Everything to Know About Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

To qualify for PSLF, you must:

• be employed by a qualifying employer, such as the U.S. government or a nonprofit organization;
• work full time for that agency or organization (at least 30 hours per week);
• have Federal Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Loan);
• be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan;
• make 120 qualifying payments toward your student loans.

Even if your parents took out Parent PLUS loans to help with your education, only borrowers that work in public service are eligible for PSLF. If your parent does not work in public service, then they are ineligible to receive forgiveness under this program.

Payments made during the COVID-19 national pause count for PSLF as long as you were working for a qualifying employer and your loans were not in in-school deferment. Additionally, if you made payments toward your loans after March 13, 2020, you are eligible for a refund.

You can call your student loan servicer to request a refund for these payments.

If your loans are in default, you will first have to exit default to qualify for the PSLF program. Time spent in default does not count as time in repayment.

If you cannot get your form signed by a former employer, PSLF student loan provider the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA) will accept W-2s and pay stubs to confirm your employment.

You would need to submit a W-2 for every year you worked at a qualifying employer while making payments, or submit the pay stubs you received for the duration of the employment period. After completing sections 1 through 3 of the PSLF form, send it to MOHELA along with the alternative documentation of employment.

October 31 was the deadline to submit your application for the temporary PSLF waiver, but not to finish the process! Federal Student Aid acknowledged it received an unprecedented volume of applications for the PSLF program due to the temporary waiver’s expanded guidelines.

It may take a while for the Department of Education to approve your forms and process your loan consolidation before you see a change reflected in your loan status.

For more information about the PSLF program, watch the recording of the All Things Public Service Loan Forgiveness webinar hosted by Idealist. You can also view and download the presentation we used during the webinar.

If you need help completing the PSLF form, Federal Student Aid has published a step-by-step video on YouTube for borrowers to review. Reach out to Federal Student Aid through their Feedback Center if you have any questions, or contact MOHELA for concerns about your account.