6 Easy Steps to Check Your Student Loan Forgiveness Progress in New PSLF System

The Biden administration has completed the transition of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program from MOHELA to StudentAid.gov. This move streamlines the process for borrowers pursuing PSLF, eliminating the need to transfer servicers and potentially face disruptions.

First, some background on the transition. Then we’ll explore how to navigate the new PSLF tracking system.

What is PSLF?

PSLF is a popular federal student loan forgiveness program that rewards public service work by wiping out a borrower’s eligible federal student loans after 120 “qualifying payments,” the equivalent of 10 years. To qualify, borrowers must:

• Work full-time for certain nonprofit or public organizations
• Meet the program’s other eligibility rules, such as being on a qualifying repayment plan

The PSLF transition

During the three-month transition period, borrowers temporarily lost access to their PSLF data, including qualifying payment counts. In addition, no PSLF employment certification forms could be processed during that time. 

But on July 1, 2024, the transition to StudentAid.gov was complete. Borrowers can now review detailed information on their PSLF progress through their StudentAid.gov account.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has approved $68 billion in forgiveness for more than 942,000 borrowers through #PSLF,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement on X last week. “Ready to learn if you are already approved for PSLF loan forgiveness?”

How to navigate the new PSLF tracking system

Follow these six easy steps to check your student loan forgiveness progress in the new PSLF system.

Log into your StudentAid.gov account

To review your PSLF status, log into your account at StudentAid.gov using your FSA ID. If you don’t remember your username or password, you can click the “forgot my username” or “forgot my password” links to retrieve or generate new credentials.

If you’ve never logged into StudentAid.gov, you must create an FSA ID. The online application process is fairly quick and straightforward. However, because the Education Department must verify your Social Security number with the Social Security Administration, it can take several days for your account to become active.

Track student loan forgiveness progress under PSLF program

Once logged in, you should be able to retrieve your PSLF tracking information. You should see a link in the “Quick Links” box that says, “Track Your PSLF Progress.” Click that link.

This will open a new page with a progress bar showing the number of qualifying PSLF payments counted so far and the number of payments remaining before reaching the 120-payment threshold for student loan forgiveness. 

You'll see more detailed information on your qualifying payment count if you click the “show payment summary” link below the progress bar. There’s one caveat: you’ll only see qualifying payments displayed if you previously certified your employment by submitting a PSLF Employment Certification form.

Note: The PSLF Tracking dashboard has an important notice saying, “Your PSLF payment information below may only reflect activity through April 2024 prior to the processing pause. We continue to work on updating your PSLF payment counts and expect updates through the end of 2024. Check back periodically.” 

This is because the Education Department is prioritizing updating PSLF payment counts based on employment certifications submitted before the PSLF processing pause began. 

Review month-by-month breakdown of PSLF payments

In addition to the progress bar, you can also get a month-by-month breakdown of your PSLF progress. This can help you determine what is currently qualifying toward student loan forgiveness and what is not qualifying (and why).

Toward the top of your screen, under “PSLF Payments,” you should see a link that says “Payment History.” Clicking that should open up a long list of months (possibly spread out over several pages, which you’ll have to navigate through one by one). 

Each month will have one of three possible designations:

• Open green circle: This indicates “Employment Not Certified.” It means the month may qualify toward PSLF, but the Education Department has not yet determined if your employment qualifies. If you submitted a PSLF Employment Certification that hasn’t been processed, the status should be updated once approved. Otherwise, you need to submit the certification form for the month (or months) to count.
• Closed green circle: This indicates the month has been counted as a qualifying PSLF payment.
• Closed red circle: This indicates that the month is ineligible for PSLF. It could be for any number of reasons, such as missing a payment that month or being in a non-qualifying status (such as an in-school status).

You can get more details on any particular month by clicking the “view details” link on the right-hand side of the qualifying payment table. 

Review PSLF employment certifications

The PSLF data at StudentAid.gov also provides information on employment periods that the Education Department has certified. 

Toward the top, under “PSLF Payments” and right next to “Payment History,” click the “Employment Certification” button. This gives detailed information on each PSLF Employment Certification you’ve submitted, including the employer's name, the submission date, and the employment period being certified. 

You can get even more information by clicking the “view details” button on the right-hand side of the table.

Certify employment to get PSLF credit

If, after reviewing your PSLF Tracking information, you believe that some employment periods haven’t been counted, be sure to check the “Employment Certification” section to confirm which employment periods have been counted. 

You can also navigate back to your main dashboard at StudentAid.gov and scroll down to the “My Activity” section to see what PSLF forms you’ve submitted and whether or not they are marked as “Completed.”

Ultimately, if you think certain employment periods have not been counted toward loan forgiveness under PSLF but you believe you have met all other program criteria, you can submit a PSLF Employment Certification. 

The Education Department recommends doing this online using the PSLF Help Tool. The online system to complete your PSLF Employment Certification is typically a much smoother and faster experience than submitting a paper form.

Borrowers are encouraged to review detailed Education Department guidance outlining how to use the PSLF Help Tool.

Dispute any PSLF problems

If you’ve thoroughly reviewed your PSLF tracking information at StudentAid.gov and believe that the Education Department has made an error, you may need to take action. If they've wrongfully rejected a qualifying employment period or failed to properly count your payments despite submitting your employment certification via the PSLF Help Tool, you can submit a dispute through the PSLF Reconsideration system. 

This is an online system — again, requiring your FSA ID — where you can submit a request for a manual review and investigation.

When to submit a reconsideration request

“You should only submit a reconsideration request if you disagree with the qualifying payment count you received in a letter either from us or from a prior PSLF servicer or is displayed on your StudentAid.gov account,” says the online instructions. 

“Before submitting a reconsideration request, be sure to review the program requirements for qualifying payments to confirm that your situation warrants reconsideration for PSLF.”

Stay on top of your PSLF progress

Regularly certifying employment, reviewing payment histories, and disputing any issues can help ensure a smooth journey to achieving PSLF. If you need some direction or have questions about your repayment situation, book a student loan consult now for a personalized plan.