Information about the FAFSA ID
Click on the video below to learn about the FSA ID
File your 2020 -2021 FAFSA by February 1, 2020
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) determines your financial aid eligibility. It serves as the application for the federal Pell Grant as well as state TELS and TSAA funds and the Tennessee HOPE and Promise scholarships. For the Class of 2020, February 1, 2020is the FAFSA deadline to remain TN Promise eligible.
In order to file a FAFSA, you are required to create a FSA ID. The FSA ID gives you access to Federal Student Aid’s online systems and serves as your legal signature for your FAFSA. You, as a student, will need to use your personal information to create the FSA ID. Your parent(s) or guardian(s) will be required to create their own FSA ID to sign your FAFSA as well. Your parent(s) or guardian(s) must use their personal information to create a FSA ID. This means that students and parents cannot use the same email address to create their FSA IDs.
You can create your FSA ID any time before you file the FAFSA. You and your parents are encouraged to create your FSA IDs before the 2020-2021 FAFSA becomes available on October 1, 2019. Please remember that creating your FSA ID is NOT the same as filing your FAFSA. If you create an FSA ID but do not file the 2020-2021 FAFSA by February 1, 2020, you will no longer be eligible for TN Promise.
Creating your FSA ID
Visit https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm, and follow these steps to create your FSA ID. If you have questions during the process, click on the grey question marks next to each field for additional information.
- Under the “Create an FSA ID” tab, enter your email address, then enter your email address again to confirm.
- Create a username and password. (The password must include at least three of these four criteria: numbers, uppercase letters, lowercase letters and/or special characters.)
- Re-enter your password to confirm.
- Click “I am 13 years of age or older.”
2. Enter your full Social Security Number. Make sure this is your CORRECT Social Security Number!!!
3. Enter your date of birth in the mm/dd/yyyy format (e.g., 01/05/1996).
4. Enter your first name, middle initial and last name as it appears on your social security card. Please note that there is a separate box to enter each part of your name. Do not enter your full name in the firrst name box.
5. Click “Continue.” The information you have already provided should be completed on the next page.
6. Enter your home address, phone number and select your language preference (English or Spanish).
7. You will be required to select five challenge questions. These questions will come in handy if you forget your FSA ID password. They will allow you to unlock your account.
8. For Questions 1 and 2, select a question from the list and type your answer. You will create your own question for Questions 3 and 4. Choose questions and answers that are easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess.
- The answers you create must have at least 3 characters. They are not case sensitive.
9. For Question 5, you will need to select a signi cant date in your life.
- Your answer must be 8 digits in the mm/dd/yyyy format.
- It is recommended that you choose your date of birth for this question.
10. Click the box under the terms and conditions that says, “I certify that the above information is correct & accept the terms and conditions.”
11. On the next page, you will have the option to verify your email address or to continue without verifying. We recommend you click “Continue without Verifying.”
- You should only verify your email address if you want to use your email address as your FSA ID username.
- If you choose to do this, you will need to enter the secure code. This will be emailed to the email address provided.
If you have trouble creating your FSA ID, please contact the FSA ID helpline at 1-800-557-7394. You can also webchat with an FSA ID representative. Click on “Help” on fafsa.ed.gov. Click “Contact Us.” Click “Live Help.”