72 hours they mentioned or go straight to trying to get through to someone. Thanks for sharing your solution - this thread has been super helpful for those of us dealing with this nightmare!

I'm experiencing the exact same issue! Been trying for about 10 days now and getting nowhere. It's so frustrating because like you said, everything is 100% correct - I've verified my SSN, DOB, and name spelling multiple times. Even had my mom double-check my Social Security card to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious. Reading through everyone's responses here is both reassuring (knowing I'm not alone) and terrifying (seeing how many people are dealing with this). The fact that it seems to be a widespread system issue makes me feel better that it's not something I'm doing wrong, but also worried about whether it'll get fixed in time for deadlines. I think I'm going to try the Claimyr route that several people mentioned - seems like the most reliable way to actually get through to someone who can manually override the verification block. Has anyone else had success with this approach recently? Thanks for starting this thread - it's been incredibly helpful to see all the different solutions people have tried!

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! Been stuck at the SSA verification step for almost 2 weeks and it's absolutely maddening. Like everyone else here, I've triple-checked all my info - SSN, DOB, name spelling - everything matches my Social Security card perfectly. What's really frustrating is that I called SSA directly and they confirmed all my information is correct in their system, but FAFSA keeps rejecting it. The disconnect between the two systems is incredibly frustrating, especially when you're racing against financial aid deadlines. Reading through all these responses has been both a relief (knowing I'm not the only one) and terrifying (seeing how widespread this issue is). It's clear this is a major system problem on FSA's end, not something we're doing wrong. I think I'm going to try the Claimyr approach that several people have mentioned - it seems like the most reliable way to actually get through to someone who can manually override this verification block. The small fee is definitely worth it to avoid sitting on hold for hours and potentially missing deadlines. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, especially those who posted updates after getting it resolved. This thread has been incredibly helpful for navigating this mess!

I'm having the EXACT same problem and it's driving me insane! Been stuck for 6 days now trying to get past the SSA verification step. Like everyone else, I've checked my info a million times - SSN, DOB, name spelling - everything is 100% correct on my Social Security card. What's really getting to me is that this seems to be such a widespread issue but there's no clear communication from FSA about when it might be fixed. My financial aid deadline is in 2.5 weeks and I'm starting to seriously panic. Based on all the success stories in this thread, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and try Claimyr to get through to an actual FSA agent. The fee seems totally worth it at this point to avoid the hold time nightmare and actually get this resolved. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - especially those who posted updates after getting it fixed. This thread has been a sanity saver knowing I'm not the only one dealing with this mess!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Been trying for over a week and getting the same SSA verification error every single time. It's so frustrating because I know my information is 100% correct - I've verified it against my actual Social Security card multiple times. What really gets me is that this seems to be affecting so many students but there's been very little clear communication from FSA about timeline for fixes or workarounds. My priority deadline is coming up fast and I was starting to panic thinking I was doing something wrong. Reading through all the experiences shared here has been incredibly helpful - especially knowing that multiple people have had success using Claimyr to get through to an actual FSA agent who can manually override the verification. At this point I think that's my best bet since all the standard troubleshooting hasn't worked. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and solutions! This thread has been a lifesaver for those of us stuck in this verification nightmare.

I'm experiencing this EXACT same issue and it's been such a nightmare! Been stuck at the SSA verification step for about 5 days now despite triple-checking all my information. Like everyone else here, I've verified my SSN, DOB, and name spelling against my actual Social Security card multiple times - everything is 100% correct. What's really frustrating is the lack of clear communication from FSA about this widespread issue. Reading through this thread has been both a huge relief (knowing it's not just me or something I'm doing wrong) and incredibly stressful (seeing how many students are affected by this technical glitch). Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr approach to get through to an actual FSA agent who can manually override the verification. The fee seems totally worth it to avoid sitting on hold for hours and potentially missing my financial aid deadline. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions - especially those who posted updates after getting it resolved! This thread has been a lifesaver for navigating this mess. It's so helpful to know we're all in this together and that there are actual working solutions out there.

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! Been stuck at the SSA verification step for about 9 days and it's absolutely maddening. Like everyone else here, I've quadruple-checked my SSN, DOB, and name spelling - everything matches my Social Security card perfectly, but FAFSA keeps rejecting it with that stupid "can't verify" error. What really drives me crazy is that I also called SSA directly and they confirmed all my information is correct in their system, so it's definitely a problem with the integration between FSA and SSA systems. It's so frustrating that we're all dealing with this technical mess that's completely out of our control, especially when financial aid deadlines are looming. This thread has been such a lifesaver - both reassuring to know it's not just me and that there are actual solutions that work. Based on all the success stories here, I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr approach to get through to an FSA agent who can manually override this verification block. The fee seems totally worth it to avoid the endless hold times and actually get this resolved before my deadline hits. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions! It's so helpful to know we're all navigating this mess together and that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm experiencing this exact same SSA verification nightmare! Been stuck for about 6 days now and it's incredibly frustrating. Like everyone else, I've verified my SSN, DOB, and name spelling against my Social Security card multiple times - everything is 100% correct but FAFSA keeps throwing that verification error. Reading through this thread has been such a huge help - both reassuring to know it's a widespread system issue (not user error) and great to see actual solutions that work. The Claimyr approach seems to be the most reliable fix based on all the success stories shared here. I was hesitant about paying a fee at first, but honestly it seems totally worth it to avoid sitting on hold for hours and potentially missing my financial aid deadline over a technical glitch that's completely out of my control. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - especially those who posted updates after getting it resolved! This community support has been invaluable for navigating this mess.

I'm having this EXACT same problem and honestly this thread is keeping me sane right now! Been stuck at the SSA verification for 4 days straight and I was convinced I was somehow entering my own information wrong even though I've checked it like a million times. What's really wild is that I also called SSA and they said everything looks perfect on their end - so it's definitely some kind of integration issue between their system and FSA's. Super frustrating that this technical glitch is affecting so many of us when we're all racing against deadlines! Reading all these success stories with Claimyr is giving me hope though. I was on the fence about paying the fee but honestly at this point it seems like the most reliable way to actually talk to someone who can fix this manually. Way better than potentially missing my aid deadline over a system bug that's totally out of my control. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences - especially the people who came back with updates after getting it resolved! This community has been a lifesaver for navigating this nightmare.

I'm dealing with this EXACT same issue right now! Been stuck for about 12 days and it's absolutely driving me crazy. Like everyone else here, I've verified my SSN, DOB, and name spelling about 100 times - everything matches my Social Security card perfectly but FAFSA keeps giving me that stupid verification error. What really confirms this is a system issue is that I also called SSA directly and they said all my info is correct in their database. So it's definitely some kind of technical problem with how FSA's system talks to SSA's system, not anything we're doing wrong. This thread has been such a lifesaver - both for my sanity (knowing I'm not alone) and for finding actual solutions. Based on all the success stories here, I'm definitely going to try Claimyr to get through to an FSA agent who can manually override this verification nightmare. The fee seems totally worth it at this point to avoid missing my deadline over a technical glitch that's completely out of my control. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and solutions! It's so reassuring to know there are others going through this mess and that there are ways to get it fixed. Fingers crossed I can get this resolved soon!

I'm going through this exact same nightmare! Been stuck at the SSA verification step for about a week now and it's so incredibly frustrating. Like everyone else here, I've checked my SSN, DOB, and name spelling probably 50+ times against my Social Security card - everything is 100% correct but FAFSA keeps rejecting it. Reading through all these experiences has been both terrifying (seeing how many people are affected) and reassuring (knowing it's definitely not something I'm doing wrong). The fact that multiple people have called SSA directly and confirmed their info is correct really drives home that this is a system integration problem between FSA and SSA. My priority deadline is in less than 3 weeks and I was starting to panic, but seeing all the success stories with Claimyr is giving me hope. The fee seems totally worth it at this point to avoid potentially missing out on financial aid over a technical glitch that's completely out of my control. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and solutions - especially those who came back with updates after getting it resolved! This thread has been a sanity saver knowing there are actual working solutions out there.

I'm experiencing this EXACT same verification nightmare! Been stuck for about 10 days now trying to get past the SSA verification step and it's driving me absolutely crazy. Like everyone else here, I've verified my SSN, DOB, and name spelling against my Social Security card probably 100 times - everything is completely accurate but FAFSA keeps throwing that "can't verify" error. What's really frustrating is seeing how widespread this issue is affecting so many students, yet there seems to be limited communication from FSA about timeline for fixes or clear workarounds. My financial aid priority deadline is coming up in just over 2 weeks and I was starting to seriously panic thinking I was somehow doing something wrong. This thread has been an absolute lifesaver - both for my sanity (realizing it's definitely not user error) and for finding actual solutions that work. Based on all the success stories shared here, I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr approach to get through to an FSA agent who can manually override this verification block. The fee seems totally worth it at this point compared to potentially missing out on financial aid over a technical glitch that's completely beyond our control. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions - especially those who came back with updates after getting it resolved! It's so reassuring to know we're all navigating this mess together and that there are proven ways to get it fixed.