Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Eligibility | Learn.org

Student loans are a common way to finance a college education, but they can be a heavy burden, especially as interest accrues. There are plenty of student loan dos and don'ts for college students to consider, but some may qualify for student loan forgiveness programs to ease the burden.

Student loan forgiveness is a hot-button topic, but many people have already had their loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. This program forgives loans for those who have worked in public service jobs for a certain time period. Keep reading to learn more about who is eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

What Is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program?

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is run by the U.S. Department of Education to help those working in public service jobs eliminate the remaining balance of their federal student loan debt.

This program is for individuals working for the government or a nonprofit organization. It only forgives federal student loans, not private loans.

PSLF Eligibility

There are specific eligibility requirements for this federal student aid program, and as a result, not everyone with a federal student loan is eligible. Requirements include:

• you have eligible federal student loans
• you are employed through the government or a qualifying not-for-profit organization
• you work full-time for that organization
• you've been meeting the payment requirements of your loans

We've broken these requirements down below.

Types of Loans That Qualify for PSLF

There are many types of loans that borrowers take out to pay for tuition, but only certain loans qualify for the PSLF program. Only Federal Direct Loans qualify. These include:

• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans
• Direct Consolidation Loans

Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) and Federal Perkins Loans (Perkins Loans) are not eligible unless you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Student loans from private student loan servicers are never eligible for this student loan forgiveness.

Employment Requirements

To qualify for the PSLF program, you must work in a government job or for a nonprofit organization; you must also be employed full-time. Below, we've broken these requirements down further.

Qualifying Employers

There are three types of qualifying employers for the PSLF program. The first is U.S.-based government organizations at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels. This includes the U.S. military, as well as AmeriCorps and Peace Corps.

The second is not-for-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. There are a number of these organizations across the country — some big names include the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

The third category is other not-for-profit organizations that devote a majority of their full-time equivalent employees to providing certain qualifying public services. These services include:

• early childhood education
• emergency management
• public education
• public health
• public safety

If you're unsure whether your organization qualifies, visit StudentAid.gov and use the PSLF employer search tool.

Full-Time Employment Requirement

To qualify for PSLF, you must be a full-time employee. The program considers full-time employment to be working a weekly average of 30 or more hours, which can be for one qualifying employer or split between multiple qualifying employers.

Additionally, you must be working these hours during the period being certified and throughout a contractual or employment period of at least 8 months in a year (meaning school teachers qualify even if they aren't teaching over summer break).

Examples of Qualifying Jobs

Many jobs qualify for PSLF. Some common examples include:

• active-duty military members
• firefighters
• librarian in a public library or public school
• police officer
• public school teacher
• social worker

Payment Requirements for PSLF

In addition to meeting the requirements above, you must also meet certain payment requirements to qualify for PSLF. These include repaying your loans under an income-driven repayment plan or a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan and making a total of 120 qualifying monthly payments.

What Are Qualifying Payments?

A qualifying monthly payment is one that you make while employed full-time by a qualifying employer at any time during that month while under a qualifying repayment plan. The amount paid must be for the full amount due as shown on your bill unless you were in one of the accepted types of deferments or forbearance.

Months that you were in repayment while the requirement to make a payment was paused count as qualifying payments if you also certify your employment for the same period. Additionally, the 120 monthly payments do not need to be consecutive.

Repayment Plans That Count Towards PSLF

Two types of repayment plans can count toward the PSLF program: income-driven repayment plans and the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan. The Standard Repayment Plan for Direct Consolidation Loans, Graduated Repayment Plan, and Extended Repayment Plan do not qualify.

We've broken down the qualifying repayment plans below.

Income-Driven Repayment Plans (IDR)

Income-driven repayment plans are plans that base your monthly payment on your income and household size. The U.S. Department of Education offers four IDR plans:

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

Standard Repayment Plan

The Standard Repayment Plan isn't income-based. Instead, your payments are a fixed amount each month, and these payments are calculated so that you pay off your loan within 10 years.

If you have a Standard Repayment Plan, you may not qualify for PSLF, as your loan is meant to be paid off within 120 months anyway. If this is your current payment plan but you hope to qualify for PSLF, you may want to consider switching to an income-driven repayment plan.

Timing and Consistency of Payments

For a payment to count for PSLF, it needs to reflect the full amount due, unless you are in one of the accepted types of deferments or forbearance. These include:

• cancer treatment deferment
• economic hardship deferment
• military service deferment
• post-active-duty student deferment
• AmeriCorps forbearance
• National Guard Duty forbearance
• U.S. Department of Defense Student Loan Repayment Program forbearance
• certain administrative forbearances related to local or national emergencies, military mobilizations, or mandatory administrative forbearances provided to borrowers for collecting supporting documentation

If you are in one of these types of deferments, the months you are in the deferments will count toward your qualifying payments.

Factors That Can Affect PSLF Eligibility

Even if you meet all the requirements, there are a few things that can affect your eligibility. The first is a break or change in employment.

You must still be working for a qualifying employer at the time you submit your PSLF application. Additionally, payments made when not working for a qualifying employer do not count.

The other thing that could affect your eligibility is a change in your loan status. For example, you may not qualify if you've fallen behind on payments. Additionally, payments made during a non-accepted type of deferment or forbearance do not count toward your 120 payment total.

How To Apply for PSLF

The U.S. Department of Education provides two ways to apply for PSLF: through a digital form or a manual printed form.

For the digital application, you'll use the PSLF Help Tool on the StudentAid.gov website. Once you've filled out the form, your employer will receive an email to certify your application.

You can also print out the form, fill it out, and have your employer sign it. You can upload it to StudentAid.gov, fax the form to 540-212-2415, or mail it to:

U.S. Department of Education

P.O. Box 300010

Greenville, TX 75403