FAFSA parent contributor invitation stuck on 'confirm information' page with error message

I had this exact same issue last week! The "unknown error" on the contributor section is actually a pretty common FAFSA glitch this year with the new system. Try these steps: 1. Have your daughter log back into her FAFSA and check if your email is entered correctly in the contributor section 2. Make sure your FSA ID was created more than 48 hours ago (sometimes it takes that long to fully activate) 3. Try logging in between 8pm-6am when the system traffic is lower If none of those work, you might need to call FSA directly to have them manually release the lock on your account. That's what finally fixed it for me.

omg the exact same thing hapened to me but it turns out i was using my old FSA ID from 2 years ago. try making a brand new one maybe?? the whole system is so confusing its ridiculous

The FAFSA contributor section has been really problematic since they rolled out the new system. I've found that there's sometimes a mismatch between the parent information the student enters and what's in your FSA ID account. Two things to try: 1. Make sure your name in your FSA ID EXACTLY matches what your daughter entered (including middle initials, suffixes, etc) 2. Try accessing from a completely different network (like using your cellular data instead of home wifi) Also, if the issue persists, don't panic about the deadline yet. Your daughter's submission timestamp is based on when SHE submitted her portion, not when you complete yours. So technically she's already "on time" for most priority deadlines.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I HATE THE NEW FAFSA!!!! Last year was so much easier when we could just do everything on one form. Now with this whole "contributor" nonsense everything breaks constantly. My daughter had to create FOUR different applications before one finally worked without glitching. The whole system is broken and they expect us to just deal with it. RIDICULOUS!!!!

Another thing to check - make sure your browser allows third-party cookies. The FAFSA site sometimes has issues with strict cookie settings. I had to whitelist studentaid.gov in my privacy settings before it would work properly. Also, are you using any VPN or security software? Those can interfere with the authentication process.

I had to call the Federal Student Aid Information Center when I hit this same error. Turns out there was a mismatch between my SSN in the system and what my daughter had entered. The agent fixed it in about 5 minutes once I got through. The problem is getting through... I spent 3 hours on hold before being disconnected. Then I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I got through, the agent was super helpful and fixed the error right away. Worth trying if the other suggestions don't work.

i just remembered something!!! my friends mom had this issue and they found out it was because she had her IRS account locked from too many failed login attempts! maybe check if you can log into the IRS website? apparently fafsa does some kind of check with them now

my solution was to just have my daughter remove me as a contributor and add me again. got a new invitation email and it worked fine the second time. might be worth trying instead of dealing with customer service.

Update: We got it working! Turns out it was the combination of two issues - my daughter had entered my legal first name (which I never use) AND there was a cookie/cache problem with my browser. I had her remove and re-add me with my commonly used middle name, then I used a different browser with the cookies allowed for studentaid.gov, and it worked immediately! Thank you all for the suggestions. Now onto figuring out this whole contributor section... wish me luck!

So glad you got it working! This is such a helpful thread - I've been dealing with the same error for the past few days and was getting really frustrated. The name mismatch issue makes total sense now that I think about it. My daughter probably used my full legal name from my tax documents, but I always go by a nickname on everything else. Going to try the remove/re-add approach tonight along with checking my browser settings. Really appreciate everyone sharing their solutions here - it's so much better than trying to navigate this alone!

I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and reading through this thread has been incredibly helpful! My son is a junior in high school and I'm trying to get ahead of the game for next year. This name matching issue seems like such a common problem - is there anywhere on the official FAFSA site that actually explains this requirement? It seems like something they should make more obvious in their instructions. Also, for those of you who have been through this before, any other "gotchas" I should watch out for when we get to this point next year? I'd rather learn from your experiences now than deal with panic mode when we're up against deadlines!

This is such a valuable thread! I'm currently helping my nephew navigate his first FAFSA and we just hit this exact error yesterday. Reading through everyone's solutions, I think our issue might be the name mismatch too - he definitely used my full legal name including my maiden name hyphen, but my FSA ID probably just has my current married name. The cookie/browser settings point is also really helpful. I've been using my work laptop which has pretty locked-down security settings, so I'll try from my personal computer tonight. @Diego Vargas thanks for posting the update with your solution! It's so refreshing when someone actually comes back to share what worked instead of just disappearing once they solve their problem. This kind of follow-up is what makes these communities actually useful for future people dealing with the same issues. Has anyone else noticed if certain browsers work better than others for the FAFSA site? I've been using Chrome but wondering if I should try Firefox or Safari instead.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been banging my head against the wall with this same "unknown error" message for the past two days. My daughter's scholarship deadline is Monday and I was starting to panic. Reading through all the solutions here, I think my issue might be a combination of the name mismatch (my daughter definitely used my full legal name with middle initial, but my FSA ID probably doesn't have it) and browser issues. I've been trying on my work computer which has all sorts of security restrictions. Going to try the remove/re-add approach tonight on my home computer with relaxed cookie settings. @Diego Vargas thank you so much for coming back with your update - knowing the exact combination that worked gives me hope! And thanks to everyone else for sharing all these troubleshooting tips. This is exactly the kind of real-world help you can't find in the official documentation. Will report back if I get it working!

I'm a new parent going through this process for the first time and this thread has been absolutely invaluable! My daughter just started her FAFSA application and after reading all these experiences, I'm definitely going to be proactive about potential issues. A few questions for those who've been through this successfully: 1. Should I create my FSA ID now even though she hasn't sent the contributor invitation yet? It sounds like having it established well in advance helps avoid activation delays. 2. When she enters my information as a contributor, should I give her my exact legal name from my tax returns, or the name I typically go by? From this thread it seems like matching the FSA ID is most important, but I want to make sure I set things up correctly from the start. 3. Are there any other common error scenarios I should be prepared for beyond the name mismatch and browser cookie issues discussed here? Thanks to everyone who shared their troubleshooting experiences - it's so much more helpful than the generic help documentation. Hoping to avoid the stress that many of you went through!