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Social Security Number
Match
To Receive federal student aid funds, a student
must have a valid Social Security number. The
Central
Processing System (CPS) conducts a match with
Social Security Administration (SSA) records to determine that the student's
SSN is valid and that the name and date of birth associated with that number
corresponds with the information provided on the
FAFSA.
The Department also uses this match to confirm whether or not the student is a
U.S. citizen. Except for citizens of the Freely Associated States, the CPS won't
process an application without a SSN.
No Match on the Social
Security Number
If the SSN the student reported is not found in the
SSA database, the student's application will be rejected and the student will
receive a comment on the
Student Aid
Report (SAR) to correct the SSN or to contact SSA if he or she believes the
SSN to be correct.
If the student reported the wrong SSN on the
original FAFSA, it is strongly recommended that the student file a new FAFSA,
rather than trying to correct the original application information. One reason
for this recommendation is that the SSN as reported on the student's initial
FAFSA of the award year makes up part of his or her student identifier. Even if
the SSN is corrected on a subsequent transaction, the identifier will still use
the SSN as initially reported. This could cause a problem if the first incorrect
number belongs to another aid filer for that award year. It also may cause
confusion in communicating information to other Department systems such as
NSLDS or the Common
Origination and Disbursement System.
No Match on Name or
Birth Date
If the student's SSN is in the SSA database, but
the name or date of birth doesn't match SSA records, the application will not be
rejected. Mis-spellings and name changes due to marriage are common reasons for
a non-match. If the name or date of birth is incorrect on the SAR, the student
should submit corrections to the CPS.
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