FAFSA parent section keeps giving error when entering spouse information - help needed!

same thing happened to me!!! the website is trash this year with the new SAI system. u probably need to try on a different browser, thats what fixed it for me

This is a common issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The most likely problems are: 1. Your husband's name must match EXACTLY what's on his Social Security card - including hyphens, apostrophes, or middle names 2. There might be a mismatch between the FSA ID info and what you're entering on the form 3. If your husband recently updated his FSA ID, the system needs 1-3 business days to properly sync Double-check that the birthdate is in MM/DD/YYYY format and not DD/MM/YYYY. Also try clearing your cache and cookies before trying again.

does the error message say anything specific? some errors mean different things and might help figure out what's wrong

I had the EXACT same issue with my spouse's info and it nearly made me pull my hair out! After calling FSA support (took forever to get through), they told me that special characters in names were causing problems. If your husband's name has any hyphens, apostrophes, or spaces, try removing them temporarily just to see if it works. It's not the right solution, but it got me past that screen, and I was able to submit. Then I called them back later to correct the name spelling.

The whole FAFSA system is GARBAGE this year!!! I had to submit my info 4 TIMES because of these stupid errors. The government expects us to hand over our financial info but can't even build a website that works?!? This is why my daughter is getting ZERO financial aid while families who make twice what we do somehow qualify for everything. The system is RIGGED against middle class families!!!!

Have you tried reaching the Federal Student Aid help desk? I know their phone lines are incredibly busy, but I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to avoid the long wait times. They have a system that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. Here's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ I was able to speak with an actual FAFSA specialist who fixed a similar issue with my husband's information. They had to manually verify his identity in their system because there was a mismatch between his Social Security records and the FAFSA database.

my dad had this problem too!!! we just skipped that section and then went back to it after finishing the rest of the form and somehow it worked?? FAFSA makes no sense lol

One other thing to check - make sure you're using the correct parent role classification. If you indicated you're the "Parent 1" and your husband is "Parent 2," the system expects specific role relationships. Try switching the parent roles if nothing else works. Also, verify you selected the correct marital status at the beginning of the parent section (married, remarried, separated, etc.) as this affects how the system processes spouse information.

I went through this exact same nightmare last month! Here's what finally worked for me after trying everything mentioned here: 1. Log out completely and clear ALL browser data (not just cache) 2. Use an incognito/private browser window 3. Make sure you're entering the spouse info in the EXACT order the form expects - I was jumping around fields which seemed to confuse the system 4. If his name has ANY special characters (apostrophes, hyphens, spaces), try entering it without them first just to get past the error, then contact support to fix it later The apostrophe issue @Hugo mentioned is REAL - my husband's name is O'Connor and removing the apostrophe was the only way to get it to accept. The financial aid office fixed it later with no problems. Also, try doing it during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) when fewer people are using the system. Good luck!