There’s a lot of confusion about what’s happening with student loans. So here’s what student loan borrowers need to know right now, and what actions they may need to take.

After nearly a month of being unable to apply for income-driven repayment plans, federal student loan borrowers can once again access the IDR online application. On March 26, the Department of Education reactivated the online form that allows eligible borrowers to apply for the Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans.

While the application is available again, borrowers still cannot expect immediate support. Servicers are not yet processing submissions due to ongoing updates, leaving many in limbo.

For borrowers that need to recertify their income and family size (this is for existing borrowers), many have seen their dates move. It will be automatic for borrowers impacted.

For borrowers in SAVE, you’re still in forbearance and don’t have to make any payments. The end of the forbearance will depend on when the court cases are resolved and the Department of Education issues new guidance. However, SAVE is effectively dead.

Finally, despite what President Trump said in the Oval Office about student loans moving to the SBA “immediately”, this won’t happen immediately. While the plans are being made, no changes are happening to student loans in the short term.

Legal Pressure Forces Reopening of Applications

The Department’s move came less than 24 hours after the AFT filed for a temporary restraining order, asking a judge to force the administration to restore access to IDR plans. The group, joined by the Student Borrower Protection Center, pointed out that the court order that triggered the shutdown only applied to the SAVE plan and certain provisions of other IDR plans, but not to the plans themselves.

The update follows a legal challenge from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which argued that the government unlawfully shut down access to programs that are required under federal law. The shutdown came in response to a court ruling that blocked the Biden-era SAVE plan and parts of other IDR plans, prompting the Trump administration to suspend all application processing.

The Department of Education stated it had to revise the application to comply with the court’s ruling and now offers the updated form online. The downloadable paper form has not yet returned to the StudentAid.gov site. However, you can download a copy in this article.

Despite the reopened application portal, advocates warn that the lack of processing and continued legal uncertainty are hurting borrowers.

Recertification Deadlines Extended

Alongside the application update, the Department announced that recertification deadlines for most IDR plans are being extended by one year (specifically IBR, ICR, and PAYE). How your loans are being handled depends on the recertification date of your loan.

If your recertification date was on or before March 17, 2025:

• If you submitted your recertification request on or before Feb. 20, 2025, and your servicer completed processing of your request, then there is no impact on you.
• If you submitted your recertification request on or before Feb. 20, 2025, and your servicer did not complete processing of your request, then your recertification date will be extended by one year. You do not need to submit a recertification request at this time.
• If you did not submit your recertification request on or before Feb. 20, 2025, then your servicer has temporarily recalculated your payment. This new payment amount is not based on your income and family size. You are still enrolled in an IDR plan. You must submit a recertification request as soon as possible to potentially lower your payment.

If your recertification date was after March 18, 2025:

• If you were due to submit a recertification request on or after Feb. 21, 2025, then your recertification date has been extended by one year. You do not need to submit a recertification request at this time. In some instances, borrowers who should have had their recertification date extended were moved to a monthly payment amount that is not based on their income and family size. Loan servicers are actively working to move those affected borrowers back to the monthly payment amount based on their income and family size.

For borrowers that don’t need to recertify until the summer or fall, your dates have not moved yet. If your recertification will become impacted by the processing pause, your dates will move as it approaches. The processing pause is only expected to last another 60 days or so, as such you should expect to handle your recertification on time.

For anyone unable to afford their new monthly payment, a temporary forbearance remains an option. Borrowers need to check their account status and monitor their loan servicer communications closely.

SAVE Plan Update

For borrowers in the SAVE plan specifically, your loans are currently in forbearance. They will remain in forbearance as long as the court case is pending.

Borrowers are reporting that their “first payment dates” continue to shift, anywhere from May to August. It’s expected that loan servicers will continue to move the payments and forbearance in three month increments while waiting for the outcome of the court case.

Interest should not be accruing during the SAVE forbearance, but loan servicers have to manually adjust this. If you’re still seeing interest accrue, you can contact your loan servicer. However, we expect the issue will be resolved before payments resume.

Processing Delays and Confusion

While application access is progress, processing of IDR plan changes, recalculations, and recertifications remains on hold. Millions of borrowers who tried to switch plans or recertify their income earlier this year have been placed into a form of forbearance.

For those in the SAVE plan, no payments are due and interest isn’t accruing—but time doesn’t count toward forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or IDR.

The Department has acknowledged that processing delays are ongoing and has not provided a timeline for when borrowers will see their applications acted on. The next court hearing in the AFT lawsuit is set for mid-April.

Until then, borrowers need to simply continue to monitor their loan servicers for communication. Also realize that, when a change happens, it can take upwards of a week for phone reps to have the updated information if you call. Give your loan servicer reps a bit of grace as they navigate this firehose of changes and uncertainty. 

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