Creating your FSA ID before you begin the FAFSA

Creating your FSA ID before you begin the FAFSA^® form only takes a few minutes and could prevent processing delays.

Tip: Use your FSA ID to start your FAFSA form.
When you create your FSA ID, be careful to enter your name and Social Security number exactly as they appear on your Social Security card. Then, when you go to fafsa.gov to start your application, you will be given the option to “Enter your (the student’s) FSA ID” or to “Enter the student’s information.”

If you log in with your FSA ID, certain information (including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth) will be automatically loaded into your application. This will prevent you from running into a common error that occurs when your verified FSA ID information doesn’t match the information on your FAFSA form. Additionally, you won’t have to provide your FSA ID again to sign your FAFSA form electronically or to use the Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) if you’re eligible.

The student is the one applying for financial aid, so be sure it’s the student entering his or her FSA ID where it says “Enter your (the student’s) FSA ID.” Do not start the FAFSA form by supplying the parent’s FSA ID.

 

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Gathering the Documents Needed to Apply

The FAFSA questions ask for information about you (your name, date of birth, address, etc.) and about your financial situation. Depending on your circumstances (for instance, whether you’re a U.S. citizen or what tax form you used), you might need the following information or documents as you fill out the application:

• Your Social Security number (it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA form!)
• Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student
• Your driver’s license number if you have one
• Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
• Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if you are married), and for your parents if you are a dependent student:
  • IRS 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ
  • Foreign tax return
  • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
• Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
• Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student

Keep these records! You may need them again. Do not mail your records to us.
 

Try This Resource

2018–19 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet—Provides a preview of the questions students and parents may be asked while completing the FAFSA form.