Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Options

In certain situations your federal student loan may be forgiven, canceled or discharged. Forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge of your loan means that you would no longer be expected to repay your loan.

You must repay your loans, even if you don't finish school, can't find a relevant job, or regret your degree. Student Loan Forgiveness on StudentAid.gov outlines nine key circumstances where your loans may be forgiven, canceled, or discharged:

• Closed School Discharge - If your school closes while you're enrolled or shortly after you withdraw.
• Total and Permanent Disability Discharge (TPD) - If you're unable to work due to a qualifying disability.
• Death Discharge - If the borrower dies.
• Discharge in Bankruptcy - Extremely rare, requires proving undue hardship.
• False Certification / Unauthorized Payment Discharge - Your school falsely certified your eligibility or made unauthorized disbursements.
• Unpaid Refund Discharge - The school failed to return loan funds when required after you withdrew.
• Teacher Loan Forgiveness - Up to $17,500 forgiven if you teach full-time for five consecutive years in a low-income school.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) - Remaining balance forgiven after 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for a nonprofit or government employer.
• Perkins Loan Cancellation and Discharge - Based on certain types of public service or employment (e.g. teaching, nursing, law enforcement).

Visiting Student Loan Forgiveness section on StudentAid.gov gives you the full walk-through for each program and helps ensure you meet deadlines and eligibility criteria.