FAFSA contributor signature keeps failing - error message for months - should I use paper form?

DONT do the paper form!!! It takes like 2x as long to process and colleges will give away money to ppl who submitted electronic forms first. Try a different browser?? Have you tried Firefox? Sometimes thats the only one that works with fafsa for me.

This sounds like an issue with your FSA ID being properly linked to your son's FAFSA application. When you receive the contributor email, are you clicking directly from that email or copying the link? Sometimes the email links can break. I recommend these steps: 1. Log into studentaid.gov directly with your FSA ID 2. Go to the "You Have To Do Something" section 3. Look for pending signatures under "Action Items" 4. Try signing from there instead of the email link If that doesn't work, try calling the FSA Help Center at 1-800-433-3243 and specifically ask for a "tier 2 technician" as they have more advanced troubleshooting capabilities than first-level support.

Have u checked if ur FSA ID is fully confirmed? Sometimes they send a code to your email or phone that u need to enter before the ID is active for signatures. My daughter and I both had to do this step.

The EXACT same thing happened to me with my daughter's FAFSA last year!!! It was so frustrating, and the help line was completely useless. After weeks of trying, I found a solution that worked for us. Try creating a brand new FSA ID using a different email address. Sometimes there's a glitch in their system where your current FSA ID has some corruption that prevents the signature process from working correctly. I created a new one with my work email instead of personal, and suddenly everything worked perfectly. If that doesn't work, have you considered using Claimyr to actually speak with a live FAFSA agent who can fix the issue on their end? It's the only way I've found to skip the impossible phone wait times. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and their site at claimyr.com. I was connected to an actual FSA agent in minutes who was able to override a similar error on our application.

Um, paper forms take FOREVER to process. Like 3-4 weeks versus 3-4 days for electronic. And with all the new FAFSA changes this year, there have been tons of delays already. I wouldn't risk it unless absolutely necessary. Maybe try calling at a weird time? Like super early in the morning right when they open? That's when I finally got through to a helpful person.

I'm a financial aid administrator at a community college, and I've seen this issue several times this year with the new FAFSA rollout. Here's what might be happening: The error you're seeing is usually related to a mismatch between your personal information as the contributor and what's stored in the Federal Student Aid database. Often, it's something small like your name format (middle initial vs. full middle name) or address formatting. Here's the most effective solution I've seen work: 1. Call the Federal Student Aid Info Center (1-800-433-3243) 2. Request to speak with a FAFSA specialist about a "contributor signature error message" 3. Ask them to verify all your personal information in their system 4. Have them check if there are multiple FSA IDs associated with your SSN 5. Request a manual reset of your signature authority I strongly advise against the paper form unless you have absolutely no other option. Paper forms are taking 6-8 weeks to process this year due to the backlog, and any errors require resubmission. Plus, many schools prioritize electronic applications for institutional aid. One last suggestion: try signing the FAFSA from a completely different network (like at a library or using mobile data instead of your home wifi). Sometimes network security settings can interfere with the signature process.

This is MY THIRD YEAR dealing with FAFSA and every single year there's some new ridiculous problem. Last year I couldn't link my tax info and the year before my daughter's school couldn't download the information. The whole system is a JOKE. Whoever designed this electronic process should be fired. The paper form at least WORKS even if it takes longer. And you can make photocopies before you send it in case they "lose" it (which happened to my friend's son last year).

Update: I tried several of your suggestions and finally got it working! I did three things that seemed to make the difference: 1. Logged in directly to studentaid.gov instead of using the email link 2. Went to the Action Items section where I found the pending signature 3. Used my phone on mobile data instead of my home wifi The signature went through! No more red error message. Our FAFSA is finally submitted after months of frustration. Thank you all for your help. Special thanks to the financial aid administrator who suggested the different network - that seems to have been the key factor.