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The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is required to collect signatures from the applicant and his/her parents (if applicable) when the FAFSA is filed.
There are three ways to sign the FAFSA:
- Electronically with a Personal Identification Number (PIN);
- By printing, signing and mailing a signature page after you submit an application; and
- By signing the Student Aid Report (SAR) and returning it in the mail.
Note: Electronic applications and corrections that are missing signatures will be held for 14 days for 2006-07 before a rejected Student Aid Report (SAR) is sent to the applicant. One of the changes for the 2006-07 application process was a reduction to 7 days that applications without signatures were held in the Signature Hold File. The 14-day maximum was restored effective February 27, 2006.
If the applicant does not have a PIN, he/she can print, sign, and mail a signature page when the FAFSA is submitted. However, the application process is faster if the applicant uses a PIN to sign the FAFSA electronically. If the applicant has a valid and current e-mail address (where ED can send information on retrieving the PIN electronically), he/she should apply for a PIN and speed up the application process. It takes 1-3 days to get a PIN electronically as opposed to the 10 days it would take a signature page to be received and processed through the mail.
The applicant can use the same PIN throughout for signing the FAFSA application from one year to the next. The PIN can also be used to electronically sign the following application forms:
- FAFSA on the Web;
- Renewal on the Web;
- Corrections on the Web; and
- Spanish FAFSA on the Web.
If the applicant is dependent, the parent(s) may also electronically sign the FAFSA with a PIN. If they do not currently have a PIN, they can apply for a PIN by going to ED’s PIN Web site at http://www.pin.ed.gov/ and select ‘PIN Request and Information’ and ‘Apply for PIN’. If the applicant or the parent(s) does not have an e-mail address, it will take approximately 7-10 days to receive it through the mail. Applying for a PIN is a one-time process.
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