Get Ready for Upcoming Federal Student Aid PIN Changes

On May 10, the U.S. Department of Education plans to release a new Federal Student Aid ID feature. The FSA ID will let students, borrowers and parents authenticate their identities across multiple FSA websites.

Previously, verifying someone's identity was the job of the Federal Student Aid PIN, and as you would expect, that role is an important one. On FSA websites, people can access their federal student aid information, as well as officially sign loan documents. The FSA ID will improve these processes in a number of ways.

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It Will Fix PIN Problems

The Student Loan Ranger often directs borrowers to visit the National Student Loan Data System. This is the government's central database for all federal student loan information. By accessing it, borrowers can find out how much they owe, who holds their loans and a bunch of other important information about their debt.

Knowing these details is a great benefit to borrowers, but they run into a common issue getting to this information: remembering their PIN.

The PIN is the four-digit number that the borrower used when completing his or her Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Considering the amount of time between filing that application and entering repayment, borrowers often lose track of that number and are confused when the NSLDS asks for it.

FSA makes it very easy to retrieve your PIN, but to do so, you have to submit your Social Security number, name and date of birth. While FSA has secure websites, they also recognize that requiring this type of personal information every time someone needs to retrieve their PIN is not ideal -- from a security and a best practice standpoint.

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It Will Make Identification Improvements

The new FSA ID eliminates personal information from the login equation, though you will still need to provide your name, date of birth and Social Security number to create your ID. To access your account, all you will have to do is select a username and password of your choosing, similar to how countless other websites handle authentication. As with any other username or password, you should keep the information for your FSA ID in a safe place and avoid sharing it with anyone.

Once you have your ID, it will grant you access to your student loan information across a number of FSA sites. The FSA ID allows single sign-on for most of FSA's systems. This means you can use the same login information to apply for student loans as you would to apply for an income-driven plan when repaying those loans. This simplifies your overall borrowing experience.

It's even better if you currently know your PIN. When you register for your FSA ID, you will have the option to link your PIN to your new ID. If you do this, you will be able to access FSA sites immediately with your new ID.

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If you do not link your PIN during registration, you will have limited use of these sites until your personal information is confirmed. FSA estimates that will take one to three days. Here are step-by-step directions for creating your FSA ID.

In addition to NSLDS mentioned above, your FSA ID will grant you access to a number of other important websites for student loan borrowers. Here's a list of these sites, as well as some actions you can take on each.

-- FAFSA on the Web, which will allow you to apply for federal student loans.

-- StudentAid.gov, where you can view your federal student loan and grant history and learn where to make payments.

-- StudentLoans.gov, where you can apply for income-driven repayment plans and borrow a federal consolidation loan.

-- Agreement to Serve, where you can manage your TEACH Grant.

Until May 10, you should continue to use your PIN to access these websites. If you have additional questions about the PIN or the FSA ID, check out this information from the Department of Education.

Ryan Lane is the senior editor for American Student Assistance, where he oversees the financial website saltmoney.org and serves as the editor of the SALT Blog. He graduated from Syracuse University with a B.S. in journalism.