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FAFSA Form Ready: Help Students Create a StudentAid.gov account now
The new 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form is expected to be available before Dec. 1, 2024. Submitting the FAFSA form is the first step to getting federal student grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities, and student loans.
Who is eligible for federal student aid?
Make the form submission as easy as possible by doing two things. First, have students create a StudentAid.gov account now. Second, if they're under 24 years old, have their parent to create their account before December 1 as well.
1. Have students Create a StudentAid.gov account or make sure that they can access an existing account by signing in to StudentAid.gov.
2. If under age 24, get a parent to create their account. Check this chart to confirm whether a parent or spouse also needs to have an account before submitting a FAFSA form.
What does a student need to create a StudentAid.gov account?
· Name (exactly as it appears on a Social Security card)
· Date of birth
· Personal email address
· Social Security number (if available)
Remember: Students will only have one StudentAid.gov account to use for the rest of their life, so make sure that they use an email address that they’ll have access to even after graduating from school or changing jobs.
How do I know if a parent or spouse also need to create an account?
· Check this chart to see whether any other contributors, like a parent or spouse, also need to create an account before submitting the FAFSA form.
· If you’re still not sure whether a parent should sign the form, confirm whether you are an independent or dependent student.
· If a dependent student, the student and parent can use the Who’s My FAFSA Parent wizard to figure out which parent, guardian or spouse also needs to create an account.
What if a student or parent doesn't have a Social Security number?
· If there is a SSN, they must provide it when creating an account.
· All students must have an SSN to create a StudentAid.gov account unless they are from the Freely Associated States (Micronesia, Marshall Islands, or Palau). Check eligibility here.
· If a parent or spouse who does not have an SSN, you can still create a StudentAid.gov account to contribute to a student’s FAFSA form. When creating an account, leave the SSN field blank and select “What if I don’t have a Social Security number?”
· If only one parent has an SSN, that parent is the one who should create an account and join the student's FAFSA form as a contributor.
Note: If you get a message saying the SSN entered is already in use, make sure the SSN is entered correctly. If the SSN is correct, then it’s likely an account was previously or someone else (such as a parent) created for you. Try logging in first rather than creating a new account. If you think you may already have an account, and are having trouble accessing, you will need to recover your account. You can use this page: Recover Your Account | Federal Student Aid. If you’re sure an account has not already been created, contact the office of Federal Student Aid for more help. Do not attempt to use an ITIN or other value in place of an SSN for online account creation.
CDHE also has resources to assist in setting up FSA IDs. See the YouTube videos below which walk through the process. In addition, the Department has created a 12th Grade FSA ID Creation Dashboard by County. You can easily track your county's progress weekly.
FSA ID Creation Dashboard by Count
Learn More
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