Does a Spouse Need To Access the FAFSA If They Are Not a Contributor?

It depends. NASFAA has confirmed with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that there are two required questions for a spouse even if they are not a required contributor. These are questions regarding their identity and contact information. How these questions are completed depends on the type of FAFSA being filed: paper or online.

Paper FAFSA (FAFSA PDF): 

For a dependent student, if their parents are married and filed a joint tax return, one parent must complete the parent section of the FAFSA, including their consent, approval, and signature. The parent's spouse must only complete the identity and contact information questions (questions 42 and 43). They skip the remaining questions, including the consent, approval, and signature. Similarly, if an independent student is married, their spouse must complete the identity and contact information questions (questions 25 and 26) but they skip the remaining questions if they filed taxes jointly with the student.

Online FAFSA: 

The online FAFSA is a bit different. In the case of a dependent student, the student either:

• Provides both parents' identity and contact information, though they are only required to invite one as a contributor; or
• Provides only one parent's identity and contact information.

In the second scenario, when the contributing parent completes their section, they will be prompted to provide their spouse's identity and contact information. If they filed a joint tax return, the spouse will not be invited to contribute to the FAFSA. Similarly, a married independent student will provide their spouse's identity and contact information on the online FAFSA, but the spouse will not be invited as a contributor if they filed a joint tax return with the student.

Note: Even though the user is asked to provide their spouse's email address, the spouse will not receive an email invitation to contribute to the student's FAFSA if they are not a required contributor. 

Also see the AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&A, Who Is a FAFSA Contributor Starting With the 2024-25 FAFSA? (Award Year: 2024-25)