FAFSA parent contributor login issues - one kid works fine, other gets 'info doesn't match' error

omg same issue with my stepkids last month!! the fafsa system is so broken this year

The parent contributor section is causing problems for many families this year. For your husband who received the invitation, he needs to go to studentaid.gov and click "Create Account" - he'll make a completely new FSA ID. During that process, there will be a section where he can link the invitation to his new account. For the error you're getting with your son's FAFSA, this is often because of very small inconsistencies in how information was entered. Check these common issue areas: 1. Different capitalization or spacing in names 2. Different formatting of your SSN (with or without dashes) 3. A slight difference in how your address is entered 4. Your date of birth might be entered differently between applications Even tiny differences can trigger the mismatch error in the new FAFSA system.

I've been helping dozens of families with the new FAFSA system, and parent contributor issues are the #1 problem this cycle. The system is EXTREMELY sensitive to differences in formatting. One thing nobody mentioned yet - check if you used autofill on one application but typed manually on the other. I've seen this cause the exact mismatch error you're describing because autofill might include middle names or format addresses differently than when you type them yourself. Also, when your husband creates his FSA ID, he should use the same email where he received the invitation. The system will recognize that email and connect his new account to the pending invitation.

I'm a financial aid advisor at a community college, and I can't tell you how many families are experiencing the exact same issue with siblings' FAFSA applications this year. The new system has a few technical bugs when it comes to parent contributor sections. Here's what works for most families: 1. For your son's application with the mismatch error, try completely removing yourself as a contributor and re-adding from scratch. Sometimes this clears whatever is causing the mismatch. 2. For your husband's account setup, when he creates his FSA ID on studentaid.gov, use the option that says "I have a student aid form to complete" (not the one for students). The system will prompt him to connect his email to pending invitations. 3. If these steps don't work, you may need to contact Federal Student Aid directly. I know the phone system is frustrating, but I've had students have success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent without the endless hold times. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The parent contributor mismatch issue is serious enough that it often requires direct intervention from a FAFSA agent who can see both applications and manually clear the error.

maybe check if ur using different browsers for each kid? i had a weird thing where chrome saved my info one way and edge saved it different for my twins fasfa

Just wanted to add that the parent contributor invitation should expire after 14 days, so make sure your husband creates his account before then. If it expires, you'll need to send a new invitation. Also, I've seen cases where the system gets confused when a parent has the same first name as their child or other family members. It sounds silly, but it's caused mismatches for some families. If either you or your husband share first names with any of your children, that might be part of the issue.

UPDATE: We finally got it working! It turned out to be something incredibly small - on my daughter's application I had entered my name as "Elizabeth A. Smith" but on my son's I just put "Elizabeth Smith" without the middle initial. Can't believe such a tiny difference caused so much trouble! For anyone else having this issue, check EVERY character you enter, including periods and spaces. The system is extremely picky about exact matches. My husband was able to create his FSA ID using the email that received the invitation, and that worked smoothly once we knew what to do. Thank you everyone for your help!

Just FYI - save all your login info and screenshots! My kid's FAFSA randomly reset last week and we had to redo the parent part again. The new system has so many glitches this year.