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Federal Student Aid Pin Numbers


What Is a Federal Student Aid PIN and Why Do I Need One?
 For example, you can use your PIN to

  • sign your online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSASM) at www.fafsa.ed.gov;
  • review what federal student aid you have received in the past by visiting the National Student Loan Data System at www.nslds.ed.gov;
  • sign certain federal student loan contracts online;
  • find out whether your FAFSA has been processed at www.fafsa.ed.gov; or
  • correct information you reported on your FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Visit www.pin.ed.gov/pin_uses for more ways you can use your PIN.

How do I get a PIN?
Go to www.pin.ed.gov and provide a few pieces of information such as your name, address, and Social Security number (see checklist). You will be given the option of creating your own PIN or having the site create one for you. If the site creates one for you, you can choose to have your PIN displayed immediately on the screen. Otherwise, you can request that your PIN be mailed to you, or you can choose to receive an e-mail that will give you the link to a site where you can access your PIN. We won’t send your PIN to you in the e-mail itself for security reasons. Instead, we’ll ask you for some personal information to identify yourself before we show you your PIN.

What else do I need to know about my PIN?
Keep your PIN in a safe place or memorize it. Never tell anyone else your PIN, even if they are helping you fill out the FAFSA. Remember, your PIN is your signature. Protect it! One of your parents might need a PIN as well. If you need to provide information about your parents on the FAFSA, one of your parents will have to sign the application. He or she can sign electronically with his or her own PIN. Not sure whether you will need to put your parents’ information on the FAFSA? Check out “Am I Dependent or Independent?” or call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). You can use your PIN again next year. Your PIN (and your parent’s PIN) will not expire at the end of the school year, and you can continue to use it in the future to renew your FAFSA, sign loan contracts, etc. If your parent has more than one child in college, that parent can use the same PIN to sign FAFSAs for every child.

Your Federal Student Aid PIN is the personal identification number you use when you visit certain U.S. Department of Education Web sites. When you type in your PIN at these sites, you are saying either “Yes, it’s really me—please show me the personal information about me on this site” or “Please accept my PIN as my signature on this online form.”

PIN Checklist
To get your PIN, you will need your…

  • Social Security number
  • full and correct last name
  • full and correct first name
  • middle initial
  • date of birth
  • street address
  • e-mail address (optional)