Received SAI number but still getting FAFSA incomplete emails - is my husband's portion really missing?

same thing happened with my sons fafsa last month! got the sai number but then my ex husband (his dad) kept getting emails saying he didnt finish his part. turns out the system glitched and didnt save his signature even though we had the confirmation page. had to go back in and just redo the signature part. check if maybe that happened to you?

This is actually a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The system will occasionally generate an SAI calculation based on partial information if the student and one contributor have completed their sections, but the second contributor's section is still considered incomplete. This creates the exact situation you're describing - a seemingly valid SAI number, but incomplete application. There are three specific scenarios where this typically happens: 1. Missing digital signature from one contributor 2. An identity verification step wasn't completed 3. The system didn't properly link the contributor's account You should definitely check the status page on studentaid.gov - look specifically at the contributor section status. It's very possible that one small component of your husband's section is missing despite most of it being complete. Don't ignore those school emails - they're likely seeing the incomplete status in their systems.

The schools aren't just sending random emails - their systems sync with FAFSA data and they can see the incomplete status. Those reminder emails are actually a blessing because they're alerting you to a real problem! I'd suggest logging in immediately to check the exact status. If you can't figure out what's missing, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. But be prepared to wait FOREVER. I spent 3 hours on hold last month trying to fix a similar issue with my daughter's FAFSA.

FAFSA is THE WORST this year!!! My son's application has been "processing" for 9 weeks, and every time we call for help we get disconnected after waiting on hold for an hour. Then we tried again and sat on hold for TWO HOURS before someone picked up, and then they couldn't even help! The entire system is broken and nobody cares that students might lose financial aid because of THEIR mistakes. I'm so fed up with the whole thing.

Recently had this exact issue with my son's FAFSA. After struggling to reach anyone at Federal Student Aid, I discovered Claimyr.com and it saved me so much frustration. Instead of waiting on hold for hours, their service got me connected to a live FAFSA agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed exactly what was missing from my section (it was the digital signature that didn't save properly). They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ After fixing that one missing piece, we immediately received confirmation that the FAFSA was fully complete, and the colleges stopped sending reminder emails within 2-3 days.

pro tip: even after u fix whatever is missing, it takes like 3-5 days for colleges to update their systems. so dont freak out if u still get reminder emails for a few days after u fix it. also make sure u take a screenshot of the final confirmation page this time!!!

Just to follow up on this thread - there's another scenario I've seen cause this issue. If your husband created his FSA ID but then used a different email address when completing the FAFSA contributor section, the system sometimes fails to properly connect his FSA ID with his contributor information, resulting in an incomplete status despite showing an SAI. This has been a widespread problem with the 2025-2026 FAFSA that the Department of Education has acknowledged but hasn't fully resolved. When you log in to check, pay special attention to the email addresses associated with each person's section.

UPDATE: We figured it out! My husband logged in and discovered he completed everything EXCEPT checking the final "I agree" box and clicking submit on the very last page. He had saved his progress but never actually submitted. The confusing part is that it let my daughter get an SAI calculation anyway. Thank you everyone for your help! We've properly submitted everything now and got a confirmation number. Now just waiting for the colleges to update their systems and stop sending those reminder emails!