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HomeManage LoansStudent Loan ForgivenessPublic Service Loan Forgiveness


PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS (PSLF)

If you are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or
not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program. Keep reading to see whether you might qualify.

Qualifying for PSLF
Qualifying Employer
Full-time Employment
Eligible Loans
Qualifying Payments
Qualifying Repayment Plans
PSLF Process
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool
Employment Certification
Tax on Forgiveness
How to Submit the PSLF Form
Contact for PSLF Questions
Qualifying for PSLF
Qualifying Employer
Full-time Employment
Eligible Loans
Qualifying Payments
Qualifying Repayment Plans
PSLF Process
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool
Employment Certification
Tax on Forgiveness
How to Submit the PSLF Form
Contact for PSLF Questions


Important Limited PSLF Waiver Opportunity
On Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced a temporary
period during which borrowers may receive credit for payments that previously
did not qualify for PSLF or TEPSLF. Learn more about this limited PSLF waiver.

The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you
have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan
while working full-time for a qualifying employer.

PSLF Resources

   
 * Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool
 * Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Employer Search
 * Limited PSLF Waiver Information
 * Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program FAQ
 * Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF)
   Certification & Application
 * Submit a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Reconsideration Request


QUALIFYING FOR PSLF

To qualify for PSLF, you must

   

 * be employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or
   not-for-profit organization (federal service includes U.S. military service);

 * work full-time for that agency or organization;

 * have Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct
   Loan);

 * repay your loans under an income-driven repayment plan*; and

 * make 120 qualifying payments.

To ensure you’re on the right track, you should submit a Public Service Loan
Forgiveness (PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) Certification &
Application (PSLF Form) annually or when you change employers. We’ll use the
information you provide on the form to let you know if you are making qualifying
PSLF payments. This will help you determine if you’re on the right track as
early as possible.

*This provision will be waived through October 31, 2022 as part of the limited
PSLF waiver. Learn more.

Suspended Payments Count Toward PSLF and TEPSLF During the COVID-19
Administrative Forbearance

If you have a Direct Loan and work full-time for a qualifying employer during
the payment suspension (administrative forbearance), then you will receive
credit toward PSLF or TEPSLF for the period of suspension as though you made
on-time monthly payments in the correct amount while on a qualifying repayment
plan.

To see these qualifying payments reflected in your account, you must submit a
PSLF form certifying your employment for the same period of time as the
suspension. Your count of qualifying payments toward PSLF is officially updated
only when you update your employment certifications.

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 hand-drawn
signature, or security certificate-based signatures are not accepted.

Note: In-grace, in-school, and certain deferment, forbearance, and bankruptcy
statuses are not eligible for credit toward PSLF.

Have questions? Find out what loans qualify and get additional information about
student loan flexibilities due to the COVID-19 emergency.


QUALIFYING EMPLOYER

Qualifying employment for the PSLF Program isn’t about the specific job that you
do for your employer. Instead, it’s about who your employer is. Employment with
the following types of organizations qualifies for PSLF:

   

 * Government organizations at any level (U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal)
   – this includes the U.S. military

 * Not-for-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of
   the Internal Revenue Code

Serving as a full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer also counts as
qualifying employment for the PSLF Program. Use our employer search tool to help
determine if your employer qualifies for PSLF.

The following types of employers don't qualify for PSLF:

   

 * Labor unions

 * Partisan political organizations

 * For-profit organizations, including for-profit government contractors

Contractors: You must be directly employed by a qualifying employer for your
employment to count toward PSLF. If you’re employed by an organization that is
doing work under a contract with a qualifying employer, it is your employer’s
status—not the status of the organization that your employer has a contract
with—that determines whether your employment qualifies for PSLF. For example, if
you’re employed by a for-profit contractor that is doing work for a qualifying
employer, your employment does not count toward PSLF.

Other types of not-for-profit organizations: If you work for a not-for-profit
organization that is not tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code, it can still be considered a qualifying employer if it provides
certain types of qualifying public services.


FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT

For PSLF, you’re generally considered to work full-time if you meet your
employer’s definition of full-time or work at least 30 hours per week, whichever
is greater.

If you are employed in more than one qualifying part-time job at the same time,
you will be considered full-time if you work a combined average of at least 30
hours per week with your employers.

If you are employed by a not-for-profit organization, time spent on religious
instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing as a part of your
job responsibilities may be counted toward meeting the full-time employment
requirement.


ELIGIBLE LOANS

Any loan received under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan)
Program qualifies for PSLF.

Loans from these federal student loan programs don't qualify for PSLF: the
Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and the Federal Perkins Loan
(Perkins Loan) Program. However, they may become eligible if you consolidate
them into a Direct Consolidation Loan.

Student loans from private lenders do not qualify for PSLF.

Under normal PSLF Program rules, if you consolidate your loans, only qualifying
payments that you make on the new Direct Consolidation Loan can be counted
toward the 120 payments required for PSLF. Any payments you made on the loans
before you consolidated them don’t count. However, if you consolidate these
loans into a Direct Loan before October 31, 2022, you may be able to receive
qualifying credit for payments made on those loans through the limited PSLF
waiver. Learn more.

The PSLF Help Tool will tell you whether you need to consolidate some or all of
your loans.


QUALIFYING PAYMENTS

A qualifying monthly payment is a payment that you make

   

 * after Oct. 1, 2007;

 * under a qualifying repayment plan;

 * for the full amount due as shown on your bill;

 * no later than 15 days after your due date; and

 * while you are employed full-time by a qualifying employer.

Most of the PSLF qualifying payment rules have been suspended through October
31, 2022. Under this temporary waiver, you may get credit for payments you’ve
made on loans that would not normally qualify for PSLF. These payments will
count even if you didn’t pay the full amount or on-time. However, only payments
made after Oct. 1, 2007 can count as qualifying payments. For more information,
visit the limited PSLF waiver page.

You can make qualifying monthly payments only during periods when you’re
required to make a payment. Therefore, you can’t make a qualifying monthly
payment while your loans are in

   

 * an in-school status,

 * the grace period,

 * a deferment, or

 * a forbearance.

If you want to make qualifying payments, but you’re in a deferment or
forbearance, contact your federal student loan servicer to waive the deferment
or forbearance. However, you can still receive credit toward PSLF during the
COVID-19 national emergency administrative forbearance period, which extends
from March 13, 2020 through August 31, 2022.

Your 120 qualifying monthly payments don’t need to be consecutive. For example,
if you have a period of employment with a nonqualifying employer, you will not
lose credit for prior qualifying payments you made.

The best way to ensure that you are making on-time, complete payments is to sign
up for automatic debit with your loan servicer.


CAN I QUALIFY SOONER BY MAKING HIGHER MONTHLY PAYMENTS?

No. You must make payments to cover 120 separate monthly obligations. Paying
extra won’t help you qualify for PSLF sooner.

You may prepay, or make lump-sum payments, which would apply to future months,
for up to 12 months, or when your next income-driven payment (IDR) plan is due.
For example, if you recertified your IDR and your monthly payment was $100, but
you paid $1200 for the first month’s payment, that payment would count as 12
separate payments for that year. You would not need to make another payment
until the next 12-month cycle. These payments would count as qualifying payments
toward PSLF forgiveness once you certified your eligible employment for the
12-month period.


WHAT IF I’M IN AMERICORPS OR THE PEACE CORPS, OR MY LOANS ARE BEING REPAID BY
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE?

There are special rules that allow borrowers who are AmeriCorps or Peace Corps
volunteers to use their Segal Education Award or Peace Corps transition payment
to make a single “lump-sum” payment that may count for up to 12 qualifying PSLF
payments.

In addition, borrowers who have lump-sum payments made on their behalf under a
student loan repayment program administered by the U.S. Department of Defense
may also receive credit for more than one qualifying PSLF payment.


QUALIFYING REPAYMENT PLANS

Qualifying repayment plans include all of the income-driven repayment (IDR)
plans (plans that base your monthly payment on your income).

While payments made under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan are qualifying
payments, you would have to change to an IDR plan to benefit from PSLF. Under
the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, generally your loans will be paid in full
once you have made the 120 qualifying PSLF payments and there will be no balance
to forgive. Before you change to an IDR plan, however, you should understand
that your payment may increase under these plans depending on your income and
the amount that you owe. If this is the case for you, and you do not wish to pay
this higher amount, then the PSLF Program may not benefit you.

The qualifying repayment plan rules have been temporarily suspended as a result
of the limited PSLF waiver. You may receive credit toward PSLF, provided you had
qualifying employment, if you made payments on any type of non-consolidation
Direct Loan on any repayment plan prior to October 6, 2021. These loan types
include

   

 * Direct Subsidized Loans.

 * Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and

 * Graduate PLUS Loans made to students.

For consolidation loans, borrowers may get credit for payments made on the
underlying loans after Oct. 1, 2007. Learn more.

The following repayment plans do not qualify for PSLF:

   

 * Standard Repayment Plan for Direct Consolidation Loans

 * Graduated Repayment Plan

 * Extended Repayment Plan

 * Alternative Repayment Plan


PSLF PROCESS

Because you have to make 120 qualifying monthly payments, it will take at least
10 years before you can qualify for PSLF.

Important: You must be working for a qualifying employer at the time you submit
the form for forgiveness and at the time the remaining balance on your loan is
forgiven.

Whether you have made 120 qualifying payments, or are working toward PSLF and
are completing your employer certification, you should fill out and submit the
(PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) Certification & Application (PSLF
form).

Either way, we’ll use the information you provide on the form to let you know if
you are making qualifying PSLF payments. This will help you determine if you’re
on the right track as early as possible.

While you must always have 120 qualifying payments to receive forgiveness, you
may receive credit for payments that did not previously count under the Limited
PSLF Waiver. If you surpass 120 qualifying payments due to this limited-time
waiver, you do not currently have to work at a qualifying employer. Learn more.

Note: If you don’t periodically submit the PSLF form, then at the time you apply
for forgiveness, you will be required to submit employment certification for
each employer where you worked while making the required 120 qualifying monthly
payments.


PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS (PSLF) HELP TOOL

The PSLF Help Tool will

   

 * help you understand more about PSLF, TEPSLF, and the limited PSLF waiver and
   what you need to do to participate and possibly have your loans forgiven;

 * help you assess whether your employer qualifies for PSLF;

 * explain other actions you should or must take if you want to receive PSLF or
   TEPSLF.

At this time, the PSLF Help Tool won’t allow you or your employer to
electronically sign the form that the tool will generate for you. Therefore,
after you complete the PSLF Help Tool process, you will need to print the PDF
document that the tool generates, sign it yourself, have your employer sign it,
and then submit the form to the PSLF servicer as instructed on the printed PDF
document.

Use the PSLF Help Tool to search for a qualifying employer, learn what actions
you may need to take to be eligible for PSLF or TEPSLF, and generate the form
you need. You can also search for your employer outside of the tool to see if
they qualify for PSLF.


PSLF FORM PROCESS

After you submit a PSLF Form, if you don’t yet have 120 qualifying payments,
your loans will transfer to the PSLF servicer. After the PSLF servicer
determines how many qualifying payments you made during the employment period on
your form, you’ll receive a letter telling you the number of qualifying payments
you have made.

If the limited PSLF waiver period makes you immediately eligible for
forgiveness, your loan may not transfer to the PSLF servicer. Learn more.

The number of qualifying payments you have made will only be updated whenever
you submit another PSLF form that documents a new period of qualifying
employment.

You can find out how many qualifying payments you’ve made by logging in to your
account with the PSLF servicer and viewing your loan details or by looking on
your most recent billing statement. You can also see the number of qualifying
payments for each of your loans by logging into your StudentAid.gov account,
selecting My Aid, View Loans, then View Loan Details.


EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION

Your employment can be certified by an official who has access to your
employment or service records and is authorized by your employer to certify your
employment or your service as an AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer. This will
often be someone in the human resources department, though in some cases your
direct supervisor or another individual may be authorized to certify your
employment. Check with your organization to see who is allowed to certify your
PSLF Form.


TAX ON FORGIVENESS

Amounts forgiven under the PSLF Program are not considered income by the
Internal Revenue Service. Therefore, you will not have to pay federal income tax
on the amount of your Direct Loans that is forgiven.


HOW TO SUBMIT THE PSLF FORM

A reminder about digital signatures: 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 hand-drawn signature, or security certificate-based signatures
are not accepted.

Signature Examples
Signature Type
Yes/No
Hand drawn from signature pad, mouse, or finger
✔
Typed using a cursive font or any other font
X
A scanned photo of a signature that was hand-drawn on paper
✔
Digital certificate-based signature
X
A wet signature that was drawn in ink and sent to us in its original format
✔

Send the completed form, with your employer’s certification, to MOHELA, the U.S.
Department of Education’s federal loan servicer for the PSLF Program. You may
mail the form to this address:

U.S. Department of Education
MOHELA
633 Spirit Drive
Chesterfield, MO 63005-1243


You may also fax your PSLF form to 866-222-7060.

If MOHELA is already your servicer, you may upload your PSLF form on their
website.


CONTACT FOR PSLF QUESTIONS

If you have more questions, review the “PSLF FAQ” page.

If your questions aren't covered on that page, contact MOHELA at 1-855-265-4038.


ADDITIONAL LINKS

Repayment Plans
Income-Driven Repayment Plans
Student Loan Consolidation
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool
Public Service Loan Forgiveness FAQs
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Application


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