Returning FAFSA filer question - who logs in first for 2nd year application?

For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, the student still needs to initiate the application first. The process is similar to last year even for returning applicants. Your son should log in to his studentaid.gov account first, start the renewal application, and then he'll have the option to invite you as a contributor. You'll receive a notification when it's your turn to complete your section. You both use your existing accounts - no need to create new ones.

my dauhter and i did ours last month and she had to start it first then i got an email to do my part. pretty much same as last year but more questions about my assets (ugh

The FAFSA renewal process requires the student to initiate everything, even for returning filers. This is because the student is the primary applicant, and parents are always contributors. One thing to note - while you'll use your existing FSA ID credentials, the new FAFSA introduced in 2024-2025 has different contributor invitation procedures. Your son needs to log in, select "FAFSA Renewal," and then he'll be prompted to add you as a contributor. You'll receive an email with instructions once he's completed his portion. The system won't let you both work simultaneously - it's still a sequential process.

when we did our second fafsa last fall my daughter started it but then the system crashed and we couldnt get back in for like 3 days!!! so frustrating!!! when we finally got back in we had to start all over!! make sure your son writes down his save key because thats what we lost and it was a HUGE mess. and yes students always have to start it.

If you've been struggling to reach FSA about contributor access issues, I highly recommend checking out Claimyr. I was on hold with FSA for hours trying to resolve similar problems until I found their service. Claimyr gets you through to a live FSA agent without the insane wait. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and their website is claimyr.com. Totally worth it when you're dealing with time-sensitive FAFSA issues.

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO STARTS FIRST!!!! the websites just trying to confuse everyone so we mess up and they don't have to pay as much aid!!!! I did mine first last year and it worked fine. the whole contributor thing is just unnecessary confusion.

I was confused about this too for my daughter's second year! The student DEFINITELY has to start first. We learned this the hard way when I tried logging in to my account first last year and spent hours trying to figure out why I couldn't access her application. Apparently even though we're all in the system from last year, the student still has to create the new application and then invite parents as contributors. Also make sure both of you remember your FSA ID usernames and passwords from last year! And that save key thing is super important too.

wait do we have to do the fafsa every year? i thought once you did it it was good for all 4 years?

Thank you everyone for the helpful information! I just wanted to update - we successfully completed our renewal FAFSA yesterday. My son logged in first, started the renewal application, and then invited me as a contributor. I received the email about 10 minutes after he finished his part. The process was much smoother than last year since we already had our FSA IDs set up. One tip: they've added some new asset questions this year, so have your latest statements ready. Also, the SAI calculation showed up immediately after submission, which was nice compared to the long wait last year!