How to Apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

What Public Service Loan Forgiveness Actually Requires

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) forgives the remaining balance on your federal student loans after you make 120 may have access to payments while working full-time for a government agency or a nonprofit organization. You do not need to wait until the 120 payments are complete to start the process — you can submit your paperwork now and track your progress, and the Department of Education will count payments you have already made.

The core requirement is straightforward: work in public service, make 120 on-time payments under an income-driven repayment plan, and submit the paperwork to prove both. The catch is that "may have access to payment" has specific rules. Payments made while you were in school, in deferment, or in forbearance do not count. Payments on private loans do not count. Payments made under the standard 10-year repayment plan count, but income-driven plans are more common because they lower your monthly payment and make forgiveness more likely to actually happen.

Key Takeaways

• You need 120 on-time payments under an income-driven repayment plan while working full-time for a government agency or nonprofit — these do not have to be consecutive, and you can switch employers as long as each one qualifies.
• Submit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Employment Certification Form (Form 10-F1) to the Department of Education now, even if you have not made 120 payments yet, so your employer and employment history are verified early.
• Income-driven repayment plans (PAYE, REPAYE, IBR, or ICR) are usually required for PSLF, and you must recertify your income every year to stay enrolled.
• The Department of Education maintains a PSLF Help Tool on studentaid.gov where you can check your payment count and see which payments have been counted toward the 120.
• If your employer or loan servicer denies a payment as non-may have access to, you can submit a Limited Waiver Request to have it reconsidered under temporary rules that have been extended through 2023.

Confirm Your Employer and Loan Type may have access to

Before you do anything else, verify that your employer counts as a may have access to public service employer. Government agencies at any level — federal, state, local, tribal — all count. Nonprofits must be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. You can search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool to confirm a nonprofit's status, or ask your employer's human resources department for documentation.

Your loans must be federal Direct Loans. If you have Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) or Perkins Loans, they do not may have access to for PSLF unless you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan first. Consolidation creates a new loan with a new servicer, which resets your payment count to zero, so consolidate only if you have not yet made many payments. If you have already made 80 or more payments, consolidation may not be worth it.

Private student loans never may have access to for PSLF, no matter who your employer is. If you have a mix of federal and private loans, only the federal portion will be forgiven.

Switch to an Income-Driven Repayment Plan

PSLF requires an income-driven repayment plan. The four plans that count are PAYE (Pay As You Earn), REPAYE (Revised Pay As You Earn), IBR (Income-Based Repayment), and ICR (Income-Contingent Repayment). PAYE and REPAYE usually result in the lowest monthly payment, especially if your income is low or you have a high loan balance.

You enroll through your loan servicer's website or by calling them directly. You will need to provide proof of income — usually your most recent tax return or a recent pay stub. Once you enroll, your monthly payment is calculated based on your income and family size, and it recalculates every year when you recertify. Missing a recertification deadline can pause your payments and stop your progress toward the 120-payment mark, so set a calendar reminder for your recertification date.

If you are already on an income-driven plan, you do not need to switch. Your current plan counts toward PSLF as long as it is one of the four may have access to plans.

Submit the Employment Certification Form Now

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Employment Certification Form (Form 10-F1) is the document that tells the Department of Education who your employer is and confirms that the employer qualifies. You do not have to wait until you have made 120 payments to submit it — in fact, submitting it early is the smart move because it locks in your employer's status and prevents disputes later.

You can download Form 10-F1 from studentaid.gov or ask your loan servicer to send it to you. Fill out your information and your employer's information, then have your employer's human resources or payroll department sign and date it. Some employers will not sign employment verification forms as a policy, in which case you can submit a letter from your employer on company letterhead confirming your employment dates and full-time status instead.

Mail the completed form to your loan servicer or submit it through your servicer's website if they accept online submission. Keep a copy for your records. The Department of Education will send you a letter confirming receipt and telling you how many payments have been counted so far.

Track Your Progress Using the PSLF Help Tool

The PSLF Help Tool on studentaid.gov is the official place to see your payment count. Log in with your FSA ID, and the tool will show you how many payments have been counted toward the 120, which payments were counted, and which were not. This is your source of truth — do not rely on your loan servicer's count alone, because servicers sometimes make mistakes.

Check the tool every few months, especially after you make a payment. If you see a payment marked as non-may have access to and you believe it should count, you have the right to dispute it. The most common reason payments are marked non-may have access to is that the borrower was not on an income-driven plan at the time, or the employer was not verified as may have access to.

If you spot an error, contact your loan servicer first and ask them to correct it. If they refuse or say they cannot, you can submit a Limited Waiver Request to the Department of Education asking them to reconsider the payment under temporary rules. These rules have been extended, but the Department of Education has not yet announced a final end date, so do not assume they will be available forever.

What Happens When You Reach 120 Payments

When the PSLF Help Tool shows that you have made 120 may have access to payments, you do not automatically receive forgiveness. Instead, the Department of Education will review your file to confirm that all 120 payments were made under a may have access to plan while you worked for a may have access to employer. This review usually takes 30 to 60 days.

If everything checks out, the Department of Education will contact your loan servicer and instruct them to forgive the remaining balance. You will receive a letter confirming the forgiveness, and the loan will be marked as paid in full on your credit report. The forgiven amount is not treated as taxable income, so you will not owe federal income tax on it.

If the Department of Education finds that some payments do not may have access to, they will send you a letter explaining why and telling you how many payments actually count. You can then request reconsideration or submit additional documentation if you believe the decision is wrong.

What to Do If You Change Jobs or Take Time Off

Your 120 payments do not have to be consecutive, and you do not have to work for the same employer the whole time. As long as each employer qualifies as a public service employer, the payments count. If you leave your job, your payments pause, but they do not disappear — when you return to public service work, you start making may have access to payments again and they add to your total.

If you take unpaid leave, go back to school, or work in a non-may have access to job for a while, those months do not count toward the 120. Only months when you are working full-time for a may have access to employer and making an on-time payment count. Full-time is defined as 30 hours per week or more, or however your employer defines it in their employee handbook.

When you change employers, submit a new Employment Certification Form to verify the new employer. This protects you if there is ever a question about whether that employer may have access to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I count payments I made before I knew about PSLF?

Yes, as long as those payments were made under an income-driven repayment plan while you worked for a may have access to employer. Payments made under the standard 10-year plan also count. Submit your Employment Certification Form with your full employment history, and the Department of Education will count all may have access to payments you have already made.

What if my loan servicer says a payment does not count?

Ask your servicer in writing why the payment was marked non-may have access to and request documentation. If you disagree, you can submit a Limited Waiver Request to the Department of Education asking them to reconsider it. The Limited Waiver has been extended, though no final end date has been announced.

Do I have to stay on an income-driven plan the whole time?

Yes. If you switch to the standard 10-year plan or any other plan, payments made under that plan still count, but if you leave an income-driven plan and do not return to one, you lose the benefit of lower monthly payments. Most borrowers stay on an income-driven plan because the payment is lower and the forgiveness is the goal.

What happens to the forgiven amount on my taxes?

PSLF forgiveness is not taxable income, so you will not owe federal income tax on the forgiven amount. Some states tax forgiven student loan debt, so check your state's rules if you live in a state with income tax.

Can I apply for PSLF if I work part-time?

No. PSLF requires full-time employment, which is defined as 30 hours per week or more. If you work part-time, you do not meet the requirement, and your payments will not count toward the 120.