FAFSA contributor invitation problem - Can't add stepdad after mom's invite was sent

Yes, your husband (stepdad) needs to create his own FSA ID account first at studentaid.gov before your daughter can send him an invitation. After he creates his account, your daughter should be able to go back to the Contributors section of her FAFSA and add him as an additional contributor. Look for the '+Add Contributor' button in her application. If you don't see this option, it might be because she hasn't saved or progressed far enough in the application.

We had same issue!! my son put me on there but not his dad, and we couldnt figure out how to add him after i already did my part. So frustrating!!!

This is a common issue with the redesigned FAFSA system. The contributor section isn't intuitive. Your daughter needs to go back to the 'Contributors' section of her FAFSA and complete these steps: 1. Click on 'Review & Correct' at the top of her application 2. Navigate to the 'Contributors' tab (it's in the left sidebar menu) 3. There should be an 'Add Another Contributor' option at the bottom of the existing contributors list 4. If that option isn't visible, she may need to click 'Edit' on the Contributors section first If you still don't see the option, it could be that she specified only one parent/contributor when she first set up the application. In that case, she would need to update her answer to the household question that determines how many contributors should be included.

I had this EXACT problem last week! The thing is, when your kid starts the FAFSA, they have to specify how many parental contributors will be filling out sections. If she only put "1" at the beginning, the system won't let you add more later without contacting support. So annoying!!

This is actually a limitation in the new FAFSA system. If your daughter initially indicated only one contributor when setting up her application, the system doesn't allow adding more contributors later without intervention from Federal Student Aid support. The number of contributors is tied to how she answered the household questions during initial setup. You have two options: 1. Contact Federal Student Aid to have them manually adjust the number of allowed contributors (can take days/weeks) 2. If it's very early in the process, you could consider starting a new application. BUT be careful - if you've already submitted or gotten far in the process, starting over could create complications or delays. Only do this if you're in the early stages.

I had the same issue and spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to Federal Student Aid on the phone. After being disconnected multiple times, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that was a total game changer. They basically hold your place in the phone queue and call you when an agent is ready. Saved me hours of hold time. Check out their demo video here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I got through, the agent was able to reset the contributor section in about 5 minutes. Much better than the week of frustration before finding that service!

Listen this is just the tip of the iceberg with the new FAFSA. The whole contributor system is BROKEN. My daughter's college financial aid office told me they're seeing TONS of families with this exact problem. What I don't understand is why they can't just fix this issue!!!! It's so basic! Why make us call and wait for hours?? My daughter nearly missed her priority deadline because of this exact problem. The schools know about it but Fed Student Aid doesn't seem to care that their stupid system is preventing families from completing their applications.

Just a quick update on this issue - the Department of Education actually released a patch last week that's supposed to help with this specific contributor problem. If your daughter logs out completely, clears her browser cache, and logs back in, she might see the option to add another contributor now. Several families I've helped recently reported this worked for them without having to call support. Worth trying before spending time on the phone!

my daughters having similar problems with fafsa too but with getting me and dad both verified...system keeps saying our tax info doesnt match but we filed jointly last year so idk whats happening...anyone else see this? sorry not exactly same issue as yours but thought maybe related

UPDATE: We tried the suggestion to log out completely, clear browser cache, and log back in - and it worked! When my daughter logged back in and went to the Contributors section, there was a small icon in the corner that wasn't visible before that allowed her to add another contributor. She was able to send the invitation to my husband. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! For anyone else facing this issue, definitely try clearing your cache first before spending hours on the phone.