FAFSA keeps freezing at Parent/Spouse demographics screen - any workarounds?

Ughhh that same error is happening to us too! My son's application gets stuck on that exact screen. The FSA website is SO janky. My husband's name has a hyphen and we're convinced that's causing the problem but there's no way to fix it. Called 3 times already and waste hours each time with zero help. So frustrating when their own system blocks our kids from getting aid!!

This is a known issue affecting applications with certain parent/guardian data combinations. I'm a financial aid advisor, and I've helped several families work around this. Try these steps in exact order: 1. Log out completely and clear browser cache 2. Log in using Microsoft Edge specifically (other browsers seem to trigger the error) 3. For parent information, enter ONLY the required fields marked with asterisks 4. Leave optional fields blank even if you have the information 5. If parent has a middle name, try entering just the initial 6. If address has an apartment number, enter it on Address Line 2, not Line 1 About 70% of my students got past this error using these steps. If it still fails, you may need to submit a manual FAFSA correction request.

its def a glitch with how the system handles special characters. my brothers app kept crashing cuz our dad has an apostrophe in his last name (O'Malley). we finally got thru by putting OMALLEY with no apostrophe and it finally worked. try removing any special characters from names/addresses

I work in our university's financial aid office, and we've been seeing this issue frequently since the new FAFSA launched. The parent/spouse demographics section has a database validation error that occurs with certain combinations of information. Here's what's working for most families: 1. Try submitting with a parent's work address instead of home address 2. If the parent has a hyphenated name or suffix (Jr., Sr., etc.), enter it without those elements 3. For parent date of birth, try entering it with different formatting (MM/DD/YYYY vs. MM-DD-YYYY) If none of these work, your best option is to request a paper FAFSA by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID. Yes, they still exist! It's not ideal, but it will get processed.

After struggling with the same error for weeks, I finally got through to a FAFSA agent using Claimyr.com. Instead of waiting on hold forever, their service held my place in line and called me when an agent was available. The agent walked me through a specific workaround where I had to create a new Save Key and reenter the parent information in a specific format. Took about 15 minutes total and finally got past that screen! They also have a video demo of how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - seriously saved us after being stuck for weeks!

have u tried doing it at like 3am? i had same problem but the website worked when i did it super late at night when less ppl were on it. think the system just overloads during normal hours and that demographics screen uses more server power or something

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO FAIL! They don't want regular families to get financial aid. My cousin works in tech and says the FAFSA site is built on ancient code that they keep patching instead of fixing properly. No private company would get away with this garbage but the government doesn't care. My kid's college savings got wiped out during covid and now we can't even APPLY for help. Complete joke.

Quick update: The Federal Student Aid office issued a patch yesterday that addresses some of the parent demographic screen errors. Try clearing your cache completely, then create a NEW FAFSA application (don't use your saved one). From reports I'm seeing, this is resolving the issue for about 60% of affected applications. This way you don't have to use workarounds that might cause verification issues later.

i finally gave up and just filled the calculation worksheet from the fafsa website and took it directly to my kids college financial aid office. they said they could use the info to give us an estimated package while we wait for the system to work. might try that if ur school allows it

I'm dealing with this exact same issue! My son's FAFSA has been stuck on the parent demographics screen for over 6 weeks now. We've tried every browser, cleared cache multiple times, and even tried different devices. The "Unable to Complete This Action" error appears every single time we try to continue past my spouse's information section. It's incredibly frustrating because we're missing out on priority deadlines at several schools. I'm going to try the Edge browser suggestion and the new application approach mentioned in the recent comments. Has anyone had success with contacting their school's financial aid office directly about this issue? I'm wondering if they have any additional workarounds or can provide temporary estimates while we wait for this glitch to be resolved.