Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Information for Borrowers
Are you currently employed with or planning to pursue a career with a PUBLIC SERVICE organization?
Are you currently a full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer?
If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, then you may qualify for forgiveness of any remaining balance on your eligible federal student loans thanks to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
What are the Eligibility Requirements for PSLF?
You must…
Have Eligible Loan Type(s)
- Federal Direct Stafford Loans (Direct Subsidized Loans)
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans (Direct Unsubsidized Loans)
- Federal Direct PLUS Loans (Direct PLUS Loans) for parents and graduate or professional students
- Federal Direct Consolidation Loans (Direct Consolidation Loans)
- Special Direct Consolidation Loans
NOTE: Although loan forgiveness under this program is available only for loans made and repaid under the Direct Loan Program, loans made under other federal student loan programs may qualify for forgiveness if they are consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Only payments made on the Direct Consolidation Loan will count toward the required 120 monthly payments.
If you are interested in consolidating, please visit www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov for more information. If you do not know what type of loans you have, visit www.nslds.ed.gov.
Make 120 Qualifying Payments
- Must have been made after October 1, 2007
- Must be on-time (no later than 15 days after the scheduled due date)
- Must be made each month, satisfying in full the installment amount due for that month
- Must be made when the loan is not in a default status
Make Payments Under an Eligible Repayment Plan
- Pay As You Earn Plan (not available on parent Direct PLUS Loans or Direct Consolidation Loans that paid a parent PLUS Loan)
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan (not available on parent Direct PLUS Loans or Direct Consolidation Loans that paid a parent PLUS Loan)
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan (not available on parent Direct PLUS Loans or Direct PLUS Consolidation Loans)
- Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period
- Any other Direct Loan Program repayment plan with payments that are at least equal to the monthly payment amount that would have been required under the Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period
Maintain a Full-Time Employment Status
Working in one or more jobs for the greater of:
- An annual average of at least 30 hours per week (or for a contractual or employment period of at least 8 months, an average of 30 hours per week); or
- The number of hours the employer considers full-time, unless your employment is with two or more employers
NOTE: For purposes of the full-time requirement with a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit or other private non-profit public service organization, your qualifying employment does not include time spent on job duties that are related to religious instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing.
Work for a Qualifying Public Service Organization
- A Federal, State, local, or Tribal government organization, agency, or entity (includes most public schools, colleges and universities);
- A public child or family service agency;
- A non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (includes most not-for-profit private schools, colleges, and universities);
- A Tribal college or university; or
- A private non-profit organization (that is not a labor union or a partisan political organization) that provides at least one of the following public services:
- Emergency management
- Military service
- Public safety
- Law enforcement
- Public interest law services
- Early childhood education (including licensed or regulated child care, Head Start, and state-funded pre-kindergarten)
- Public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly
- Public health (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations)
- Public education
- Public library services
- School library services
- Other school-based services
FAQ
What is the PSLF Program?
The PSLF Program was established to encourage individuals to enter and continue in full-time employment in lower-paying but vitally important public service jobs. The program allows eligible borrowers to cancel the remaining balance of their Direct loans after serving full time at a public service organization for at least 10 years while making 120 qualifying monthly payments after October 1, 2007.
What Actions Can I Take Now?
Submit employment certification now for any periods of time in the past for which you want your employment to be considered under the program eligibility requirements.
NOTE: Since the PSLF Program requires 120 separate on-time monthly payments and was established in 2007, no borrower will be eligible for forgiveness until 2017.
I Currently Make Payments to Another Company. How Will You Track My Payments?
If you submit an Employment Certification Form (ECF) for employment at a qualifying organization for the PSLF Program, and all of your federal loans are not already serviced by FedLoan Servicing, all of your U.S. Department of Education owned student loans will be transferred to us. Having all of these loans with FedLoan Servicing will make it easier for you to track your progression in the PSLF Program.
NOTE: After your loans have transferred, we will review the information provided by your previous servicer(s) to determine any qualifying payments that were made prior to the transfer while employed with a qualifying employer.
How Often Should My Employer and I Complete the Employment Certification Form?
There is no specific requirement for the frequency of completing the Employment Certification Form (ECF). You must be employed at an approved public service organization for the time period when you are making 120 separate monthly qualifying payments so at least 10 years of service working for an employer or multiple employers would need to be certified. The general frequency for submitting an ECF to provide an update on your employment status is once a year for the prior year of employment.
How Often Can I View My Updated Qualifying Payment Count?
You can view the number of qualifying payments* made toward forgiveness online anytime. Just create an online account and sign in to Account Access, our secure website.
A change to your number of qualifying payments or your expected eligibility date listed on the web may result when one of the following has occurred:
- A new Employment Certification Form (ECF) is approved certifying dates of employment during which you made qualifying payments.
- A deferment or forbearance is added, removed, or adjusted on your account which overlapped with a period of time when you made potential qualifying payments. Please note: Payments made during a period of time which is covered by a deferment or forbearance do NOT count as qualifying payments for purposes of PSLF.
- Other adjustments were made to your account which directly impacted potential qualifying payments that you made.
*Please note: "qualifying payments" are payments made during periods of qualifying employment that your employer has certified via an ECF.
View additional details of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program at the Federal Student Aid Website.
Information for Employers
If you are recognized as a public service organization and have employees who are paying back their student loans, they may be able to apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) as a benefit for working at your organization.
FAQ
What is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?
The PSLF Program was established to encourage individuals to enter and continue in full-time employment in lower-paying but vitally important public service jobs. The program allows eligible borrowers to cancel the remaining balance of their Direct loans after serving full time at a public service organization for at least 10 years while making 120 qualifying monthly payments after October 1, 2007.
How do I know if my organization is considered to be a qualifying public service organization for purposes of Public Service Loan Forgiveness for my employee(s)?
Your organization type should be described as one of the following three categories in order to be considered a qualifying employer for purposes of PSLF.
A government organization
Any Federal, State, local, or Tribal government entity is an eligible employer for the PSLF Program. Examples include the U.S. military, public elementary and secondary schools, public colleges and universities, public child and family service agencies, and special governmental districts (including entities such as a public transportation, public water, or public bridge district, or a public housing authority).
A non-profit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
Eligible not-for-profit organizations include those that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Examples include most private, not-for-profit elementary and secondary schools, private, not-for-profit colleges and universities
A private, non-profit organization (providing certain public services)
If your organization is a labor union or a partisan political organization it is not an eligible PSLF employer. Eligible services include:
- Emergency management
- Military service
- Public safety
- Law enforcement
- Public interest law services
- Early childhood education (including licensed or regulated child care, Head Start, and state-funded pre-kindergarten)
- Public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly
- Public health (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations)
- Public education
- Public library services
- School library services
- Other school-based services
NOTE: For purposes of the full-time requirement with a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit or other private non-profit public service organization, a borrower's qualifying employment does not include time spent on job duties that are related to religious instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing.
What is my role in the application process for forgiveness?
In order to determine if your employee is eligible for PSLF, we need your help to certify the employment status of the employee that did/does work for your organization as this information is required. Your current or former employee will ask you to complete the employer Section (3) of the Employment Certification Form (ECF).
Who is eligible to complete Section 3 of the Employment Certification Form?
The Employment Certification Form (ECF) must be completed by someone who has access to the borrower's employment or service records, is authorized by the organization to certify the employment status of a current or former employee or service member, and is able to provide all necessary data requested in Section 3 of the ECF.
How often should the Employment Certification Form be completed to certify employment?
There is no specific requirement for the frequency of completing the Employment Certification Form (ECF) and updating FedLoan Servicing with the employment status for the employee. The employee must be employed at an approved public service organization for at least 10 years while they are making qualifying payments so at least 10 years of employment/service will need to be certified. The general frequency for submitting an ECF to provide an update on employment/service status is once a year for the prior year of employment/service.
View additional details of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program at the Federal Student Aid Website.
Helpful Hints for Completing the Employment Certification Form (ECF)
- Make sure the employee completes Sections 1 and 2 of the form.
- Do not certify the ECF if your organization is for-profit.
- Complete all fields of Section 3 or your employee's ECF may be denied.
- Required fields that are most commonly left blank:
- Federally assigned employer ID# (EIN)
- Type of non-profit organization
- Signature and/or date
- Required fields that are most commonly completed incorrectly:
- ECF ITEM 2A
- If the employee is currently employed, list the date you are signing the form as the employment end date on the ECF. Future employment cannot be certified.
- ECF ITEM 3
- Check one box (a, b, or c) next to the category which best describes your public service organization. For additional information, see Section 5 of the form.
- Is your organization a government organization (such as Federal, State, or local government, Tribal organization, public school system, military)?
- If yes, check only box a and nothing else.
- Is your organization tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code?
- If yes, check only box b and nothing else.
- Is your organization a private non-profit organization other than a 501(c)(3) that provides at least one of the public services listed under box c?
- If yes, check box c and the appropriate box for the type(s) of public service you provide. At least one of the boxes under box c must be checked.
- ECF ITEM 2A
- Required fields that are most commonly left blank:
- Make sure to sign and date the form
- When all sections of the form are complete, it can be returned by mail or fax to FedLoan Servicing.
Download Employment Certification Form for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Still Have Questions?
We are here to help you with every step of the process. Contact one of our Public Service Loan Forgiveness specialists at 855-265-4038 for more information.
Completed Forms
Mail or fax your completed form (borrower AND employer section completed) to:
FedLoan Servicing
Attn: Loan Forgiveness
P.O. Box 69184
Harrisburg, PA 17106-9184
Fax: (717) 720-1628
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
If you work in the education field, you may qualify for Teacher Loan Forgiveness. The purpose of this program is to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. Take our interactive eligibility quiz to see if you qualify.
NOTE: Any payments that are made during a period that is approved for Teacher Loan Forgiveness will not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.