Student loans do not go away. And, in most instances, filing bankruptcy will not get rid of them. But your student loan may be eligible for student loan forgiveness through one of several programs.
A 2017 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated that one-fourth of the American workforce may be eligible for repayment or student loan forgiveness but do not take advantage of the programs. However, further investigation revealed it was not the fault of borrowers as the student loan forgiveness program actually offered very little forgiveness.
Fast forward to Oct. 2021, when the U.S. Department of Education announced sweeping changes to its Public Service Loan Forgiveness program after thousands of public worker borrowers, including teachers, police officers, and firefighters complained their applications for forgiveness had been denied.
By Oct. 2024, over 1 million public service workers have had their student loans cancelled under the Biden Administration, despite the Supreme Court blocking Biden’s initial broad student loan forgiveness plan.
Multiple lawsuits create uncertainty about the future of student loan forgiveness but there remain several options for student loan forgiveness.
Here are the main programs:
Guide to Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
1. Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Forgiveness
IDR plans base your monthly payments on your income and family size typically 10-15% of your discretionary income (and your spouse’s if filing jointly).
After making a certain number of payments (typically 20 or 25 years), any remaining balance is forgiven. This forgiveness was made tax-free retroactive to December 2020 through the end of 2025, as part of the March 2021 American Rescue Plan.
2. Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.
Who is Eligible? Use the employer search tool on studentaid.gov to see if your current and past employers are on the eligible list. Common job fields that are PSLF eligible include:
- U.S. federal government
- State, local, or tribal government
- Law Enforcement
- First Responders
- U.S. Military
- Education
- Healthcare
- Disaster Relief
- Conservation
- Social Service
- Law
- Nonprofit
Loan Type and Repayment Plan:
- Direct Loans: You must have federal Direct Loans (or consolidated into a Direct Loan).
- Income-Driven Repayment Plan: You must be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan (IDR), such as:
1. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan
2. Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) Plan
3. Revised Pay-As-You-Earn (REPAYE) Plan
4. Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan
Additional Requirements:
- 120 Qualifying Payments: You must make 120 qualifying monthly payments (not necessarily consecutive) while working in public service.
- No Missed Payments: You cannot have any missed payments during the 120-payment period.
- Certification Form: You must submit the PSLF Certification Form annually to track your progress and confirm your eligibility.
3. Teacher Loan Forgiveness
This program offers up to $17,500 in forgiveness for teachers who have taught for five consecutive years in certain low-income schools. Direct or Stafford loans are eligible and must have been taken out after Oct. 1998
4. Perkins Loan Cancellation
If you work in a public service job for 5 years you may be eligible to have your 100% of your Perkins loan cancelled.
Who is Eligible?
- Attorney: You must be a full-time attorney employed in a federal public or community defender organization. You must perform qualified service that includes August 14, 2008, or began on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Child or family services agency: You must be a full-time employee of a public or nonprofit child or family services agency providing services to high-risk children and their families from low-income communities. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Firefighter: You must be a full-time firefighter whose service included August 14, 2008, or began on or after that date. Firefighters may receive up to 100% forgiveness of their loans.
- Head Start: You must be a full-time staff member in the education component of a Head Start program. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans—15% of the principal balance and accrued interest for each year of service.
- Imminent danger area: You must serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in a hostile fire or imminent danger area. You may receive forgiveness for up to 50% of your outstanding loans if your active duty ended before August 14, 2008. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your outstanding loans if your active duty includes or began after August 14, 2008.
- Intervention services provider: You must be a full-time qualified professional provider of early intervention services for the disabled. Service must include August 14, 2008, or have begun on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Law enforcement: You must be a full-time law enforcement or corrections officer. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness for your loans.
- Librarian: You must be a librarian with a master’s degree working in a Title I-eligible elementary or secondary school or in a public library serving Title I-eligible schools. Work must include August 14, 2008, or have begun on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Nurse or medical technician: You must be a full-time nurse or medical technician. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your outstanding loans.
- Pre-Kindergarten or child care: You must be a full-time staff member in a prekindergarten or child care program that is licensed or regulated by a state. Work must include August 14, 2008, or have begun on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Special education teacher: You must be a full-time special education teacher of children with disabilities in a public school, nonprofit elementary or secondary school, or educational service agency. If the service is at an educational service agency, it must include August 14, 2008, or have begun on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Speech pathologist: You must be a full-time speech pathologist with a master’s degree working in a Title I-eligible elementary or secondary school. Your service must include August 14, 2008, or have begun on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Teacher at an educational service agency: You must be a full-time teacher in a designated educational service agency that serves students from low-income families. You service must include August 14, 2008, or have begun on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Teacher in shortage area field: You must be a full-time teacher of math, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, or other fields designated as teacher shortage areas. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness of your loans.
- Tribal college faculty member: You must be a full-time faculty member at a tribal college or university. Your service must include August 14, 2008, or have begun on or after that date. You may receive up to 100% forgiveness.
- Vista or Peace Corps volunteer: You must serve for a period of time in the AmeriCorps Vista program or the Peace Corps. You may receive forgiveness for up to 70% of your loans over the course of 4 years—15% of the principal balance and accrued interest for the first and second years and 20% of the principal balance and accrued interest for the third and fourth years.
Check out more information on the Perkins Loan Cancelation Program.
5. Closed School Discharge
If your school closed while you were enrolled or soon after you withdrew, you might be eligible for loan discharge.
6. Permanent Disability Discharge
If you’re totally and permanently disabled, you may qualify for loan discharge.
7. Military Service Forgiveness Programs
Each branch of the military has its own student loan forgiveness program. Forgiven loan amounts depends on the level of rank achieved. Those interested should contact their preferred branch to learn about their options.
- Air Force College Loan Repayment Program. (Currently not available) – The main Air Force College Loan Repayment program was paused in 2018. This program allowed you to get up to $10,000 in student loan debt paid off in 3 years.
- Air Force JAG student loan repayment program. You can receive up to $65,000 in student loan forgiveness if you go into JAG in the Air Force.
- Army College Loan Repayment Program. The Army College Loan Repayment program will forgive up to $65,000 of your student loan debt for highly qualified individuals who enlist in one of the Army’s critical military occupational specialties (MOS).
- National Guard Student Loan Repayment Program. The National Guard Student Loan Repayment program offers loan forgiveness up to $50,000 for qualifying Federal loans for guardsmen who enlist for at least 6 years.
- Navy Student Loan Repayment Program. The Navy Student Loan Repayment Program is one of several Navy enlistment education incentive programs designed to pay federally guaranteed student loans (up to $65,000) through three annual payments during a Sailor’s first three years of service.
- Army Active Duty Health Professions Student Loan Repayment Program. The Army maintains student loan forgiveness programs for individuals who practice medicine or dentistry while in service.
- Navy Health Professions Student Loan Repayment Program. The Navy also offers student loan repayment assistance for individuals who practice medicine while in service.
Check out the student loan forgiveness benefits afforded to military members.
8. State-Sponsored Repayment Programs
Your state may offer student loan forgiveness if you work in certain professions, for example:
- In Michigan, the Michigan State Loan Repayment program will repay up to $300,000 for education debt. MSLRP service obligations require participants to provide full-time primary healthcare services in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) at not-for-profit health clinics for two years.
- North Dakota’s veterinarian loan repayment program will repay up to $80,000 in educational loans. The amount of the loan repayment award may not exceed the amount of the educational loan(s). Three veterinarians may be selected per year.
- New York’s Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program offers loan forgiveness to recent college graduates that pursue careers in farming in New York. To be eligible you must obtain an undergraduate degree from an approved New York college or university and agree to operate a farm in New York, on a full-time basis, for five years.
9. NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program
Borrowers who are registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses may be eligible to receive up to 85% payment for unpaid education debt.
- Licensed registered nurse
- Advanced practice registered nurse
- Nurse faculty member with qualifying nursing debt
To learn more about eligibility visit HRSA Nurse Corps.
10. Borrower Defense Loan Discharge
You may be eligible to discharge some or all of your federal student loan debt if your school misled you or engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain state laws. Find out more about the borrower defense to loan repayment program.
11. Navient Student Loan Forgiveness
In 2022, a coalition of 39 state attorneys general reached a landmark settlement in the amount of $1.85 billion with Navient, a major student loan collecting company. Navient agreed to cancel $1.7 billion in debt owed by more than 66,000 borrowers across the U.S. and pay over $140 million in other penalties to settle allegations of abusive lending practices.
Borrowers were given false information and discouraged from enrolling in federal student loan forgiveness programs.
In Sep. 2024, Navient reached a $120 million settlement for misleading student loan borrowers. As part of the deal, $100 million will be used to make payments to impacted customers with the remaining $20 million to go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus’ civil penalty fund.
Navient offers private student loan forgiveness for borrowers misled by their schools.
You may be eligible for relief if your private loans were serviced by Navient and your institution engaged in any of the following misconduct:
- The school or its representatives made untrue or misleading statements to persuade you to attend or to remain enrolled.
- The school “concealed, suppressed, or omitted” information that would have informed your decision to attend or remain enrolled.
- The school used aggressive and deceptive recruitment tactics, such as pressuring you to enroll or take out loans or discouraging you from discussing your decision with family and friends.
- The school failed to live up to its obligations under a contract.
Borrowers must submit an application explaining how their school deceived them and provide supporting documentation. Request the School Misconduct Discharge Application directly from Navient by:
- Phone: Call Navient at (888) 545-4199.
- Email: Send a request to advocate@navient.com.
