Student Loan Forgiveness

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

You may be eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness of up to $17,500 if

Note: You can’t receive credit toward Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for the same period of teaching.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

You may be able to receive Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if

The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you’ve made the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer.

*Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans and Federal Perkins Loans may become eligible for PSLF if you consolidate your loans into the Direct Loan Program.

Note: You can’t receive credit toward Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF for the same period of teaching.

Federal Perkins Loan Teacher Cancellation

You may be eligible to have all or a portion of your Federal Perkins Loan canceled if you have served full time in a public or nonprofit elementary school, or as a Head Start or early childhood education provider. Learn about Perkins Loan Teacher Cancellation.

To Apply: Contact the school that made the loan or the school’s Perkins Loan servicer.

See “If You’re a Federal Perkins Loan Borrower” below for more information about other ways you can be eligible for Perkins Loan cancellation and discharge.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

You may be able to receive Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if

The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loan after you’ve made the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer.

*Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans and Federal Perkins Loans may become eligible for PSLF if you consolidate your loans into the Direct Loan Program.

Military Service Benefits

You may be able to receive benefits if you’re a military service member with federal student loans. Benefits include interest rate caps under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and U.S. Department of Defense student loan repayment programs.

Listen to a recording of experts discussing federal student loan benefits for military service members and follow the threaded comments for resources mentioned in the recording.

Find more information about these benefits at VA.gov/education.

Military service is also eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

You may be able to receive Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if

The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loan after you’ve made the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer.

*Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans and Federal Perkins Loans may become eligible for PSLF if you consolidate your loans into the Direct Loan Program.

You may be able to receive Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if

The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loan after you’ve made the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer.

*Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans and Federal Perkins Loans may become eligible for PSLF if you consolidate your loans into the Direct Loan Program.

Total and Permanent Disability Discharge

You may qualify for a total and permanent disability discharge of your federal student loans and/or your Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant* service obligation if

*TEACH Grant service obligations are discharged if the grant recipient dies, or if the recipient is subject to extended periods of qualifying military service.

Borrowers on the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan will have any remaining balance on their loans forgiven after 20 or 25 years, depending on when they took out their loans. The income-driven repayment plan application is available and includes the option to enroll in the IBR Plan. If you don’t have a StudentAid.gov account, create an account now.

Closed School Loan Discharge

You may be eligible for a closed school discharge of your federal student loan if

Borrower Defense Loan Discharge

You may be eligible for borrower defense discharge of your federal student loan if

*Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans and Federal Perkins Loans may become eligible for borrower defense discharge if you consolidate your loans into the Direct Loan Program.

False Certification Discharge

You may be eligible for a false certification discharge of your federal student loan if

Unpaid Refund Discharge

You might be eligible for an unpaid refund discharge of a portion of your federal student loan(s) if

You may be eligible to have all or a portion of your Perkins Loan canceled or discharged if

This includes Federal Perkins Loan Teacher Cancellation.

As with loans made to students, a parent PLUS loan can be discharged if you die, if you (not the student on whose behalf you obtained the loan) become totally and permanently disabled, or if your loan is discharged in bankruptcy. Your parent PLUS loan may also be discharged if the child for whom you borrowed dies.

In addition, all or a portion of a parent PLUS loan may be discharged if

Note: Parent borrowers with unconsolidated Direct Loans or ED-held FFEL PLUS loans are eligible for the payment count adjustment, which provides additional credit for both IDR and PSLF.

Contact your loan servicer for more information.

Forgery is the creation of a false written document or alteration of a genuine one, with the intent to defraud. Victims of identity theft are frequently also the victims of forgery.

You might be eligible for a forgery loan discharge of a federal student loan if

In some cases, you can have your federal student loan discharged if

Discharge in bankruptcy may be granted if you file a separate action, known as an "adversary proceeding," asking that the bankruptcy court find that repaying the loan would impose undue hardship on you and your dependents.

Learn about what you must do to ask the court to discharge in bankruptcy your federal student loan.

Federal student loans will be discharged if the borrower or the student on whose behalf a PLUS loan was taken out dies. This is true whether the loan is a Direct Loan, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loan, or Federal Perkins Loan.

Learn more about discharge due to death and what documentation the loan servicer needs.

Depending on the type of forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge you’re applying for, you may have to make payments while we review your application. Check with your loan servicer to find out whether you must continue making payments during the application review period.

If you qualify for forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge of the full amount of your loan, you won’t have to make any more payments on that loan.

If you qualify for forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge of a part of your loan, you’ll need to pay back the remaining balance.

For certain types of loan discharge, you may also receive a refund of some or all of the payments you made on the loan, and any adverse information related to your delinquency or default on the loan may be deleted from your credit record. If the loan was in default, the discharge may erase the default status. If you have no other defaulted loans, you’ll again be able to apply for federal student aid.

You’ll need to pay back your loan according to the terms of the promissory note you signed. If you have a Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loan, talk to your loan servicer about repayment options.

If your loan is in default, find out how to begin repaying your loan and review your options for getting out of default.

If you believe we denied your application by mistake, contact your loan servicer for more information.