Why would a parent need their own account log-in, and how do they create it?

Custodial parent(s) should not create an account.

If your parents are divorced/separated, and at least one of the institutions to which you are applying requires the CSS Profile for noncustodial parents, the non-custodial parent (the parent who does not provide the majority of your financial support) will need to create a parent account to complete a second CSS Profile.

To create an account, non-custodial parents should go to the home page of the CSS Profile and click the “Sign In to” button, and then “Create Account” under “Don’t have an account?” Create the account using the noncustodial parent's information, not the student’s information. The biggest source of confusion for parent account creation is using the student's information. Once the noncustodial parent has created their account and begins to complete the CSS Profile, be careful to answer student sections with the student’s information and parent sections with the parent’s information.