If you work for the government or a nonprofit organization, you may be able to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF.
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What is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a government program that erases the remaining balance of your student loans after you’ve made 120 qualifying payments. The payments don’t have to be consecutive.
What is an Employment Certification Form?
You can track your payment count every year by submitting an Employment Certification Form. While you’re working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you should submit a ECF every year and every time you change public sector jobs.
Submitting An ECF Will Confirm If Your
Filling out your ECF annually is the best way to verify that you’re on track for PSLF. To help you fill out your ECF each year, we’ve created new PSLF tool. The tool will assist you in completing your part of the form.
Afterwards, print it out, get your employer to sign it and send it. And don’t forget to save a copy. We’ll review your ECF to make sure you meet all of the program’s qualifications.
Which Employers Qualify For PSLF?
The first Public Service Loan Forgiveness qualification is about who you work for not about what you do. Qualifying employers include these government and nonprofit organizations:
- Federal, State, Local, And Tribal Government Organizations
- 501(C)(3) Nonprofit Organizations
- Non-501(C)(3) Nonprofit Organizations That Meet Public Service Requirements
- Americorps
- Peace Corps
Submit Your Employment Certification Form Annually
To make sure your employer qualifies, submit an Employment Certification Form every single year. This is a critical step.
Which Loans Qualify For PSLF?
The second qualification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness is loan type. Remember, Direct Loans are the only kinds of loans that qualify for PSLF. If you don’t have Direct Loans, you can consolidate some types of ineligible loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify.
Heads-Up:
If you have other types of loans and consolidate them, your payment count toward PSLF resets to zero.
Warning: Only payments you make on the new direct consolidation loan will count.
Which Repayment Plans Qualify For PSLF?
The third qualification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness is your repayment plan. These plans are based on your income, and they’re the only plans that qualify for PSLF. If you’re on any other plan or just starting repayment, switch to one of these plans to ensure you’ll qualify for forgiveness.
- Repay: Revised pay as you earn repayment plan
- Paye: Pay as you earn repayment plan
- IBR: Income-Based repayment plan
- ICR: Income-Contingent repayment plan.
Which Payments Qualify for PSLF?
The fourth qualification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness is all about your payments. Remember, you must make 120 qualifying payments to qualify for PSLF. So make your payments on time every time, and follow all the requirements throughout the repayment process.
- Is made after Oct. 1, 2007
- A qualifying repayment plan
- Pays the full amount due as shown on your bill no later than 15 days after your due date
- Is made while you´re employed full time by a qualifying employer.
Checklist
Here’s a quick checklist to recap the basic Public Service Loan Forgiveness qualifications.
- Employer: Certain government and nonprofit organizations
- Loan type: Direct loans
- Repayment plan: Income-Driven plans
- Payments: 120 qualifying payments.
Most importantly, and we can’t stress this enough, submit your Employment Certification Form each year.
Remember: Fill out an employment certification from every year.
This is essential. You most likely won’t get forgiveness without doing this. For more information, visit StudentAid.gov.
