FAFSA keeps rejecting same phone number for multiple siblings - how to create accounts?

same thing happened 2 us last yr... had to use my cell for 1 kid, wife's cell for the other one. stupid system.

You don't need separate phone numbers! For the FSA ID creation process, you can use email addresses as the primary contact method instead of phone numbers. Each student needs their own unique email address (which is free to create), but they can all list the same phone number as a secondary contact method. Just make sure to select email as the primary contact preference when setting up each account.

I WENT THROUGH THIS EXACT NIGHTMARE LAST MONTH!!! The system is completely broken and nobody at the help center could explain why. I spent FIVE HOURS trying to get someone on the phone who could help. When I finally got through, they told me it's a "security feature" to prevent fraud. Because apparently having multiple children who need financial aid is suspicious?!?! The whole system is designed by people who have no idea what real families deal with.

Have you tried using Google Voice? You can set up free phone numbers that forward to your main line. I created separate Google Voice numbers for each of my twins and it worked for their FSA IDs. Just make sure to verify each number before using it for the FAFSA application.

can u use like a grandparent or aunts number? thats what my neighbor did

Financial Aid Counselor here. This is indeed a common issue with the new FAFSA system. Here are the officially supported options: 1. Use different phone numbers (each student needs a unique one) 2. Use a relative's phone number who isn't associated with an FSA ID 3. For students without access to multiple numbers, you can request a special provision by submitting form FSA-15 for an exception The reason for this change is increased security after numerous fraud cases. While some unofficial workarounds like Google Voice have worked for some families, be aware that if verification is triggered, you may face delays if the system detects virtual numbers.

I had the exact same problem last month trying to set up FAFSA accounts for my twins! After getting disconnected THREE times trying to reach Federal Student Aid, I found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual human at FSA in less than 5 minutes. The agent was able to override the phone number restriction on my second child's account. Check out their demo video here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - their website is claimyr.com. Saved me hours of frustration!

my cousin works for a college financial aid office and she said they're seeing this problem ALL THE TIME with the new FAFSA. her advice was to just use different phones for each kid but also to contact your kids schools financial aid offices directly and let them know you're having trouble with the FSA ID setup. sometimes they can help push things through or give you school-specific workarounds.

Just wanted to update that we successfully used Google Voice for all three of our kids' FAFSA applications last year. One thing to be careful about - make sure you keep track of which phone number is associated with which child. We had a confusing situation where password reset codes were going to the wrong kid! I ended up making a spreadsheet to keep everything organized.

Just to provide some closure on this thread - I checked with my colleague who works directly with FSA system implementation. The phone number restriction is definitely intentional and won't be changed for the 2025-2026 application cycle. They recommend the Google Voice option as an unofficial but workable solution. The key is ensuring the Google Voice number can receive texts for verification codes. If you go this route, test receiving a text message on the Google Voice number before using it for the FSA ID creation.

As someone who just went through this exact same process with my two kids, I can confirm that Google Voice is definitely the way to go! I set up separate Google Voice numbers for each of them and it worked perfectly. Just a heads up though - make sure you verify that the Google Voice numbers can receive SMS messages before using them, because FAFSA sends verification codes frequently. Also, I'd recommend writing down which Google Voice number belongs to which kid somewhere safe, because you'll need to remember this for future logins and password resets. The whole system is definitely frustrating for families with multiple students, but at least there are workarounds!

This whole phone number restriction is such a pain! I'm dealing with the same issue for my twins who are applying for college next year. After reading through all these responses, I think I'm going to try the Google Voice route first since so many people have had success with it. It's ridiculous that the FSA system makes it this complicated for families with multiple kids - you'd think they would have anticipated this being a common situation! Has anyone had issues with Google Voice numbers getting flagged as "virtual" during the verification process, or do they generally work smoothly throughout the entire FAFSA application?

I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and reading through everyone's experiences is both helpful and terrifying! My daughter is a junior in high school so I'm trying to get ahead of this issue before we hit it next year. From what I'm understanding, the Google Voice solution seems to be the most reliable workaround. Can someone walk me through the basic steps of setting up a Google Voice number? I want to make sure I understand the process correctly - do I just go to voice.google.com and sign up, or is there more to it? Also, should I set this up now or wait until we're actually ready to create the FSA ID? I really appreciate this community sharing all these solutions because the official FAFSA resources definitely don't mention this phone number issue anywhere!

I'm in the exact same boat with three kids who will need FAFSA accounts! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful. It sounds like Google Voice is definitely the way to go based on everyone's success stories. I'm curious though - for those who used Google Voice, did you run into any issues when it came time to actually submit the FAFSA applications, or did the phone numbers continue to work smoothly throughout the entire process? Also, has anyone had experience with what happens if you need to update or change information later - do the verification codes still come through reliably? Thanks for sharing all this information - it's so frustrating that families have to find workarounds for what should be a straightforward process!