FAFSA parent contributor form keeps looping - can't sign/submit after multiple attempts

Omg yes!! This EXACT thing happened to me last month with my son's FAFSA. The parent contributor form would just keep cycling back to page 1 whenever I tried to sign. So frustrating! What finally worked was clearing all my browser history/cookies and then using the direct link from the email invitation (not going through studentaid.gov). And make sure you're using the correct FSA ID that matches the email where the invitation was sent.

This is a known issue with the new FAFSA system. The parent contributor form signature bug usually happens when there's a mismatch between your FSA ID information and what was entered in the student's FAFSA application. Double-check that: 1. Your name is entered EXACTLY as it appears on your FSA ID (including hyphens, apostrophes, etc.) 2. Your SSN matches what's in your FSA ID 3. Your birthdate format is consistent If those all match, try accessing the form between 2-5am when server traffic is lower. The system often works better during off-peak hours.

the new fafsa is complete garbage!! been dealing with this junk for 3 weeks for my twins. parent contributor is broken and nobody at fafsa knows how to fix it. they just read from scripts and tell you to try again later. WASTE OF TIME!!!

I had this exact issue and solved it last week! The problem is that there's a data validation error somewhere in your form that the system isn't explicitly telling you about. In my case, it was because I had entered a decimal point in one of the income fields (like typing "45,000.00" instead of just "45000"). Go back through every single field and make sure: - Remove ALL special characters (commas, decimals, dollar signs) - Check for any red asterisks that might be hiding at the bottom of pages - Make sure all dates are in the exact format they want (MM/DD/YYYY) If you still can't find it, have your daughter log in and look at the "Parent Contributing" section from her end - sometimes it shows what's missing from the student side.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to an actual FAFSA specialist? I was dealing with a similar endless loop issue and spent days trying to get help. Someone recommended claimyr.com to me and I actually got through to a real person at Federal Student Aid in under 10 minutes. They helped me identify the exact field that was causing the issue (it was a mismatch in how my address was formatted). You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ

For what it's worth, I had to submit an IT ticket directly to the Federal Student Aid tech team for this exact issue. The regular support agents couldn't help. You need to specifically ask for a "technical support escalation for the parent contributor signature loop issue" when you call. They'll give you a ticket number and usually fix it within 48 hours. In my case, they had to manually reset something on their end.

This is definitely a technical glitch in the new system. I'm a financial aid advisor at a community college, and we've seen this issue with dozens of families this year. Some troubleshooting steps that have worked for our students: 1. Make sure both the student and parent are completely logged out of studentaid.gov on all devices 2. Have the parent log in fresh and then click the contribution form link 3. If that fails, have the student delete the parent contributor invitation and recreate it 4. If still failing, the parent should create a brand new FSA ID using a different email address 5. As a last resort, the student can manually enter the parent information themselves The manual entry by the student is technically allowed, though the parent would still need to provide their tax/income information to the student.

I just saw your other replies - definitely try the suggestion about checking for special characters! My son's financial aid office told me that the most common cause of the signature loop is actually putting a $ symbol, comma, or decimal point in the financial fields. Apparently the system silently rejects these but doesn't tell you there's an error!

UPDATE: We finally got it to work!!! It was a combination of issues: 1. I had to clear ALL browser data (not just cookies) 2. I was using special characters in the financial fields ($, commas) 3. My hyphenated last name needed to match EXACTLY how it appears on my FSA ID After fixing those things and using the direct link from the email invitation (not the studentaid.gov portal), I finally got past the signature page and received a confirmation email! Thank you everyone for your help - I would have never figured this out from the useless generic advice from the FAFSA support line.

Congratulations on getting it resolved! This is such a comprehensive troubleshooting thread - it should be pinned or saved somewhere for other parents dealing with this nightmare. The fact that it took 8 days and multiple technical fixes just to submit a form is absolutely ridiculous. I'm bookmarking this entire conversation because I have a feeling I'll need it when my younger daughter applies next year. Thank you for updating us with the solution!

As someone who works in college financial aid, I can't thank you enough for documenting this entire troubleshooting process! The FAFSA system redesign has been an absolute disaster this year, and posts like this are invaluable for families navigating these technical nightmares. Your solution summary (clearing browser data, removing special characters, matching FSA ID exactly, using direct email link) should honestly be posted on the official FAFSA website. I'm sharing this thread with our incoming student families because the official support resources are clearly inadequate. It's shameful that parents have to crowdsource solutions for what should be a straightforward government form!

I'm so grateful I found this thread! I'm dealing with the exact same signature loop issue right now with my son's FAFSA and was getting absolutely nowhere with the official support. Reading through everyone's experiences makes me feel less crazy - I was starting to think I was the only one having this problem. I'm going to try the complete solution that worked for PrinceJoe: clearing all browser data, removing special characters from financial fields, double-checking my FSA ID name formatting, and using the direct email link instead of the portal. It's honestly ridiculous that we need to become tech troubleshooters just to apply for financial aid, but at least now I have a roadmap thanks to this amazing community help. Fingers crossed this works - our deadline is coming up fast too!

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions! As someone new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening. I had no idea that technical issues like the signature loop were so widespread with the redesigned system. The step-by-step troubleshooting advice here - especially about removing special characters from financial fields and ensuring exact name matching with FSA ID - is so much more helpful than anything I've found on official websites. It's both reassuring and frustrating to learn that these aren't isolated user errors but systemic problems affecting many families. I'm saving all these solutions for when I tackle our FAFSA application next month. Really appreciate this community coming together to help each other navigate what should be a straightforward process!

Wow, this entire thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm a first-time FAFSA parent and stumbled across this while desperately searching for solutions to the exact same signature loop problem. Reading through everyone's experiences and troubleshooting steps gives me hope that there's actually a way through this technical nightmare. The fact that PrinceJoe documented the entire 8-day journey from problem to solution is incredible - it's like having a complete playbook for dealing with these issues. I'm particularly grateful for the specific technical details about clearing browser data, removing special characters from financial fields, and using the direct email link instead of the portal. It's honestly shocking that families have to become IT specialists just to apply for financial aid, but this community support makes it manageable. Definitely saving this thread as my FAFSA survival guide!