Public Service Loan Forgiveness

In order for your payments to be eligible for PSLF, you must meet the following criteria:

• Loan Type: You must have any type of federal Direct Loan;
• Repayment Plan: You must be enrolled in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, such as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan; and
• Employment: You must work 30 or more hours a week in public service employment, which includes public school districts; public and nonprofit charter schools; public and nonprofit hospitals; public and nonprofit colleges and universities; federal, state, county, municipal and tribal government agencies; and other types of 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations.

How to enroll

1. Check your loan types: Log in to your FSA account and check what types of loans you have on your account dashboard. If you have Federal Family Education Loans or Perkins Loans, consolidate them into Direct Consolidation Loans so that future payments qualify.
2. Enroll in an IDR plan: If you have any type of Direct Loan that you took out for your own education, you can enroll in the new SAVE plan, the most generous IDR plan available to borrowers! If you have Parent Plus Loans, you can enroll in the Income-Contingent Repayment plan but must consolidate your loans before enrolling.
3. Submit the PSLF application: Use the PSLF Help Tool to certify your previous employment for qualifying payments. We recommend submitting the PSLF application once a year to update your payment count to ensure that it is accurate. Please note: The processing of PSLF applications will be paused starting on May 1, 2024, and will resume in late July as the Department of Education updates and streamlines its processing system. Know what to expect and how to prepare.
4. Final application: After your 120th qualifying payment, submit the PSLF application one final time. You must still be working in public service when you submit the final application.
5. Let us know about your experience at go.aft.org/DebtJourney.

Need more assistance?

• Register for an AFT Student Debt Clinic webinar.
• Request an AFT Student Debt Clinic for your local union at debtclinic@aft.org.
• Sign up for Summer, the free AFT member benefit that helps you navigate your student loans. Summer provides information and additional support to help you navigate applying for PSLF and other loan forgiveness options.