Husband can't access FAFSA invitation - do we both need to fill out forms if we file taxes jointly?

Yes, for the 2025-2026 FAFSA, both contributors in the household need to complete their portions separately, even if you file taxes jointly. This is part of the new FAFSA Simplification Act changes. Each contributor (typically parents) must create their own FSA ID and complete their own section. Your son won't be able to submit a complete application until all contributors finish their sections. For the login issues, your husband should try: 1. Using a different browser 2. Clearing cookies and cache 3. Making sure he's using the exact email associated with his FSA ID 4. Waiting 30 minutes between password reset attempts (the system has timeout restrictions

OMG I HAD THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM!! My husband couldn't get into his account for like 3 days and our daughter was freaking out about her deadline. It's ridiculous they make both parents do this even when you file together. The whole point of filing jointly is so we don't have to do everything twice!!! The stupid system kept saying his account was locked and no matter how many times he reset it wouldn't work.

Technical specialist here - the FSA ID system has been experiencing intermittent issues since the FAFSA redesign. For the login problems, your husband should: 1. Try the "Forgot Username" option first (not the password reset) 2. After receiving his username, wait 1 hour before attempting the password reset 3. Make sure he's answering his challenge questions exactly as entered during account creation (case sensitive) 4. If using a mobile device, try on desktop instead And yes, both contributors must complete their sections regardless of joint tax filing status. The new FAFSA requires individual consent and information from each contributor, even though much of the financial information may be identical.

your husband deff needs to do his part too. my wife and i both had to. its stupid but thats how it works now 🙄 good luck getting in tho, those fsa id's are a pain

After spending literally HOURS trying to deal with similar FSA ID issues, I finally got through to a human at Federal Student Aid by using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have this service that gets you past the hold times - there's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent was able to help my spouse unlock his account on the spot instead of us waiting for days with automated systems that weren't working. Might be worth it if you're still stuck after trying the technical fixes others suggested.

just wondering - did your son send the invitation to the correct email for your husband? my daughter accidentally sent mine to an old email address i dont use anymore and that caused all kinds of problems for us. might be worth checking if he got the invite email at all?

Another thing to note - there's a specific order to follow when creating accounts and completing forms: 1. Student creates FSA ID first 2. Student starts FAFSA application 3. Student sends contributor invitations to parents 4. Each parent creates/uses their FSA ID to complete their section 5. Student finalizes and submits If you try to create accounts or access in a different order, it can cause these technical issues. Also, make sure your husband isn't using your FSA ID information by mistake - each contributor needs their own unique FSA ID linked to their own email and phone.

Did you guys get it figured out? I'm invested now lol. For us it turned out my husband's account was actually locked for real because he tried too many times with the wrong password. We had to call and they manually unlocked it.

Great to hear you resolved it! Just a heads-up for the future - once your husband completes his section, make sure your son goes back in to review and finalize the FAFSA. Many students don't realize they need to complete that final submission step after all contributors finish their parts. The 2025-2026 FAFSA won't be considered complete until the student gives that final approval.

So glad to see you got it working! This thread is super helpful - I'm bookmarking it because I have a feeling I'll be dealing with similar issues when my youngest applies next year. The FSA ID system really seems to be a common pain point for families. Thanks to everyone who shared their troubleshooting tips, especially the specific steps about username recovery first then waiting before password reset. It's crazy that both parents have to do separate forms even with joint filing, but at least now I know what to expect!