Federal and Private Student Loan Relief FAQ

Yes. Even though your payments are paused, interest will keep being added to your loan balance. To stop your balance from growing, you can choose to pay the monthly interest.

In most cases, disaster forbearance lasts for 90 days.

You can usually ask for an extension when the 90 days are over. However, loans in default and Perkins Loans cannot get an extension.

If you live in a FEMA-designated disaster area, you, a family member, or someone else can ask your loan servicer to pause collections on your defaulted loans for 90 days. This stops the government from taking money from your paycheck or your federal tax refund.

No, the automatic disaster forbearance only applies to borrowers who are not in default. However, if your loans are in default and you live in or had to move from a FEMA-designated disaster area, you can ask your loan servicer to pause collections for 90 days.

You can call your loan servicer anytime and let them know you don’t want disaster forbearance. You can also call after you get the notice and choose to decline it.

No. If you’ve moved because of the wildfires, don’t change your address on file with your loan servicer. Your address must be in a FEMA-designated disaster zone to get disaster forbearance. Instead, make sure you can receive emails from your loan servicer. You might also want to set up mail forwarding with USPS to get important letters.

Make sure email notifications are turned on in your studentaid.gov account and your loan servicer account so you can get emails about your loans. To create or update your studentaid.gov account, go to:  https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing. You should also be able to create a login on your loan servicer’s website.

No. The months you’re in disaster forbearance will count toward PSLF if you work for a qualifying employer during that time.

No, in most cases. The months your loans are in forbearance will count toward IDR loan forgiveness. After the forbearance ends, you should get a notice that your monthly payments will go back to the same amount as before, unless the annual certification date for your IDR plan has passed. If that happens, you’ll need to update your income with your loan servicer to stay on an IDR plan.

If your income has decreased or you lost your job, you can apply for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan or request to lower your monthly IDR payments. If your loans qualify, your monthly payments could be much lower, even $0 per month, based on your income and household size. Each month you make an IDR payment (even $0) will count toward loan forgiveness.

If you lost your job and your loans are eligible, you may also request to delay your payments (known as an unemployment deferment). If you still have a job, but your income has decreased, you may also ask your loan servicer for general forbearance due to financial difficulties.

If your income is still the same as it was on your most recent federal tax return, you can get your latest tax transcript from the IRS online at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. If your income is lower than what’s shown on your last tax return, you can submit proof of your income from the last two months instead, such as pay stubs.

If you can’t work because of a disability and you don’t plan to go back to school, you might qualify to have your federal student loans canceled. For more details, visit https://www.disabilitydischarge.com.

Your loan servicer is listed on the letters or emails you get about your loans. You can also find their name and contact information in your account on studentaid.gov. Contact info for most federal student loan services is also listed at https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers. If your servicer isn’t on the list, their contact info should be in your studentaid.gov account. Here are the websites for the most common federal student loan servicers:

• Aidvantage: https://aidvantage.com/help-center/disaster-relief/
• MOHELA: https://www.mohela.com/DL/resourceCenter/NaturalDisasterForbearance.aspx
• EdFinancial: https://edfinancial.com/about/contact/natural-disaster
• Nelnet: https://nelnet.com/natural-disaster-updates
• Default Resolution Group: https://myeddebt.ed.gov/borrower/
• ECSI: https://efpls.ed.gov/
• CRI: https://cri.studentaid.gov/welcome

You can create an account or reset your password at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch.

Sadly, scams often increase after natural disasters. Always check any requests for information directly by contacting your loan servicer, visiting their website, or logging into your account on studentaid.gov. Watch out for these red flags:

• Promises that your loans can be canceled because of a natural disaster. (This isn’t true; the government will not discharge your loans due to a disaster).
• Promises of instant loan forgiveness for any reason.
• Charging upfront fees to help you with your student loans. Real help is usually free, and upfront fees are often illegal.
• Pressures you to make quick decisions.
• Requests for your FSA ID password (never share this!).
• Requests that you sign a power of attorney form.
• Requests that you sign an agreement to make regular payments to them to handle your loans.

Only federal government loans are listed on your studentaid.gov account. If a loan isn’t listed there, it’s probably a private loan. If you don’t have an account on studentaid.gov or forgot your password, you can create an account or reset your password here: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch. You can also ask your loan servicer if your loans are federal or private.

Most private lenders won’t give forbearances automatically—you have to ask for one. If you live or work in a FEMA-designated disaster area or are struggling financially because of a disaster, contact your private loan servicer to request a forbearance.

If your loan servicer approves your forbearance, they will tell you how long it will last. If you think it’s too short, you can ask for more time, but the servicer doesn’t have to say yes.

Interest will probably keep adding up during a disaster forbearance, but you should check with your private loan servicer to be sure.

Private lenders don’t have to give disaster forbearances by law. If your request is denied, you can complain to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation at https://dfpi.ca.gov/submit-a-complaint. Sometimes, loan servicers approve forbearances after you file a complaint with a government agency.