The FAFSA PIN is the number you will want to have when filling out your FAFSA. The PIN usually consists on four numbers and can be used on a few federal financial aid web sites. You, the student, want to make sure you get a PIN and your custodial parent needs to get one too if you are considered a dependent student. If your parents are still married, then it does not matter which one gets a PIN. The PIN is primarily used for signing your FAFSA application when you are finished. You can still print out a signature page and mail it in, but we are in the computer age and it is just so much easier to put in a number.

The first step in getting your FAFSA PIN is to apply for one at the PIN web site, www.pin.ed.gov. If it is the first time you are applying for one, the government needs to verify who you are and it takes a couple of business days to do this. They will try to match up the information you gave to the social security database. Make sure you apply for the PIN under the exact information that is on your social security card. If it does not match, you will be denied a PIN and have to start the process all over again. This is especially important for people who are recently married and have not updated the social security administration yet.

If you put an email address in your FAFSA PIN application, you will receive an email in 1-3 business days with a link to retrieve your PIN. It is very important to keep this PIN in a safe place. Treat it like it was your bank card PIN. Once you and your parent have PIN’s, you can now move on and complete your FAFSA. When you are doing your FAFSA, it will ask you to enter your PIN at the start of the application and if your parent needs to put in information, it will ask for their PIN at the end of the application.

If you enter the PIN’s on the application, it will take several processing days of your application. Your FAFSA will be processed and sent to the school or schools on your application within one business day. Please keep in mind that schools do not always download applications every single day. So your application might be ready for the school to download, but they only do this once or twice a week.

PIN numbers can also be used to sign Stafford Loan Promissory notes and you can also use it to look up your information on the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS).
If you ever forget or lose your PIN, you can always go back to the PIN site at www.pin.ed.gov and request a duplicate PIN. These days, you will get it instantly and it can be used immediately.