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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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