Perhaps you’re a student, parent, or loan borrower who needs to apply for financial aid, electronically sign your FAFSA® form, or access other functionalities on the StudentAid.gov site.
Contents
Create an Account
To take full advantage of all the resources, and log in to StudentAid.gov, you’ll have to first create an FSA ID.
Personal Information
Your FSA ID gives you access to Federal Student Aid’s features, tools, and can serve as your legal signature. Your FSA ID is your account username and password.
To prepare to create your FSA ID, have your Social Security number, mobile phone, and your personal email address handy.
To start, navigate to StudentAid.gov and select “Create Account.”
Once you’re on the “Create Account” page, select the “Get Started” button.
If you are completing a FAFSA® form and are considered a dependent student, keep in mind that you will need to create your own separate FSA ID using your own personal information. A mobile phone number, email address, and Social Security number can be associated with only one FSA ID.
For helpful tips throughout the FSA ID creation process, select the question mark icons that display next to each field.
Account Information
Next, you’ll create your username enter an email address, and your password. We recommend using a non-school-based email address, since you will need to access your federal student aid account after you graduate.
Make sure you don’t include private information such as your name or date of birth as part of your password. Remember, an email address can be associated with only one username and password.
Contact Information
Next, enter your permanent address and mobile phone number. Indicate if you want to use your mobile phone for account recovery. We highly recommend this option as it will help you access your account if you forget your username or password in the future.
Communication Preferences
After selecting “Continue,” you’ll be prompted to choose your communications preferences. On the “Communications Preferences” screen, select if you’d like to receive required communications from the Department of Education via email or by postal mail. We recommend email.
Besides the required communications, we’ll occasionally send you informational communications about grants, student loan forgiveness, or income-based repayment plans you may qualify for.
You can opt to receive these by email, text message, or both.
—or choose not to receive informational communications.
You’ll also have the option to select English or Spanish as your preferred language for the communicationstheye send you.
Challenge Questions
Next, you’ll select four challenge questions and answers. Memorize or keep these answers in a safe place in case you need them to help access your account in the future. Choose a question using the dropdown and add your answer in the text box.
Select “Show Answer” to see your answer as you type it. Your answers are not case-sensitive. You’re almost there!
Confirm and Verify
On this step, you can review your information and confirm everything looks correct.
If you need to make a correction, select the “Edit” button within that tile of information. After ensuring your information is correct, review and agree to the terms and conditions at the bottom of the screen.
Verify Your Contact Info
This is the last step before your account is completed. Select the “Verify My Mobile Phone Number” button and/or the “Verify My Email Address” button to verify your contact information.
If you entered an email address and mobile phone number for your account, you’ll need to verify both.
After selecting the “Verify My Mobile Phone Number” button, you will see a pop-up. Enter the six-digit secure code that was sent to the mobile number associated with your account. If you did not receive a code, select the “Resend Secure Code” link. After entering the six-digit code and selecting “Continue,” you will see a Verified checkmark under the “Verify My Mobile Phone Number” button.
The same steps apply when verifying your email address. Select the “Verify My Email Address” button. And enter the six-digit code you received in your email in the pop-up box.
Note, the secure code will expire after 30 minutes. Once your contact information is verified, select “Finish.”
Congratulations
Congratulations, you’ve successfully created your FSA ID. If you entered an email address, you will receive a confirmation email. Make sure you note your username and password and keep them in a safe place.
You can begin using your account immediately, but it will take one to three days for your information to be verified by the Social Security Administration.
Some of your actions on the site will be limited until your information is verified.
You cannot:
- Correct your existing FAFSA form
- Submit a FAFSA renewal
- Sign Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request forms
- Sign Direct Consolidation Loan Application forms
You can:
- Sign an original (first-time) FAFSA form
- Access your Dashboard
- Review your loan balance (if applicable)
- Explore additional Dashboard features.
However, with your newly created FSA ID, you can immediately complete and sign a first-time FAFSA form. You can also use your FSA ID to access your dashboard, review your loan balance, and explore additional dashboard features.
You are now able to take control of your federal student aid journey, and access all StudentAid.gov has to offer.
