Get Your Federal Student Loan Wiped Out 9 Different Ways – Without Biden’s Forgiveness Plan
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
With federal student loan payments set to resume in the summer of 2023 following a lengthy pause — and the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan being debated before the Supreme Court currently — millions of borrowers may soon have another budget expense to deal with.
One of those options is to have their loans discharged. Hundreds of thousands of borrowers have already taken advantage of federal loan discharge programs, Forbes reported, but not everyone qualifies.
A student loan discharge is granted when you are no longer legally required to make payments due to extenuating circumstances and through no fault of your own. This might happen if you have a permanent disability and are unable to work, making it all but impossible to repay your student loan.
This is not the same thing as having your loan forgiven or canceled. Those two options are typically only given to borrowers who work in a specific industry or sector for a set amount of time. For example, the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness allows qualified individuals to have their student loans canceled after 10 years or 120 payments.
Here are nine ways to qualify for a student loan discharge, as cited by Forbes.
Total and Permanent Disability
To qualify, Nelnet must be your loan servicer, and you must provide documentation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration or a physician that proves you have a total and permanent disability.
Borrower Defense to Repayment
This is available if you have a direct loan and you have either been misled by your school or the school was found to have violated state laws. In both cases, you’ll need to prove that this caused you financial harm.
Unpaid Refund
If you got a loan and withdrew from the school before using it, your school might have to return those funds to you or your loan servicer. If the school doesn’t, you might be eligible to have a portion of those loans discharged.
Forgery
If an individual or other entity forged your signature on a student loan document, you could be eligible for discharge.
False Certification
If your school falsely certified your eligibility to get a loan, you might be able to have your direct or Federal Family Education Loan discharged. There are three ways you might qualify:
- There were problems with your “ability to benefit” exam, either because of the way it was administered or because your school failed to give you the exam.
- You met the requirements to receive a loan but weren’t eligible to work in your state for the job the school trained you for.
- Your school signed your name on either the loan application or promissory note without your consent.
School Closure
If your school closed while you were enrolled or shortly after you graduated, you could be eligible for a discharge. This discharge is available for direct loans, FFEL loans and Perkins loans.
Borrower Death
Federal loans are discharged when the borrower dies. A family member or another representative must provide proof of the death.
Bankruptcy
To qualify for a loan discharge due to bankruptcy, you’ll need to include the loan in your bankruptcy filing and demonstrate that repaying it would cause an undue hardship. The court could rule to discharge some or all of your remaining balance, or restructure the debt to make it easier to repay.
Perkins Loan Discharge
This story has been updated with additional information.
More From GOBankingRates
