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Loan Forgiveness and Discharge

See if you qualify to have your loan debt reduced or eliminated, depending on your professional or personal situation.

Program You may qualify if… How it works…
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Your loans were disbursed after 10/1/1998 and you teach full-time for 5 consecutive and complete academic years at a Title I school or educational service agency that appears on the Department of Education's Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits. Forgives part or all of your educational loan debt, provided you fulfill certain work-related requirements
Loan Discharge Your school:
  • Closed
  • Falsely certified your ability to benefit from education
  • Signed your name without your authorization
  • Failed to pay a tuition refund
Dismisses your monthly loan payments and refunds payments you have already made
Total and Permanent Disability
  • You can't work for pay when the work involves significant physical or mental activities.
  • You are a veteran who has been determined to be unemployable due to a service-connected condition.
Cancels your obligation to repay the balance of your student loans
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
  • You are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local or tribal government or a qualifying non-profit organization (including U.S. military service)
  • You work full-time for that agency or organization (the employer’s definition of full-time or 30 hours, whichever is greater)
    NOTE: You can work part-time at more than one qualifying job at the same time, provided you work an average of at least 30 hours a week with these employers
  • You have Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan). Currently, only Direct Loans are eligible for the PSLF program, but your commercially held FFELP loans serviced by AES may become eligible if you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. You can complete a Direct Loan Consolidation application and review the pros and cons of consolidating by visiting StudentAid.gov.

There are additional eligibility requirements which can be found on Federal Student Aid’s website. For more information about the PSLF program, to check if your employer qualifies, and to learn about any necessary steps you need to take, please visit StudentAid.gov/PSLF.

On October 25, 2022, ED confirmed periods that are qualifying under the IDR waiver opportunity will count toward PSLF provided the borrower certifies qualifying employment during those periods. Due to this adjustment, if you have federally managed FFELP and Direct loans, your loans could start being forgiven in spring 2023 if they reach the number of months required for forgiveness under the IDR or PSLF programs. All other adjustments under this limited opportunity will be completed on eligible loans in 2024.

Commercially held FFELP loans may qualify, but only if you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan by the end of 2023.

For more information, please visit StudentAid.gov.

Forgives the remainder of your Direct Student Loan balance after you make 120 qualifying payments under an eligible repayment plan, while employed full-time for a qualifying public service-organization
Death
  • You, the borrower, die, then your loans may be discharged.
  • You are a parent PLUS loan borrower, then your loan may be discharged if you die, or if the student on whose behalf you obtain the loan dies.
Dismisses your monthly loan payments and the remainder of your loan

Additional Resources for your Federal Loans