What types of degrees are eligible for forgiveness under PSLF?

The type of degree does not matter.  In fact, you can qualify even if you did not graduate. The requirements are based on your years of service and the number of payments you have made.  It also only forgives federal direct student loans.

How many loans can be forgiven? Is there a limit on the dollar amount that can be forgiven?

There is no limit to how much can be forgiven by PSLF.  The program forgives the remaining balance of your federal student debt after 10 years of service and 120 payments to your federal student loans. We have seen NEA members receive forgiveness on loans with balances of $20,000, $100,000, and even more.

Do the years of public service have to be consecutive? What if you have a break in employment or transfer jobs?

Employment does not have to be consecutive. As long as you make a total of 120 payments after October 1, 2007, while working for a qualifying employer, you are eligible.  Note that payments made while working for a non-public-service employer do not count towards PSLF’s 120 payments.

Do all my 120 monthly payments need to be made on time to get credit towards PSLF? 

Not anymore! To reach Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you must make 120 eligible payments – under the original regulations this meant 120 payments made on-time, under an approved income-driven repayment program, while employed at a qualifying public employer. But the Biden Administration has made regulatory changes that make it easier to make a qualifying payment under an income-driven repayment plan.  

As of July 1, 2023, you can make progress towards PSLF when:  

• You make a late payment, make several partial payments during the same month (resulting in a total credit of 1 payment for that month), or pay ahead in a lump sum. 
• You are in certain kinds of deferment or forbearance, including:  
  • Cancer treatment deferment  
  • Economic hardship deferment  
  • Administrative forbearance 
• In addition to making your regular monthly payment, you may make additional payments to "buy back" any months in your payment history where you didn't receive PSLF credit because you were in certain deferment or forbearance, which are not eligible to receive PSLF credit. For more information, visit the FSA's website here.

How Do I Find Out the Types of My Federal Student Loans?

If you are unsure what type of student loan you have, you can find out easily by logging onto studentaid.gov with your FSA ID and visiting your aid summary page.

Direct Loans begin with the word “Direct,” Federal Family Education Loans are indicated by “FFEL,” and Perkins Loans include the word “Perkins” in the name. 

If any of your loans say “Perkins,” “FFEL,” or “Parent Plus” you will need to consolidate into a Direct Loan prior to applying, as only Direct Loans qualify for forgiveness under PSLF.  

Consolidate Your Loan

When your consolidation is processed, your PSLF qualifying payment count may temporarily reset to zero. This is normal.  After consolidation, your loans may receive an updated payment count.  See our other FAQ on loan consolidation for how Direct Loan consolidation affects your qualifying payment count. 

How Do I Know How Many Payments I Have Made Toward PSLF?

If you have applied for PSLF before, you can log into studentaid.gov and find out how many qualifying payments you have made on your account.

If you have not applied for PSLF yet, you will need to fill out an application. You can apply with your FSA ID through the Department of Education's PSLF Help Tool. Help is also available through NEA's Student Debt Navigator, which provides NEA members with free individualized support.

Do Plus Loans qualify for forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

Yes, like other Federal Direct Loans, Direct Plus Loans are eligible for forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness.  There are two types of Plus Loans:

1. Those made directly to graduate or professional students, and;
2. Those made to parents of dependent undergraduate students.

If you took out a Parent Plus Loan on behalf of a dependent student, those loans cannot be repaid under an income-driven plan. You must first consolidate your Parent Plus loans (you can consolidate even if you only have one loan) into a Direct Consolidation Loan, at which point you can take advantage of the Income-Contingent Repayment plan (but not SAVE or other income-driven repayment plants). Your payments on the consolidated loan will then count towards the 120 for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Do all income-based repayment plans qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness? What are they all called?

Yes. Any of the four types of Income Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans qualify for PSLF. The four different kinds of IDR plans are: 

• Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE)
• Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan) 
• Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan) 
• Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan) 

More information on these plans is available on the website of the Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid here.

I have student loans from a private bank, can those get forgiven through Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

No, Public Service Loan Forgiveness only provides forgiveness for federal student loans under the Federal Direct Loan program.

Does the age of the loan matter to qualify for PSLF?

Loan age has never mattered for the PSLF program. Only payments for periods of repayment after Oct. 1, 2007 are qualifying, since that is when the PSLF Program began.

Loan age only matters for Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF), which is a separate federal program from PSLF.  Loans for that program cannot be older than October 1, 1998.

My student loan payments were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. How does that affect my PSLF payment count?

From March 13, 2020 to September 1, 2023 student loan payments, interest, and collection efforts were paused for most federal student loan borrowers.

The months during the payment pause count toward PSLF for Federal Direct Loans, even if you were not making payments and even if you do not meet the 120 payment threshold until after the pause expires.

As part of the debt ceiling bill signed by President Biden on June 3, 2023, Congress ordered the end of the payment pause that began with the CARES Act in March 2020. Accordingly, interest accrual on federal student loans began September 1, 2023 and payments restarted on October 1, 2023.

I have a joint spousal consolidation loan, can I receive Public Service Loan Forgiveness? 

The joint application option requires each joint consolidation co-borrower to request separation of the joint debt into new, individual Direct Consolidation Loans by completing and submitting an application and promissory note that is used only for this purpose. The separation of the joint consolidation loan and creation of two new, individual Direct Consolidation Loans will not proceed unless completed applications have been received from both borrowers.

The separate application process allows just one of the joint consolidation loan co-borrowers to apply for separation of the joint debt, without regard to whether or when the other co-borrower applies to separate the debt. In this situation, the borrower who applies to separate the joint debt will have their portion of the debt converted into a Direct Consolidation Loan. The borrower who did not apply to separate will continue to be responsible for the original joint consolidation loan with a remaining balance equal to that borrower’s portion of the remaining balance.

Under the terms of the JCLSA, a separate application is permitted only if the individual co-borrower who is applying certifies that they have been a victim of domestic violence by the other borrower, have experienced economic abuse from the other borrower, or are unable to reasonably access the other borrower’s loan information, or if we otherwise determine that it would be in the best fiscal interest of the federal government to permit separate application.

All necessary application forms and additional information can be found on the Federal Student Aid website here. 

I Am an Adjunct or Contingent Faculty Member, Am I Eligible for PSLF?

Yes! In the past, PSLF has been a struggle for most adjunct and contingent faculty members because of a full-time employment requirement. Some employers refused to certify their adjunct or contingent faculty as full-time employees, others struggled to determine how many hours to credit their adjunct or contingent faculty to get them up to full-time. 

Now, under new regulations adopted by the Biden Administration, employers must—for purposes of PSLF—credit their adjunct and contingent faculty at least 3.35 hours of work for each credit hour taught. In addition, the regulations have defined full-time employment as 30 or more hours per week at one or multiple jobs. This means that teaching a total of nine credit hours per semester at any number of institutions equates to PSLF eligibility! This should simply PSLF eligibility for many adjunct and contingent faculty. 

At what point should I apply for PSLF? Can you apply retroactively as an educator who has been working for years?

Some public service workers like to apply each year to certify their employment and check on the progress of their payment count towards PSLF.  Others apply when they have reached the 10-year mark and believe they have made 120 payments.

Submitting the application yearly will help confirm you are on the right track by ensuring you are making qualifying payments and working for a qualifying employer. It will also allow Federal Student Aid (FSA) to alert you if any changes are necessary

What is an Employment Certification Form (ECF)?

To apply for PSLF, the U.S. Department of Education requires public service workers to file an Employment Certification Form (ECF) to show they work for a qualified employer. The ECF is included in Section 4 of the PSLF application.

You can use the Department’s PSLF Help Tool to fill out your PSLF form and ECFs or seek assistance from NEA Member Benefits through our Student Debt Navigator - neamb.com/Savi.

Note that the ECF must be filled out by an official who can access your employment/service records––usually someone in your human resources department.  Some school districts even have an HR person designated to handle ECFs.

I've applied for PSLF. How long does it take to process the application?

If an unreasonable amount of time has passed and you still have not received a response from the Department of Education, you can file a complaint with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman who can run a review of your situation and student loan account;

• Where the page asks you to select a category for your complaint, select "Discharging, Cancelling, or Forgiving My Loans". On the following page, describe your situation in detail and attach any relevant documents.

I need my employer to verify my employment on my PSLF application. What are acceptable methods to receive their signature?

Before you submit your form(s) to the Department of Education, your employer(s) must verify your employment by signing Section 4 of your form. There are two accepted methods to complete this step:

1) Digital Signature

To get a digital signature from your employer, you will need the correct email address for an “authorizing official.” An authorizing official is someone who has access to your employment or service records and is approved by your employer to certify your employment. This is usually someone in your human resources department, though in some cases your direct supervisor or another person may be authorized to certify your employment.

Tell the authorizing official to expect an email from the U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid via DocuSign ([email protected]) on your behalf. Once your authorizing official certifies your employment by signing digitally, your form will be electronically submitted to the PSLF servicer for processing.

2) Print & Sign Manually

You may also submit a PSLF form by downloading the PDF and completing all the sections manually. You will still need to print out the form, sign yourself, and have your employer(s) sign Section 4 of your form.

If you submit a manual PSLF form, digital signatures from you or your employer must be hand-drawn (from a signature pad, mouse, finger, or by taking a picture of a signature drawn on a piece of paper that you then scan and embed on the signature line of the PSLF form) to be accepted. Typed signatures, even if made to mimic a signature, or security certificate-based signatures are not accepted.

Once signed you may mail the form to this address:

U.S. Department of Education
P.O. Box 300010
Greenville, TX 75403

or fax your PSLF form to 540-212-2415

I Applied for Consolidation, What Happens Now?

Borrowers applying for PSLF may consolidate their loans for a number of reasons. For example, borrowers with Parent Plus Loans, FFEL loans, or Perkins must consolidate to be eligible.* Others may consolidate graduate loans with older undergraduate loans to achieve PSLF at the same time.

When you consolidate, your PSLF payment count may be TEMPORARILY reduced to zero. This is normal.

If you participated in the one-time account adjustment from 2023-2024, your new payment could will match that of the loan that had the highest number of qualifying payments.

Now when you consolidate, you will receive credit for the "weighted average" of your payments, which is based on the number of payments made on each loan and the amount of each loan. For example, a borrower with 60 qualifying payments on a $30,000 loan and 10 qualifying payments on another $30,000 loan will have a new payment count of 35 payments.  

Additionally, since only IDR payments on Direct loans count towards PSLF, borrowers who consolidate a combination of Direct loans and FFEL loans will receive a new payment count based on the number of qualifying payments under a Direct loan, divided by the number of loans being consolidated. For example, a borrower with 60 qualifying payments on one Direct loan and 0 qualifying payments on a FFEL loan, you will have a new payment count of 30 payments. 

Consolidate Your Loan 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that processing and servicing for Public Service Loan Forgiveness is being moved from MOHELA to StudentAid.gov. What does this mean?

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is no longer managed by MOHELA and is now managed by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Borrowers can now:

• Submit PSLF forms on studentaid.gov,
• Track their progress towards receiving PSLF on StudentAid.gov; and
• Get support through ED FSA contact centers.

What is Teacher Loan Forgiveness? Is it the same as Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) is a separate federal program from PSLF. If you serve as a full-time classroom teacher for five complete and consecutive academic years at a low-income school, the program provides forgiveness of either $5,000 or $17,500 for Federal Direct or Stafford Loans, depending on the subject area you teach.  

Under PSLF’s requirements, your five years of employment used to receive Teacher Loan Forgiveness cannot be credited to PSLF, as you cannot simultaneously qualify for both programs due to the “double benefits” provision. 

Teachers should seek help by going to the NEA Student Debt Navigator to determine which forgiveness program is right for them. Teacher Loan Forgiveness does not apply to education support professionals, specialized instructional support personnel, or higher education faculty. 

Please note that to be eligible for TLF, you must not have had an outstanding balance on Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans as of Oct. 1, 1998, or on the date that you obtained a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan after Oct. 1, 1998.  

I already received Teacher Loan Forgiveness. Can I still qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

Under PSLF’s requirements, your five years of employment used to receive Teacher Loan Forgiveness would not be credited to PSLF, as you cannot simultaneously qualify for both programs due to the “double benefits” provision.

Teachers should seek help by going to neamb.com/Savi to determine which forgiveness program is right for them.

NEA Student Debt Navigator

Teacher Loan Forgiveness does not apply to education support professionals, specialized instructional support personnel, or higher education faculty.