Contributors & FSA ID
One of the new terms for the 2024-25 aid year is “contributor”—another term for the student, spouse, or parent who is providing their information on the FAFSA. Each contributor will need to provide their name, date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN), and email address to be invited to fill out their section of the FAFSA, as well as have an FSA ID.
FSA ID is the login that students and their contributors use to sign into the FAFSA, fill out their application, and sign into other Department of Education systems.
The Department of Education has laid out the following steps for contributors who require additional identity verification following a failed SSN check to receive an FSA ID:
Step 1: An individual should visit StudentAid.gov, select “Create Account” and complete all steps, including answering 1 to 4 knowledge-based verification questions via TransUnion®.
Step 2: Upon completing the Create Account process, the individual will see a confirmation page with their identity verification results. If they failed the TransUnion® process, the individual will be informed that FSA was unable to verify their information and that they must contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243.
Note: The individual will also receive an email from FSA informing them to call FSAIC for next steps and verify their identity.
Step 3: Once the individual contacts FSAIC, FSA will create a case number and send them a verification email, which will include guidance on how to submit copies of unexpired acceptable documentation (listed below) to verify their identity. Individuals will also be required to submit an attestation and validation of identity form along with their approved identity documentation. This form will be available on https://studentaid.gov/forms-library.
Provide one (1) of the following documents to establish identity:
- U.S. Driver’s License
- U.S. State/City Identification Card
- Foreign Passport
OR
One (1) set of documents below to establish identity:
- Municipal Identification Cards + utility bill
- Community ID + utility bill
- Consular Identification Cards/Matricula Consular + utility bill
Step 4: Upon receipt of the email that FSA was unable to verify their identity, an individual is then required to submit one or a combination of their acceptable documentation from the list above and a signed attestation form to: IDVerification@ed.gov.
Step 5: FSA will review an individual’s submitted documentation and signed attestation form to ensure it is acceptable and matches the account information provided during the Create Account process. If there is a successful match, the Department will finalize the account creation. The individual will receive an email indicating their identity has been verified and that they may now use their account username and password (FSA ID) to log in at StudentAid.gov and complete applications for student financial assistance programs.
Note: All documents will be submitted directly to the Department of Education, UMGC is not involved in this process.
When the student enters their contributor’s information on their FAFSA, the contributor is alerted in real-time via email that they have been invited and can begin filling it out immediately.
All contributors will have 45 calendar days to enter their information before the form information is deleted.
Yes. A FAFSA must be filled out annually.
Providing Consent & the IRS Direct Data Exchange
Students who have filled out the FAFSA in prior years will likely be familiar with the IRS Data Retrieval tool. This same functionality returns for the 2024-2025 aid year under a new name: the IRS Direct Data Exchange (DDX). The DDX will require each contributor to consent to having their data transferred from the IRS. After the DDX transfers data to the FAFSA, the student may still be required to manually submit some data fields to complete the Finances section of the FAFSA.
If any contributor does not consent to having their tax data transferred, the student will not be able to be considered for financial aid.
Most income data items are transferred through the DDX, as well as family size (this is also asked on the FAFSA).
Yes, the contributor who declined to provide consent will be able to sign back in with their FSA ID and provide consent after submission.
Next Steps After Submission
Once the student has completed their section of the FAFSA, they will be forwarded to a provisional FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly known as a Student Aid Report). They will be able to see which contributors have been invited, which ones have started submitting their information, and which have completed their submissions. Once all contributions have been submitted, the full FAFSA Submission Summary will be sent to the student and the student’s information will be sent to UMGC for processing.
After all sections of the online FAFSA form are completed and submitted, you will receive a confirmation email noting the submission date of your FAFSA, the estimated Student Aid Index (SAI), and estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility. However, you will not receive a FAFSA Submission Summary from the U.S. Department of Education until the first half of March. Federal Student Aid will send an email when your FAFSA Submission Summary is available to review on StudentAid.gov.
The U.S. Department of Education has said the 2024–2025 FAFSA form will begin processing in late January. The results of your 2024–2025 FAFSA form will not be transmitted to UMGC until that time. The UMGC Office of Financial Aid will communicate to you when your 2024–2025 FAFSA information has been received.
