How To Get Student Loan Forgiveness

Around 43 million borrowers owed nearly $1.7 trillion in federal student loans as of the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Federal Student Aid data. Unfortunately, student debt is a substantial burden for many borrowers. The good news is that it's possible to get student loan forgiveness in certain circumstances, such as working in public service or making payments under an income-driven repayment plan. 

There are strict requirements for forgiveness, though, and the rules are changing regarding when and how you can get your student debt forgiven. Here's what you need to know. 

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What is student loan forgiveness?

Student loan forgiveness refers to having a portion of your student loan balance discharged or canceled, meaning you no longer have to repay any remaining balance. There are multiple student loan forgiveness programs that could allow you to have federal student loans forgiven.

Private student loan debt isn’teligible for forgiveness. However, some lenders may discharge private student loans in certain circumstances, such as when the primary borrower dies or becomes permanently disabled.

Types of student loan forgiveness programs

The Department of Education offers several student loan forgiveness options for borrowers with federal student loans. Some of the programs you may be able to participate in include:

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): PSLF may be an option if you work for a not-for-profit organization or the government and have a Direct Loan or a Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), or a Perkins Loan that has been consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan. You must work full-time and make 120 qualifying payments on an income-driven repayment plan to have the remaining balance of your loan forgiven through PSLF.
• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Teachers can get up to $17,500 in Direct Loans or FFEL program loans forgiven if they teach full-time for 5 complete, consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency.
• Income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness: There are multiple income-driven repayment plans that set your monthly payments at a percentage of your discretionary income. After making payments for the required repayment term (20 to 30 years, depending on the plan), any remaining balance will be forgiven.  
• Perkins Loan cancellation: Teachers and other qualifying professions may also qualify for federal Perkins Loan cancellation, which eliminates a portion of your student debt after meeting certain requirements, including working in a low-income or high-need area. 

There may also be other specialized situations when debt can be forgiven, such as when your school committed fraud or closed while you were attending, or if you become totally and permanently disabled. 

In addition, there are programs that allow borrowers in specialized professions to have some of their loans repaid for them, including the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program and National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program. You can check with professional organizations in your industry to see if any of these programs are available to you.

How student loan forgiveness is changing in 2026

Changes to federal student aid, including forgiveness programs, are coming in July 2026 due to the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” These changes include:

• Fewer income-driven repayment plan options: For new borrowers on or after July 1, 2026, the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will be the only available income-driven repayment plan. If you borrowed before that point and are on an existing IDR plan, you can remain on it until July 1, 2028, after which point you must switch to Income-Based Repayment, one of the standard plans, or RAP.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness will be harder to qualify for: In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Education to revise the definition of “public service” to exclude organizations that “engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.” This revised definition will narrow the list of eligible employers, making PSLF harder to qualify for.
• Parent loans no longer qualify for PSLF: Parent PLUS loans taken out on or after July 1, 2026, won’t be eligible for RAP, the only available income-driven plan. This means parent borrowers won’t have a pathway to forgiveness. 

How do IBR and RAP work?

Since IBR and RAP will soon be the only income-driven payment plan options for current and new borrowers, it's important to understand how both work:

• If you borrowed before July 1, 2014, IBR allows you to make payments equal to 15% of your discretionary income with a 25-year repayment period. If you borrowed after July 1, 2014, you make payments equal to 10% of your discretionary income with a 20-year repayment period. 
• RAP calculates payments based on adjusted gross income (AGI), and sets payments to between 1% and 10% of your AGI, with a minimum monthly payment of $10. If your payment doesn't cover the interest each month, the unpaid interest is canceled, so your balance doesn't grow as you make payments. You’ll have to make payments for 30 years under RAP, which is longer than any other IDR plan. If you want to qualify for forgiveness based on participation in an income-driven program, you’ll have no choice but to sign up for RAP if you’re borrowing on or after July 1, 2026.

Who qualifies for student loan forgiveness?

You may qualify for student loan forgiveness if:

• You have the right type of loans: This typically includes Direct Loans, Perkins Loans, and, in some cases, FFEL program loans. Some loans must be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan to become eligible. Private student loans don't qualify for forgiveness, and parent PLUS loans are eligible only under limited circumstances after being consolidated. 
• You enroll in the right repayment plan: You’ll typically need to enroll in a qualifying income-driven payment plan to become eligible for student loan forgiveness, either as a result of making 20 to 30 years of payments on an IDR plan or by qualifying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. 
• You have the right employer: If you’re pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness or Teacher Loan Forgiveness, there are strict requirements on what kind of work you must do. However, this doesn't apply if you’re pursuing student loan forgiveness based on an income-driven plan.
• You make the required number of payments: You have to make 120 payments on a qualifying income-driven plan while working for an eligible employer to qualify for PSLF. You must make between 20 and 30 years of payments on an IDR plan, depending on the plan.

How to apply for student loan forgiveness

To apply for student loan forgiveness:

1. Explore different programs and choose the one you’re eligible for based on your career and loan type. 
2. Change your student loan payment plan to an eligible income-driven plan that will qualify for forgiveness. 
3. Submit an application. You can apply for an IDR plan online, and you can use the PSLF help tool to generate a PSLF form.
4. Provide the required information, including information on your income and family size (you can make this process easier by allowing the IRS to transfer your information directly).
5. Obtain employer certification. If you’re pursuing PSLF, you'll need to send forms to your employer to certify your employment. You can use the PSLF help tool to send the forms to your employer online or download a PDF copy of the form, have your employer sign it, and mail it to the Department of Education.

Remember, you must also make the required payments to qualify for loan forgiveness. Once you’ve made all the necessary payments and met all requirements, you’ll need to submit forms requesting the discharge of your loan balance.

Common mistakes that delay or prevent forgiveness

Forgiveness can be the best way to get relief from overwhelming student loan debt, so you'll want to avoid mistakes that could delay it or prevent it altogether. Some common errors include:

• Being on the wrong payment plan: You must be on an eligible income-driven payment plan to become eligible for forgiveness. 
• Consolidating incorrectly: In some cases, you need to consolidate to become eligible for forgiveness. However, consolidation may reset your payment count to zero, making forgiveness take longer to qualify for. Understand the impact of consolidation before moving forward. 
• Missing annual certifications: You need to submit your PSLF forms annually to confirm you still work for an eligible employer. If you don't, you'll be required to submit documentation when you apply to have your debt discharged. You must also recertify your income-driven repayment plan each year by providing documentation like pay stubs. 
• Refinancing into private student loans: Refinancing may make sense if you can lower your interest rate on existing private loans. It rarely makes sense to refinance federal student loans, as doing so forfeits all federal benefits, including access to loan forgiveness.

You also need to make sure you’re current on your student loan payments, which means you need to apply for an income-driven plan before missing any. 

“When it comes to student loans, the key is to stay out of default. Keep your payments up to date so repayment plans are available to you,” says Steve Azoury, chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and owner of Azoury Financial. 

What to do if you don’t qualify for forgiveness

If you don't qualify for forgiveness, there are other options to consider, including:

• Paying off your loans over a longer time: “If you don’t qualify for student loan forgiveness programs, another option could be to extend your repayment terms,” says Domenick D'Andrea, an accredited investment fiduciary and co-founder of DanDarah Wealth Management. If you make your payment term longer by changing your payment plan or refinancing, you can lower your monthly payment. 
• Consolidating: “If you have numerous student loans, you could also consolidate them into one loan,” D'Andrea explains. "This will simplify your payments and could also lower your monthly minimum payments." You can consolidate with a Direct Consolidation Loan if you have eligible loans. In some cases, such as if you have parent PLUS loans, consolidating could be the only way to qualify for forgiveness.
• Taking advantage of workplace programs: “You could ask your employer if they have any assistance programs to help with your payments. Some may offer to match your payments up to a certain amount annually,” says D'Andrea. 
• Accelerating your payoff: If you have the money, consider making extra monthly payments to your student loan debt to become debt-free faster. Extra payments reduce your principal balance directly, so your balance declines faster. 
• Exploring student loan deferment and forbearance: These options can temporarily pause payments to give you time to resolve your financial challenges.
• Refinancing: You may be able to get a lower interest rate if you refinance. Just remember that you need to exercise caution when refinancing federal student loans, as you’ll give up many valuable borrower benefits, including future forgiveness options.