Financial Aid Administrators have some new workarounds and functionality to address some of the lingering issues related to 2024-25 and 2025-26 FAFSA form processing.
An April 14 Electronic Announcement provided updates and guidance for several items, including:
- Student Records with a Pseudo-SSN
- FAFSA Submission Summary Reprint Functionality for Paper Filers
- ISIR Request Functionality for Institutions and States
Student Records with a Pseudo-SSN
First-time FAFSA filers from the Freely Associated States (the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of Micronesia) who do not have an SSN are assigned a “pseudo-SSN” (a number beginning with “666”) and are encouraged to reuse their pseudo-SSN when filing the FAFSA in subsequent years.
Some returning applicants with a pseudo-SSN have been assigned a new pseudo-SSN by the system, which created duplicate records and made viewing and tracking pertinent information difficult for schools.
The Department implemented a workaround in COD in November 2024 to sweep the accounts twice per week to match new pseudo-SSN records with existing records. However, schools that continue to see students with multiple pseudo-SSNs should contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center to have the records manually linked.
FAFSA Submission Summary Reprint Functionality for Paper Filers
As of March 30, the FAFSA Partner Portal (FPP) includes new functionality which allows the reprinting of a FAFSA Submission Summary for applicants who completed and submitted a paper FAFSA.
A Financial Aid Administrator can request the reprint on behalf of the student and request that it be mailed to either the student’s address on the FAFSA or to a new mailing address.
This new feature can be accessed in the FPP by searching for the student, selecting the applicable transaction, and clicking the “FAFSA Submission Summary Reprint” button displayed under the Transaction Details section.
ISIR Request Functionality for Institutions and States
As of March 30, the ability to request a single ISIR or a specific group of ISIRs from the FAFSA Processing System has been restored for institutions and states.
The feature is available starting with the 2024-25 cycle and can be submitted by the Destination Point Administrator (DPA) enrolled for FAFSA batch services or by a FAFSA Online Servicers user enrolled for ISIR requests. Institutions and state agencies should limit ISIR requests to a one-month time range.
Volume 3 of the FAFSA Specifications Guide includes additional information on requesting ISIRs through the ISIR Datamart.
