How to Apply for Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

Student loan debt is often expensive and can keep you from pursuing other life and financial goals. Several student loan forgiveness programs can help wipe away a portion or all of your student loan balance.

Each student loan forgiveness program carries its own guidelines and requirements to qualify. Below is an overview of how to apply for student loan forgiveness for various programs, including how each program works and eligibility requirements.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a federal student loan forgiveness program available to government or not-for-profit organization employees who work full-time for a qualifying employer. The program forgives the remaining balance of a borrower’s Direct Loans, tax-free, after making 120 qualifying payments under a qualifying repayment plan.

Eligibility

To qualify for PSLF, borrowers must:

• Work full time for a United States federal, local or tribal government or nonprofit organization.
• Have Direct Loans or consolidate their federal student loans into a Direct Loan.
• Participate in an income-driven repayment plan.
• Make 120 qualifying student loan payments.

Payments don’t need to be made consecutively or with the same qualifying employer. Only payments made while working for a qualifying employer, however, count toward the required 120 monthly payments for student loan forgiveness through PSLF.

How to apply

You can apply for PSLF online using the Department of Education’s PSLF Help Tool. The 120 qualifying monthly payment requirement means it will take at least 10 years of repayment before becoming eligible for PSLF. Complete and submit the Public Student Loan Forgiveness application once you've made 120 qualifying payments.

If you're considering applying for loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, start the process by submitting an Employment Certification Form. Once submitted, your student loans will transfer to MOHELA, the PSLF loan servicer charged with overseeing the program. MOHELA will track how many qualifying payments you've made. Fill out an annual Employment Certification Form leading up to applying for PSLF.

Temporary Expanded PSLF

The PSLF Waiver program has effectively replaced the Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) program.

TEPSLF was created as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (2018) to provide financial support for borrowers denied for PSLF because they worked for a qualified employer for ten years while making qualifying payments but under the wrong repayment plan. TEPSLF temporarily expands PSLF requirements to include the following previously ineligible repayment plans:

• Graduated Repayment Plan
• Extended Repayment Plan
• Consolidated Standard Repayment Plan,
• Consolidated Graduated Repayment Plan

Eligibility

To qualify for TEPSLF, borrowers must:

• Work full-time for at least 10 years for a qualifying non-profit or government employer.
• Have federal Direct Loans.
• Make at least 120 qualifying payments.

Also, as a requisite step, you must first apply for PSLF and get denied before being able to apply for the expanded PSLF option. You can use the PSLF Help Tool to complete the PSLF and TEPSLF process.

How to apply

As mentioned, you must apply for PSLF and get denied before you can start the process of qualifying for loan forgiveness through TEPSLF guidelines. The application process is the same as PSLF since it all begins with submitting an Employment Certification Form annually. After fulfilling the program requirements over time, you’ll submit a Public Student Loan Forgiveness application. Use the Department of Education’s PSLF Help Tool for step-by-step guidance on how to apply.

Teacher loan forgiveness

Teacher loan forgiveness provides student loan forgiveness of up to $17,500 for qualified full-time teachers with Direct Loans, Stafford Loans or Consolidation Loans. The program was designed to provide financial assistance to teachers who commit to teaching in low-income schools or educational service agencies. Teachers might receive the complete forgiveness amount or a portion of it, depending on whether they meet program requirements.

Eligibility

To be eligible for teacher loan forgiveness, you must:

• Be employed full-time as a highly qualified teacher for five consecutive years (with at least one year after the 1997–98 academic year).
• Complete five academic years in a qualifying low-income elementary school, secondary school or educational service agency.
• Have qualifying federal student loans in good standing borrowed before the end of five academic years of teaching.

Teachers could potentially qualify for teacher loan forgiveness and PSLF, but not for the same service period.

How to apply

To apply for teacher loan forgiveness, submit a completed Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application to your loan servicer upon completing five consecutive years of qualifying teaching.

Your school or educational service agency's chief administrative officer must complete the certification portion of the application. If you have multiple loan servicers, you need to submit a separate form for each one.

Income-driven repayment forgiveness

Borrowers who don't qualify for other loan repayment programs may still be eligible for forgiveness through income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness. Under IDR forgiveness, once you make 20 to 25 years (depending on the plan) of qualifying monthly payments, any remaining federal loan balance is forgiven.

Unlike PSLF, loan balances forgiven under IDR loan forgiveness might be considered taxable income by the IRS and could result in a sizable tax bomb at the end of your repayment period.

Eligibility

To be eligible for income-driven repayment forgiveness, you must be on one of the following IDR plans:

• Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE)
• Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE)
• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
• Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR)

You must also make qualifying monthly loan payments for 20 to 25 years. Periods of deferment, $0 required payments, and payments made under other repayment plans don't count towards your total repayment period.

How to apply

You must be on an eligible IDR plan to qualify for loan forgiveness. If you're not already on an IDR plan, you can request placement on an IDR plan online through the Department of Education. Your loan servicer keeps track of your qualifying payments and will contact you when you get close to qualifying for loan forgiveness under your repayment plan.

Borrower Defense to Repayment discharge

You can potentially get some or all of your federal student loans discharged through borrower defense to loan repayment. Also known as borrower defense, the program is in place for federal borrowers whose school misled them or participated in other misconduct violating specific state laws.

This borrower defense discharge only applies to Direct Loans, not other federal or private student loans.

Eligibility

Only borrowers with Direct student loans may qualify for borrower defense. Eligibility for loan discharge is determined on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Education website features recent borrowers defense updates and news on specific schools approved under borrowers defense.

Applicants must demonstrate that their school violated state law related to services provided or their student loans.

How to apply

You can apply for borrower defense online through the Department of Education website. Once you've applied, the Department of Education will contact you via email with its determination.

Total and permanent disability discharge

Total and Permanent Disability Discharge is a federal program that discharges student loans for qualified borrowers with a disability. Loans covered under disability discharge include:

• Direct Loans
• Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program loans
• Federal Perkins Loans

Disability discharge also removes the TEACH Grant service obligation for the forgiveness of select loans. Eligible loans are forgiven tax-free through the program, thanks to recent changes in the tax code.

Eligibility

To qualify for a TPD discharge, you must provide supporting documentation from one of the following sources:

• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• The Social Security Administration (SSA)
• A physician

Each source carries specific documentation requirements.

How to apply

You can apply for Total and Permanent Disability Discharge by completing and submitting a TPD discharge application and any required documentation to Nelnet, the designated TPD discharge loan servicer. TPD discharge applications are available online, or you can request a copy from Nelnet by email at disabilityinformation@nelnet.net or by calling 1 (888) 303-7818 Monday–Friday between 7 a.m. to 2 a.m ET and Saturday, between 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

Perkins Loan forgiveness for volunteers

The Perkins Loan program expired on Sept. 30, 2017. If you have Perkins Loans and volunteered for organizations like AmeriCorps VISTA and Peace Corps, you might qualify for loan forgiveness. The program offers up to 70% of cancellation from your loan balance through Perkins Loan cancellation if you’re eligible.

The Department of Education offers Perkins loan cancellation primarily for teachers but is also open to individuals in select jobs, like librarians, firefighters, and law enforcement officers, or volunteering through organizations like Americorps VISTA and Peace Corps.

Americorps VISTA and Peace Corps volunteers may also qualify for PSLF if they meet the employment and loan payment requirements.

Eligibility

You must serve with an eligible volunteer organization to be eligible for Perkins Loan cancellation as a volunteer. Eligibility is also determined by the number of years served in a volunteer position.

Perkins loan cancellation for volunteer service is for up to 70% for four years of eligible service:

• 15% for the first and second years.
• 20% for the third and fourth years.

How to apply

Contact your school or your school's Perkins loan servicer to apply for Perkins Loan cancellation. The school or servicer will provide you with the necessary information and forms to complete to apply for loan cancellation.

Closed school discharge

If your school closes down while you're enrolled as a student or shortly after withdrawing, you could be eligible for up to 100% discharge of federal student loans received during enrollment.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive loan discharge through this program, you must’ve attended a school that closed and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• You were enrolled as a student when the school closed.
• You were on an approved leave of absence when the school closed.
• The school closed within 120 days after withdrawal (if loans were first disbursed before July 1, 2020).
• The school closed within 180 days after you withdrew (if loans were first disbursed on or after July 1, 2020).

You aren't eligible for discharge if you completed program coursework before the school closed, even if you didn't receive a diploma or certificate.

How to apply

You should receive an application for loan discharge automatically if you're eligible. You can also contact your loan servicer for an application and any questions you may have about loan discharge. Continue to make monthly loan payments until your application has been processed completely.

In some cases, you might automatically receive loan discharge if you attended a school that closed on or after Nov. 1, 2013, but before July 1, 2020, and you didn't enroll in another eligible school within three years of school closure.

Should you pursue loan forgiveness?

Borrowing student loans is a common path to pay for a college education. But it's also an enormous burden financially and can cause you to defer other pursuits and life goals. Loan forgiveness provides a solution to paying down loan debt if you qualify.

Our student loan consultants have helped thousands of borrowers like you find the best possible payoff plan for their student loan debt. Book a consult today if you're unsure if you qualify for student loan forgiveness or want to find the best way to pay off your loans.