Apply for Borrower Defense Loan Discharge

If you are a class member in Sweet v. McMahon (formerly Sweet v. Cardona and Sweet v. DeVos) you received a revise and resubmit notice, you must submit a new application below. In this application, please include a reference to your previous Borrower Defense Application Number (found in your revise and resubmit notice). If you email supplemental information to the Department or attempt to update your existing application, you will be treated as having failed to revise and resubmit.

Get updates about borrower defense.

Apply for Borrower Defense

IMPORTANT: Before you apply, learn how to submit the strongest application possible.

Sweet v. McMahon class members: Use this tool to “revise and resubmit.”

OMB No. 1845-0163•Form Approved

Manage My Applications

View your application history or details, or track and update your application.

Who should complete this?
Under the 2023 Regulation, borrowers who have federal student loans and can demonstrate that they

  • enrolled in a school or continued to attend a school based on misleading information from the school or other misconduct covered by the regulation, and
  • suffered a detriment that is of a nature and degree warranting a full discharge of their applicable federal loans.
How long will it take?
An application for one school takes approximately three hours including preparation time.
What do I need?

You need the following information or documents:

  • Verified account username and password (FSA ID)
  • School name(s) and program of study
  • Your enrollment dates
  • Documentation to support why you believe you qualify for borrower defense and to demonstrate the harm you suffered

Learn More About Borrower Defense

On Aug. 7, 2023, a federal court issued an injunction delaying the effective date of the latest borrower defense regulation that was published by the Department on Nov. 1, 2022. On April 4, 2024, the court issued further instructions to enjoin the rule and postpone the effective date of the regulation pending final judgment in the case. The injunction is effective until there is a final judgment in the case. The Department will not adjudicate any borrower defense applications under the rule subject to the injunction unless and until the injunction is lifted. While this injunction is in effect, borrowers may still apply online for borrower defense relief. The Department will continue to adjudicate borrower defense applications. The Department will provide additional updates here when there are further developments.

Third-party requestor groups: Learn about applying for group borrower defense loan discharge under the 2023 Regulation.

Learn about recent borrower defense announcements the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has made.

Get information about the Sweet v. McMahon (formerly Sweet v. Cardona and Sweet v. DeVos) settlement. On Nov. 16, 2022, the court granted final approval to the settlement as fair, adequate, and reasonable. The settlement became effective on Jan. 28, 2023. The agreement affects the processing of borrower defense applications filed on or before Nov. 15, 2022.

Read the findings ED used to approve borrower defense claims.

To learn more about borrower defense, please review these frequently asked questions:

Does borrower defense discharge apply to all loans I took out to pay for my program?
How will I be notified whether my loans are eligible for borrower defense discharge?
What happens if my borrower defense application is successful?
How long will it take for me to receive a refund after getting borrower defense loan discharge?
What happens if my borrower defense application is denied?

Still have questions about borrower defense?Visit the Help Center

Contact Us

1-855-279-6207

Reply to the most recent email with a reference ID in the subject line that you received from us.
U.S. Department of Education
Federal Student Aid Information Center
P.O. Box 1854
Monticello, KY 42633