What Student Loan Borrowers Must Do
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offers one of the most powerful federal benefits for student loan borrowers working in government and nonprofit roles. Over 1 million borrowers have received loan forgiveness via the program, and about 100,000 to 200,000 are on track to get their loan forgiveness each year.
However, the program has received a lot of bad press for high rates of denial. Often, the problem isn’t missed payments or insufficient work history. It’s paperwork. Borrowers have been tripped up by being on the wrong repayment plan, not submitting employer certifications, or unknowingly consolidating loans in a way that resets progress.
With the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill and one of the largest overhauls of student loan repayment in process, now is the time to lock in compliance.
PSLF has a few rules that are non-negotiable:
Choosing the wrong repayment plan is one of the most common mistakes borrowers make. While the SAVE plan might have offered the lowest monthly payment for most borrowers, it is ending in 2026, and borrowers in the plan have been stuck in forbearance for the past year. And this forbearance period doesn’t directly count – it requires PSLF buyback, which is even more confusing.
For PSLF purposes, the eligible repayment plans are:
You must also certify your employment. The easiest way to do this is via the PSLF Help Tool, which will send a DocuSign to your employer to certify your qualifying employment. You can do a paper copy as well. It’s essential that you keep records of this.
Use the following checklist to protect your PSLF eligibility:
Step 1 – Confirm Loan Eligibility
Ensure that you have Direct Student Loans. Nearly all federal student loans originated after 2010 should qualify. But if you have older FFEL loans, you may need to conslidate.
Step 2 – Confirm Employer Eligibility
Make sure that you work for a qualifying employer. It’s essential that you work directly for the qualifying employer, and are not a contractor. Some exceptions apply to doctors in California and Texas. See this guide to what jobs qualify for PSLF.
Step 3 – Select A Qualifying Repayment Plan
Ensure that you’re repaying your student loans on a qualifying repayment plan. This include IBR, ICR, PAYE, SAVE, or RAP.
Step 4 – Submit An Employer Certification Form
Use the PSLF Help Tool to submit an employer certification form to certify your employment at the qualifying public service job.
Step 6 – Monitor Your PSLF Progress
Check in on your PSLF progress as least once a year. If you find any missing counts after you’ve certified your employment, make sure you file a PSLF Reconsideration Request.
Step 8 – Re-certify Your Employment Annually or As-Needed
Use the PSLF Help Tool each year to certify your employment, or if you move jobs during the year, certify your new employment as needed. Don’t miss employment certification, as it can be difficult to track down past employers.
It can seem daunting to maintain PSLF eligibility, but once you get on the correct payment plan and certify your employment, it’s relatively easy to stay compliant. The big thing is to keep your own records and then follow up as necessary if you discover any issues.
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