Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Resources
What is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is administered by the U.S. Department of Education, and is designed to forgive the student loan balances of those employed by a government or non-profit organization.
The program is designed to reward public service to our country. If you receive forgiveness under PSLF, it is not considered taxable income under federal law.
Do you qualify?
Is my student loan eligible?
Repayment plans
Other loan statuses
Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF)
Additional Resources
Glossary
Do you qualify?
To be eligible for the PSLF, you must:
Work full-time for an eligible employer,
Make the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly student loan payments on a qualifying loan, and
Have a Direct loan from the U.S. Department of Education.
Let’s break down the three requirements.
Have qualifying employment
Work for a qualifying nonprofit or government entity.
Work in a W-2 position, full-time (30 hours a week or greater.)
Have qualifying public service employment for each payment AND when you apply for forgiveness.
Action items
Find out if your employer(s) qualifies with the Department of Education PSLF Employer Tool.
You will need your Federal Employer ID number, which can be found on your W2, or here in the search tool.
Submit your Employer Certification Form through your employer. Every employer you worked for during the 120 months will need to complete this document.
Make 120 qualifying monthly payments
Payments must be made as directed.
Payments must be made while working for a qualifying employer AFTER October 1, 2007.
Payments must be made under a qualifying repayment plan – typically either the 10-year Standard repayment plan, or an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan.
Action item
Log into your online account with your student loan servicer, or at StudentAid.gov, to see information on your current repayment plan.
Have a Direct loan from the U.S. Department of Education
Action item
Log into StudentAid.gov to find out what kind of loans you have. Need help?
Is My Student Loan Eligible?
Direct loans
→ Stafford, subsidized and unsubsidized
→ Grad PLUS
→ Parent PLUS
Eligible
→ Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL)
→ Perkins Loans
→ Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL)
→ Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)
Eligible if consolidated into direct loans
→ Private
→ Institution
→ State Authority
Ineligible
Repayment Plans
Qualifying repayment plans include Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans and the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan. You can use the Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator to choose a loan repayment option that best meets your needs and goals.
Income-Driven Repayment Plans
Base your monthly payment on your income and family size.
Are designed to make your student loan debt more manageable by giving you a monthly payment based on your income and family size.
Have payment amounts that last for 12 months and are recalculated annually.
There are four different types of IDR plans:
→ Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan* (formerly REPAYE)
→ Income Contingent Repayment (ICR)
→ Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
→ Income Based Repayment (IBR)
*There are currently some legal challenges surrounding SAVE. Visit Federal Student Aid’s SAVE page for updated information.
You can read more about the different types of IDR plans at Federal Student Aid.
Other Loan Statuses
Deferment
A deferment is a temporary postponement of payment on a loan, which is allowed under certain conditions. You won’t have to make a payment during this time. The government may cover interest on subsidized federal student loans during certain deferment periods.
Forbearance
Forbearance allows you to temporarily stop making your monthly student loan payments or temporarily make smaller payments. Interest accrues during a forbearance, so your balance will increase and you’ll pay more over the life of your loans.
Note: Historically, most periods of deferment and forbearance did not qualify toward PSLF. However, as of July 2023, certain deferment and forbearance periods can count toward PSLF. These include the following:
Cancer treatment deferment
Economic hardship deferment
Military service deferment
Post-active-duty student deferment
AmeriCorps forbearance
National Guard Duty forbearance
Additional certain administrative forbearances are available
Delinquency
Delinquency occurs when your loan becomes past due, beginning the first day after you miss a student loan payment. It will remain delinquent until you repay the past due amount or enter into another agreement like deferment or forbearance.
Default
Default is the failure to repay a loan according to the terms agreed to in the promissory note. For most federal student loans, this is when your loan servicer has been unable to obtain payment from you for 270 days, and there is no deferment or forbearance agreement in place. Read more about default.
Fresh Start Program
This is a temporary program from the U.S. Department of Education that offers special benefits for borrowers who defaulted with student loans, such as restoring access to federal student aid and providing a pathway out of default and back into good standing.
The program ends on September 30, 2024.
Borrowers need to contact their defaulted loan holder to make arrangements.
U.S. Department of Education’s Default Resolution Group
Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program guaranty agency.
Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF)
The Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans. It is available if you do not qualify for PSLF, only because some or all of your payments were made under a repayment plan that did not qualify for PSLF, and you meet other requirements.
How it works:
Make 120 qualifying payments while working for a qualifying employer.
Some or all of these payments may have been made under a graduated, extended or standard consolidation repayment plan.
The 12th to last payment, as well as the last payment made, must have been at least as much as you would have paid under and income driven repayment plan.
Submit PSLF Employment Certification form.
Where to get additional help navigating the PSLF program
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Help Tool
Use the U.S. Department of Education search tool to find out if your employer is qualified for the PSLF.
Visit the Office of the Ombudsman FSA. Some states have State Department of Education Ombudsman Offices.
The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, which is a nonprofit that offers free student loan advice and counseling. Email PSLF1@FreeStudentLoanAdvice.org.
Find more information about loan and payment plan types. Calculate your federal student loan repayment options with the Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator.
Glossary
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Part of the Dept. of Education, the Default Resolution Group services your loans if you enter into default.
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Consolidation is when you combine one or more federal education loans into a new Direct Consolidation Loan.
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This is the entity that originates the loan. For Direct loans, this is the Department of Education.
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Student loan servicers are the companies that the U.S. Department of Education assigns to handle the billing and other services on your federal student loans.
MOHELA was the Department’s contracted loan servicer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, meaning MOHELA handled the billing and other services of loans for borrowers on track for PSLF.
PSLF servicing is now moving to StudentAid.gov. -
MOHELA was the Department’s contracted loan servicer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, meaning it handled the day-to-day operations of the loan for borrowers on track for PSLF. It is now moving to studentaid.gov.
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A W-2 employee is someone formally employed by a U.S. company or organization, receiving a W-2 tax form annually to report their income and withheld taxes. These employees are considered formal employees, as opposed to freelancers or contractors.