FAFSA parent invitation link not working - blank page when clicking 'get started'

same thing happened with my dad last month. super annoying!! try having ur parent copy the link address instead of clicking the button and paste it in a new browser window. worked for us after 3 tries sending invites

This is a known issue with the parent contributor functionality in the new FAFSA. There are several potential solutions: 1. Have your parent copy the URL from the email rather than clicking directly 2. Make sure your parent has their own FSA ID completely set up BEFORE clicking the link 3. Check if your parent is using a mobile device - the contributor portal works better on desktop/laptop 4. Try opening the link in an incognito/private browser window If none of those work, you can delete the invitation and send a new one from your FAFSA dashboard. Just be aware that you'll need to wait 24 hours before sending another invitation to the same email address.

THE WHOLE FAFSA SYSTEM IS GARBAGE THIS YEAR!!! i've had nothing but problems since they "improved" everything. my son sent me an invite 3 different times and none worked. ended up having to go to his apartment and just use his computer to fill out my part while he was logged in. ridiculous waste of time!!!

The parent contributor link issue is actually quite common with the redesigned FAFSA. The most common cause is that your parent needs to create their own FSA ID before accessing the link. The system should direct them to do this, but sometimes it just shows a blank page instead. Also, make sure your parent is using the correct email address - the one you entered when sending the invitation. If they have multiple email accounts, they might be checking the invitation in one account but logged into the FSA system with another. If your parent already has an FSA ID and is still experiencing issues, I'd recommend calling Federal Student Aid directly. The wait times can be extremely long though - I waited over 2 hours last month.

I actually just went through this exact issue with my stepdad last week! The problem was definitely that he needed his own FSA ID first. The system is supposed to walk parents through creating one when they click the link, but it's buggy. What worked for us was having him go directly to studentaid.gov and create his FSA ID separately. After that was done and verified (took about 3 days for his SSN to verify), then I deleted the old invitation and sent a new one. That worked perfectly! When you're under deadline pressure, those FSA phone lines are brutal though. I tried calling about a different issue and was on hold for over 90 minutes before getting disconnected.

btw make sure ur mom uses her LEGAL name on her fsa id exactly like it appears on her social security card!!! my dad used his nickname and the whole thing got rejected after waiting a week for verification

Did your mom check if the email went to her spam folder? My contribution invite for my daughter went straight to spam and I almost missed it completely. Also, is your mom trying on mobile? The contributor section worked terribly on my phone but was fine on my laptop.

my daughter and I had this problem too! so annoying! what ended up working was me creating my FSA ID first separately and then having her resend the invitation. but even then i had to use chrome specifically, firefox kept showing a blank page. good luck!

UPDATE: We got it working! For anyone having this same issue, here's what worked: 1. My mom created her own FSA ID separately at studentaid.gov first 2. We waited until her identity was verified (took about 48 hours) 3. I deleted the old invitation and sent a new one 4. She opened the link in Chrome (not Firefox, which kept showing a blank page) 5. She made sure to use the EXACT same email for her FSA ID as I used when sending the invitation Thanks everyone for your suggestions! The system definitely has issues, but we finally got past this roadblock.

Congrats on getting it sorted out! Your step-by-step breakdown is really helpful - I'm bookmarking this thread in case I run into similar issues with my own FAFSA. The part about waiting for FSA ID verification is especially important since I don't think most people realize that can take 1-2 days. Thanks for taking the time to post the solution that worked!

This is such great timing! I'm having the exact same issue with my mom right now - she got the invitation yesterday and the link just shows a blank page. Based on all the advice here, I'm going to have her create her FSA ID first at studentaid.gov and then I'll resend the invitation once it's verified. It's frustrating that the system doesn't make this requirement clear upfront, but at least now I know what to do instead of wasting more time clicking the same broken link. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is so helpful!