FAFSA shows 'submitted' after only one parent completed their section - husband's info missing

This exact thing happened to me with my son's FAFSA last week. The new system is confusing everyone! When you submitted your section, it actually submitted the entire application, even without your husband's info. If you're filing as married, both parents' information should have been entered in your section - there isn't a separate section for each parent anymore. You need to log back into your daughter's account and select "Make FAFSA Corrections" to add your husband's financial information.

Did u try having him click the exact link in his email? sometimes the link is different than just logging in regular.

This is a common misunderstanding with the new FAFSA system. The Department of Education changed how contributor information works for the 2025-2026 application cycle. Here's what happened: 1. For married couples living together, one parent completes ALL household financial information in a single contributor section 2. The system still sends invites to both parents (which is causing confusion) 3. Once the primary parent submits their section, it submits the entire application You'll need to select "Make FAFSA Corrections" from your daughter's account, then update the application to include your husband's income and tax information. This won't negatively impact her application as long as you make the correction promptly.

THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TO US!!! We've been fighting with this stupid system for WEEKS trying to get both parents' info included! My daughter's financial aid office told us her SAI was calculated as if her dad made $0 income which is DEFINITELY not right and would have given her way more aid than she's eligible for. When we finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid they said this is happening to LOTS of people!!! They need to FIX THIS BROKEN SYSTEM!!

lol the new fafsa is such a mess. my cousin works at a college financial aid office and says half their calls are about this exact problem

I've been a financial aid counselor for 8 years & this new FAFSA is causing so many headaches. You actually need to go into your daughter's account, select "Make FAFSA Corrections," and then add your husband's information. The contributor invites are misleading because for married couples filing jointly, one parent is supposed to enter ALL household data. But the system still sends invites to both parents (which is extremely confusing). Don't worry about the "submitted and under review" status - making corrections won't reset your place in line. Just make sure you correct it within 14 days. Your daughter's SAI won't be finalized until the correction is processed.

After you make the correction, I recommend having your daughter check with each school's financial aid office to make sure they received the updated information. Some schools have told me they're having trouble getting the corrected FAFSA data from the federal system.

my daughter got more $ when only my wife's info was in lol we almost left it that way 😂

Update: We made the correction last night by going into her account and selecting "Make FAFSA Corrections" like you all suggested. It let us add my husband's income information and now it's back in "processing" status. Thank you everyone for the help! What a confusing system - they really should fix those misleading contributor invitations!

As a newcomer dealing with FAFSA for the first time, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm seeing so many families struggle with the same contributor invitation confusion. It seems like the Department of Education really needs to update their instructions to make it clear that married couples should enter ALL household information in one section, rather than sending separate invites that make it seem like each parent has their own section to complete. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions - it's reassuring to know this is a widespread issue and not something we're doing wrong!