Why and When to Submit the PSLF Form
Annually to Certify Your Employment
To help you track your progress toward qualifying for PSLF, we recommend that you submit the PSLF form annually or when you change employers. It will make it much easier once you are ready to apply for forgiveness after 10 years of employment in public service!
Submitting the form annually will let us track and verify how many qualifying payments you make while working full-time for a qualifying employer, among other PSLF eligibility requirements.
Your employment can be certified by an official who has access to your employment or service records and is authorized by your employer to certify your employment or your service as an AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer. This will often be someone in the human resources department, though in some cases your direct supervisor or another individual may be authorized to certify your employment. Check with your organization to see who is allowed to certify your PSLF form.
If you do not submit the PSLF form with your employment certification annually, then at the time you apply for forgiveness, you will be required to submit employment certification for each employer you worked for while making the required 120 qualifying monthly payments.
After you Make 120 Qualifying Monthly Payments for PSLF
After you make your 120th qualifying monthly payment for PSLF, you’ll need to submit the PSLF form to receive loan forgiveness. You must be working for a qualifying employer at the time you submit the PSLF form and at the time the remaining balance on your loan is forgiven.
To Request Temporary Expanded PSLF
If you are ineligible for PSLF only because some or all of your payments were not made on a qualifying repayment plan for PSLF, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under a temporary opportunity.
How to Fill Out and Submit the PSLF Form
You can fill out the PSLF form in one of two ways:
- You can use the PSLF Help Tool to assist you in starting the PSLF form. Once you enter your information, you’ll be able to print the partially completed form for you and your employer to sign.
- Or, you can download the PSLF form above and complete all sections on your own before submitting it.
Either way, we’ll use the information you provide on the form to let you know if you are making qualifying PSLF payments. This will help you determine if you’re on the right track as you progress toward forgiveness. If you have reached your 120 required monthly payments, we will let you know.
Once you’ve filled out the PSLF form, you can send it to FedLoan Servicing.*
You may mail the form to this address:
U.S. Department of Education
FedLoan Servicing
P.O. Box 69184
Harrisburg, PA 17106-9184
You may also fax your PSLF form to 717-720-1628.
If FedLoan Servicing is already your servicer, you may upload your PSLF form on FedLoan Servicing’s website.
*FedLoan Servicing, one of the federal loan servicers, administers the PSLF Program on our behalf.
What Will Happen if Your PSLF Form Is Approved
Employment Certification
We will take the following actions after we receive the form with your certification:
- We will review your form to ensure that it’s complete and to determine whether your loans and employment qualify for the PSLF Program.
- We will notify you if the form you submitted is incomplete or if we can’t determine, based on the information provided on the form, whether your employment qualifies. We may ask you to provide additional information or documentation to help us verify whether you were employed by a qualifying employer.
- If we verify that your employer is not a qualifying employer, we will notify you that your employment does not qualify. If you believe that your employer qualifies, you will have the opportunity to provide additional information.
- If we verify that you do not have eligible loan types, we’ll notify you that your loans do not qualify.
- If we verify that your loans and employment qualify, we will notify you.
- If we verify that your employment qualifies, and if some or all of your federal student loans that we own are not already serviced by FedLoan Servicing, those loans will be transferred to FedLoan Servicing. If your loans are transferred, we will notify you.
- If we verify that your employment qualifies, we will then review your payment history (including any payments you made to another federal loan servicer before your loans were transferred) to determine how many payments made during the period of employment certified on the PSLF form are qualifying monthly payments for PSLF. We’ll then notify you of the total number of qualifying payments you’ve made, and how many payments you must still make before you can qualify for PSLF.
- Don’t forget to submit the PSLF form with your employment certification annually. If you’re on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, you can make it a habit to submit your form at the same time of year as you renew your IDR plan.
PSLF Form After Making 120 Qualifying Payments
If your PSLF form is approved for forgiveness, then you’ll be notified that the entire remaining balance of your eligible Direct Loans will be forgiven, including all outstanding interest and principal. If you made payments after your 120th qualifying payment, those payments will be treated as overpayments and refunded to you as well.
What to Do if Your PSLF Form Is Denied
You may still be eligible for loan forgiveness if you are ineligible for PSLF only because some or all of your payments were not made under a qualifying repayment plan for PSLF. If you meet these requirements, then you will be evaluated for Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) eligibility under the expanded list of qualifying repayment plans for TEPSLF. Learn more about this temporary loan forgiveness opportunity.
If we determine that you are not eligible for loan forgiveness, you will be notified of this determination and will be provided with the reason(s) you were determined to be ineligible. You will then be required to resume making payments on your loans according to the terms of your Master Promissory Note.