FAFSA parent email notification missing - will this delay my son's financial aid?

You don't automatically get an email. Your son needs to actually add you as a contributor with your email address in the system. He probably missed that step. Tell him to log back in and check if he added your email as a contributor.

As a parent who just went through this last month, here's what happened: When your son completed his portion, he should have been prompted to add a parent contributor by entering your email address. If he didn't add your email or entered it incorrectly, you won't receive an invitation. Have him log back into studentaid.gov using his FSA ID, go to the FAFSA application, and look for the 'Contributors' section. He can add/edit parent contributor information there. Once he enters your correct email, you should receive the invitation within 24 hours. Also, make sure he's actually completed HIS portion fully before worrying - sometimes students think they've finished but have sections still marked as incomplete.

this hapened to me too!!!! had to call fafsa like 5 times cause my dad never got the email and we couldnt figure out wat was wrong. turns out i put in his phone # wrong lol

Just to add a practical solution: Don't wait for the email if you're concerned about deadlines. Have your son sit down with you, log into his studentaid.gov account, and add/verify your information together. Also double-check that the contributor request hasn't expired - they're only valid for 14 days. And remember - even though the federal FAFSA deadline isn't until June 30, 2026, many schools and states have MUCH earlier priority deadlines for maximum aid consideration, some as early as February 2025. Missing those early deadlines can mean thousands less in institutional aid, even if you're technically "on time" for federal aid.

Actually, I tried calling the Federal Student Aid helpline last week about a similar problem and was on hold for over 2 hours before getting disconnected. It was so frustrating! But then someone recommended this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual person in about 20 minutes. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. I was skeptical but it saved me from waiting all day. Their website is claimyr.com if you end up needing to talk to someone at FSA directly.

ALL OF THIS IS BECAUSE THE STUPID NEW FAFSA IS TERRIBLE!!! My daughter is in the same position and we've been trying for WEEKS to get this sorted out. The whole contributor system is broken. We've called FSA multiple times and even THEY don't know how to fix all the problems. One agent told me they're dealing with "unprecedented system issues" whatever that means. I've filled out FAFSAs for my older kids for years and never had these problems before they "simplified" everything. UGHHHH

my kid forgot to add me too lol. but once he added me right it worked fine. just make sure u have ur 2023 tax info ready for when u do get in. they want AGI and stuff from specific line numbers on ur 1040

One more important thing: Once you do get access to the parent portion, you'll need your own FSA ID to sign the FAFSA electronically. Creating that FSA ID takes about 10-15 minutes, and sometimes requires a waiting period of 1-3 days for identity verification. Don't wait until the last minute to create your FSA ID! Also, if you filed taxes in 2023, you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automatically import your tax information instead of manually entering everything. It's much more accurate and reduces the chance of verification issues later.

btw even after u get the email and login there's still soooo many sections to fill out, took my dad like an hour to do his part so just be ready for that

As someone who works in financial aid at a community college, I can confirm what others have said - your son definitely needs to add you as a contributor in his FAFSA application. This is probably the most common issue we see with new FAFSA applications. Here's exactly what he needs to do: Log into studentaid.gov with his FSA ID, find his 2025-26 FAFSA, and look for the "Contributors" section. He'll need to enter your full name, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address. Once he saves that information, you should receive an invitation email within a few hours. One quick tip - make sure he uses an email address you check regularly and that won't block government emails. Sometimes parents give their work email and those systems filter out the FSA emails. Also, don't panic about timing yet - you're still well ahead of most deadlines, but do get this sorted within the next week or two to stay on track for priority consideration at his schools.