FAFSA parent signature not working - keeps getting error after submission

I ran into this exact problem last month with my dad's signature. After trying everything obvious, what finally worked was having him log in to studentaid.gov separately (not through the signature link) and go to the 'My FAFSA' section. From there, he could see my application needed his signature, and completing it from that direction worked perfectly. Something about the direct signature links seems broken in the current system.

mine did the same thing!!! so annoying 🙄 have u checked if ur mom's email is verified? my dad's wasnt and thats why it kept failing

This is a known issue with the updated FAFSA system for the 2025-2026 application cycle. There are several potential solutions depending on what's causing your specific error: 1. Verify both you and your parent have fully completed the email and phone verification for your FSA IDs 2. Make sure your parent is using their own personal information (not yours) in their FSA ID 3. Check that the parent's information exactly matches what's on their Social Security card 4. Try signing during non-peak hours (early morning or late evening) 5. If the parent's marital status has changed recently, this can cause signature conflicts If none of these work, you can request a signature page by mail as a last resort, though this will significantly delay processing.

just had this problem yesterday lol. ended up working when my mom used Firefox instead of Chrome. weird but maybe try diff browser?

I spent HOURS trying to fix this same problem last week, and it was driving me crazy! Called the Federal Student Aid helpline multiple times but couldn't get through - just endless hold times and then disconnects. I finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual FSA agent in under 20 minutes! The agent walked me through some specific troubleshooting steps for the signature issue. Turns out there was a mismatch between how my dad's name was entered in two different sections. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - totally worth it after wasting days trying to figure this out on my own.

The FAFSA signature process is a NIGHTMARE this year!!! 🤬 It's almost like they WANT students to miss deadlines! I work in college advising and about 40% of my students are having signature problems. The government spent millions on this "improved" system that's WORSE than before. If your parent has ANY special characters in their name (hyphens, apostrophes), check that - those are causing tons of problems. Also, some parents are getting confused between creating a new FSA ID and using their existing one from previous years - make sure your mom isn't accidentally trying to create a duplicate account.

have u tried using incognito mode? that fixed it for us

Quick update on my earlier suggestion - I just helped another family with this last week. Make sure when your parent logs in separately to studentaid.gov, they go to the DASHBOARD first, then look for the "To Do" section. There should be a task there for signing your FAFSA. This pathway seems to work much more consistently than using the email signature links or trying to sign from within the FAFSA itself.

wait how do u even get to the parent signature part? my mom never got an email or anything and i submitted my part last week

UPDATE: WE FINALLY GOT IT TO WORK!!! It was a combination of issues. First, the apostrophe in my mom's last name WAS causing problems. We removed it from her FSA ID profile. Second, we used Firefox in private browsing mode. And third (this was key), we followed the advice to have her log into studentaid.gov directly and access the signature through her dashboard. Thank you all so much for your help! Such a relief to have this submitted before the priority deadline.

This is such a comprehensive thread - saving it for future reference! I'm a college counselor and I'm definitely going to share these solutions with my students. The combination of Firefox + private browsing + dashboard access + fixing the apostrophe issue seems like the magic formula. It's ridiculous that families have to jump through so many hoops just to complete what should be a straightforward process. Thank you everyone for documenting all these workarounds!

This thread is a lifesaver! I'm currently dealing with the exact same issue - my dad's signature keeps failing at the final step. Reading through all these solutions gives me hope that we can figure it out. Going to try the Firefox + private browsing + dashboard access combo tonight. It's so frustrating that the FAFSA system has these kinds of technical issues when students are stressed enough about meeting deadlines. Thanks to everyone who shared their workarounds - this kind of community support is invaluable when the official help channels aren't working!

This thread is incredibly helpful! I'm a parent who just went through this exact same issue with my daughter's FAFSA last month. We tried everything - different browsers, clearing cache, even calling the helpline multiple times with no luck. What finally worked for us was a combination of what others mentioned here: using Firefox in private mode AND making sure I accessed the signature through my own FSA dashboard rather than clicking the email link. I also had to update my phone number verification which I didn't realize had expired. The whole process is so unnecessarily complicated - it shouldn't take a village of Reddit users to figure out how to sign a government form! But I'm so grateful for communities like this where we can help each other navigate these technical nightmares. Hang in there everyone dealing with this - it IS solvable even though it feels impossible in the moment.