FAFSA website down? Can't login or reset password - getting unknown error message

ya me too, been down since tuesday for me. tried calling but was on hold for 45 mins b4 i gave up

The system has been experiencing intermittent outages due to high volume this month. They're doing maintenance to accommodate the increased traffic for the 2025-2026 application cycle. Try accessing the site between 11pm-6am Eastern when traffic is lower. Also, make sure you're going directly to studentaid.gov and not clicking through from another site or email link, as some redirects are broken right now.

This exact thing happened to me last week!! So annoying!! I eventually got in by trying at like 5am (I was up with my sick kid anyway). The weird thing was that even though I got the same error, when I checked my email later that day, I had actually received the password reset email - it just didn't tell me on the site. Maybe check your spam folder?

The Federal Student Aid system is absolutely HORRIBLE this year. It's not just you - thousands of people are having issues. I work in a financial aid office and we're getting calls non-stop about this. The FSA folks keep claiming it's "normal maintenance" but this is far beyond that. If you're really worried about deadlines, I would suggest documenting your attempts (screenshots of errors) and contact your school's financial aid office to let them know you're trying but having technical difficulties. Most schools understand these issues are happening and will work with you.

Have you tried using a different device? My laptop wouldn't work but my ipad did for some reason. Also check if your browser extensions might be causing issues - I had to disable my adblocker before it would work.

After dealing with this same issue last week, I finally got through to a FAFSA agent who helped reset my account and explained what was happening. The site is experiencing database connection errors during peak hours due to the new SAI calculation system rollout. If you need to speak with someone directly to fix your account, I'd recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com). It saved me hours of frustration - they hold your place in the phone queue and call you when an agent is about to answer. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I got through to an agent, they were able to manually reset my account status and send me a direct access link that bypassed the login page. Worth the call if you're still stuck after trying the off-hours login suggestions.

Is there a specific error code you're getting or just the generic 'unknown error' message? Some errors have specific workarounds. Also, are you using any VPN? The FAFSA site now blocks certain VPN connections as a security measure. And make sure your browser is completely updated - they implemented some new security protocols that older browsers don't support.

UPDATE: I GOT IN!! It was the VPN causing the problem! As soon as I turned that off, I could log in normally. For anyone else having this issue, check if you're using a VPN service - apparently FAFSA doesn't like them anymore. Thank you all so much for the help. Now I just need to figure out how to correctly report my parents' retirement accounts on this new form... but that's a question for another day!

This is such a relief to see that the VPN was the culprit! I've been struggling with the same exact issue for days and was getting so stressed about my deadline. I use NordVPN pretty much constantly and never would have thought that was blocking my FAFSA access. Just turned it off and was able to log right in - you're a lifesaver! It's crazy that they don't give you a more specific error message about VPN blocking instead of just "unknown error." Thanks for updating with the solution!