PIN Information

The PIN serves as your electronic signature and provides access to your personal information in various U.S. Department of Education systems. It's like the Personal Identification Number (PIN) that you get from your bank that enables you to access your account. Anyone--including parents of dependent students--who has a valid Social Security Number and is a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen may apply for a PIN. Because you can use your PIN to sign your financial aid documents, you should keep it in a safe place. Do not give or entrust it to anyone, even if that person or organization is helping you fill out your FAFSA.

After completing a FAFSA on the Web application, you and your parents--if you are a dependent student--will need to sign your application. We cannot process your FAFSA until we receive your signature(s). Using a PIN to sign your application electronically is by far the fastest and most reliable way to sign your application. However, you can print, sign and mail in a signature page, or provide signature(s) on your paper Student Aid Report (SAR).

Each year that you apply for financial aid you can use your PIN to access and electronically sign your FAFSA, saving time and effort in the process. Since the PIN is your, and your parents', own personal electronic signature, you can use them to sign your application electronically every year. You and your parents do not need to apply for a new PIN from one year to the next. The PIN stays with you.

If you, or your parents, do not have a PIN, we strongly recommend you apply for one now. You can apply at the U.S. Department of Education's PIN site, www.pin.ed.gov, by selecting PIN Request and Information followed by Apply for PIN. Once you successfully complete a request, we will e-mail or mail you a PIN, depending on whether you and your parents provided us with an e-mail address. It will take approximately 1-3 business days after you request your PIN for you to receive an e-mail notification with instructions on how to retrieve it electronically, or 7-10 days to receive it in the mail via the U.S. Postal Service.

Visit us at the U.S. Department of Educations' PIN site. Some of the online options available are:

• Apply for a PIN for the first time
• Check the status of a PIN application
• Request a duplicate PIN if it has been lost or forgotten
• Request your PIN be changed if it has been compromised
• Update your PIN e-mail and mailing address
• Enable/Disable your PIN