Limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Waiver

On Oct. 6, 2021, The U.S. Department of Education announced temporary changes to the rules for PSLF and Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF). Now, under the limited PSLF waiver, you may receive credit for past payments that normally wouldn’t qualify for PSLF. This waiver is scheduled to end Oct. 31, 2022!

To learn more about this limited waiver period, including any actions you may need to take to benefit from this waiver, visit StudentAid.gov/pslfwaiver.

About the Limited PSLF Waiver

New Rules Under Limited PSLF Waiver Until Oct. 31, 2022

• Receive credit for periods of repayment on Direct, Federal Family Education (FFEL) Program Loans, or Perkins Loans

• Any prior period of repayment will count as a qualifying payment after Oct. 1, 2007, regardless of loan program, repayment plan, or whether the payment was made in full or on time

• Periods of repayment on loans before consolidation count, even if paid late, or for less than the amount due

• Can get forgiveness even if you are not employed or not employed by a qualifying employer at the time of application and forgiveness

• If you got Teacher Loan Forgiveness, the period of service that led to your eligibility will count toward PSLF (if you certify employment for PSLF for that period)

Unchanged Rules

• Credit is only for periods of repayment after Oct. 1, 2007, since that is when the PSLF Program began

• Periods of deferment or forbearance (not including the Covid-19 Forbearance), and periods of default, do not qualify

• Must make 120 qualifying payments or the equivalent

• Being employed by government, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, or other not-for-profit organization that provides a qualifying service

• Working full time

• Having Direct Loans or consolidating into Direct Consolidation Loans

• Certifying qualifying employment for the periods of time for which you want credit toward PSLF

• Parent PLUS loans are not eligible under the limited PSLF waiver

Eligible Student Loans

Verify if your loan types are already eligible or if you need to consolidate for your loan(s) to be eligible. Log in to StudentAid.gov to view your Aid Summary.

• Any loan received under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program Direct Loans and Direct Consolidation Loans

• Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program if these loans are:

  • already consolidated into the Direct Consolidation Loan

  • consolidated into the Direct Consolidation Loan by Oct. 31, 2022

  Note: If you consolidate these loans into a Direct Loan before Oct. 31, 2022, you may be able to receive qualifying credit for payments made on those loans through the limited PSLF waiver.

Employment

Qualifying Employer

Use the PSLF Help Tool to search for a qualifying employer, learn what actions you may need to take to become eligible for PSLF or TEPSLF, and generate the form you need. To identify if your employer is eligible you will need your employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN OR EIN) which is a unique, nine-digit number assigned to entities operating in the United States. Qualifying employment is about your employer. Employment with the following types of organizations are qualified employers 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

Full-Time Employment

• You must have worked full time for a qualifying employer for the same period of time your loans(s) were/are in repayment

• Credit is only for payments made along with the corresponding qualified full-time employment after Oct. 1, 2007, since that is when the PSLF Program began

• If not completed already, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) & Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) Certification & Application must be filed for any qualified full-time employment period to receive credit for payments

Consolidation

For Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, or other types of federal student loans that are not Direct Loans you must consolidate into the Direct Loan program by Oct. 31, 2022. This is very important, because you cannot receive credit for payments under this limited PSLF waiver if you consolidate after that date.

If you determine consolidation is the best option for you, you can apply here for consolidation. After the consolidation is complete, you must then submit a PSLF form for all periods of qualifying employment.

Apply for PSLF

You can use the PSLF Help Tool to search for a qualifying employer, learn what actions you may need to take to become eligible for PSLF or TEPSLF, and generate the form you need. For the best experience using this tool, read this blog, Become a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool Ninja, then log into StudentAid.gov and perform the following:

• Verify your loan types on your Aid Summary

• Verify eligible employment by completing Step 1 of the PSLF Help Tool

  • To interact with this database, you need your employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN/EIN) which is located in box b of your W-2 or contact your employer directly to get this number

• If an employer is eligible or is “likely ineligible” (which means unknown) but you believe the employer qualifies and you have at least one eligible loan that is not a Direct Loan, request a Direct Consolidation Loan by Oct. 31, 2022

• Use the PSLF Help Tool to generate a PSLF form to submit to FedLoan Servicing by Oct. 31, 2022