Students, parents or other student financial aid recipients logging in to U.S. Department of Education websites will now be prompted to create log-in credentials, known as the FSA ID, in a move that will phase out the old Federal Student Aid PIN.

According to the Department of Education website, the new FSA ID consists of a standard username and password. Instead of using the former four-digit PIN system, aid recipients can login with either a username or email and a password. The move to the new FSA ID benefits students in the following ways:

• Removes personally identifiable information (PII) from login credentials, for example Social Security numbers
• Creates a more secure and efficient way to verify user information when logging in to federal student aid information
• Enables easy updates to account holder personal information, like phone numbers, e-mail addresses or names
• Allows for easy retrieval of usernames and passwords by requesting a secure code via e-mail address or by answering challenge questions

When setting up the new FSA ID, students will be able to link their current Federal Student Aid PIN to the FSA ID. In doing this, students can use the FSA ID to log in to the five primary Department of Education websites — FAFSA.gov, the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at www.nslds.ed.gov, StudentLoans.gov, StudentAid.gov and Agreement to Serve (ATS) at teach-ats.ed.gov.

Parents of dependent students will need their own FSA ID if they want to sign their student’s FAFSA electronically. Parents with more than one child attending college can use the same FSA ID to sign all applications.

The FSA ID replaces the Federal Student Aid PIN. A Federal Student Aid PIN is not required to create a new FSA ID.