Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Update
On Oct. 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education announced a plan for permanent improvements to the PSLF program and a one-time payment count adjustment to bring borrowers closer to forgiveness. More information will be available soon. In the meantime, an outline of the improvements is available on the following Fact Sheet. For the most up-to-date information and how these changes may impact your loans, check back here or visit https://studentaid.gov/publicservice or https://studentaid.gov/idradjustment.
- Borrowers who have commercially or federally held FFEL loans and who consolidate those loans into Consolidation Loans before the end of the year will also get PSLF credit under the one-time account adjustment.
- Updated regulations announcing permanent improvements to the PSLF program were published November 1, 2022. Many of the benefits of these regulations will not take effect until July 1, 2023.
- For additional information on PSLF, visit the PSLF Help Tool: https://studentaid.gov/pslf
If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.
Learn how to apply online at https://studentaid.gov/publicservice or visit the PSLF Help Tool to check to see if your employer qualifies or to generate your PSLF form for signing and submitting to the PSLF servicer. A PDF of the form is available at Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) Certification & Application (PSLF Form).
Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), Perkins Loans, and private loans don’t qualify for PSLF. However, FFEL and/or Perkins Loans may become eligible if you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Note: Unless you apply for a Direct Consolidation Loan by the end of the year and meet other requirements to take advantage of the one-time account adjustment, any payments made on the loans before consolidation will not count as part of the 120 qualifying payments under PSLF. Only payments made on the new Direct Consolidation Loan will count towards PSLF. Loan consolidation provides access to additional forgiveness options and repayment plans but may result in the loss of certain benefits so we encourage you to visit https://studentaid.gov/consolidation to learn about the pros and cons of consolidating your loans.
You've Got Options If You Were Denied PSLF
If your application for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) was denied only because some or all of your payments were made under a repayment plan that is ineligible for PSLF, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) opportunity.
As part of this opportunity, the Department of Education will automatically reconsider your eligibility using an expanded list of qualifying repayment plans.
This TEPSLF opportunity is temporary, has limited funding, and will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Once all of the funds are used, the TEPSLF opportunity will end.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) Certification & Application (PSLF Form) combines the employment certification form and the forgiveness application into one form. Borrowers will only need to submit this one form to certify employment or to be considered for forgiveness under PSLF or TEPSLF. Apply online or find more information about TEPSLF information on https://studentaid.gov/tepslf or via the PSLF Help Tool.
*Note: Only Direct Loans are eligible for TEPSLF. Neither defaulted Direct Loans nor Direct PLUS Loans made to a parent borrower are eligible for TEPSLF.
PSLF Reconsideration Request
If you believe there was a mistake in determining that your employers or payments don’t qualify for PSLF or Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF), you may request reconsideration at https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/pslf-reconsideration.
As part of your request, you’ll be asked to describe the errors you believe were made regarding your eligibility and to upload any documentation that could support your case for reconsideration, including key tax forms or letters from your federal loan servicer.
If you are requesting an evaluation of your status with PSLF or TEPSLF and not a reconsideration of a past denial, then we recommend you use the PSLF Help Tool to generate a PSLF form to submit to the servicer to assess your progress towards forgiveness.
For more information regarding the PSLF reconsideration process, please visit https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/pslf-reconsideration.