The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was developed to provide debt relief for public servants, like firefighters, nurses, and teachers, by canceling their federal student loans after ten years of public service. But in the past, most people who applied for PSLF were rejected. For example, approximately 98% of people who sought PSLF in the first part of 2021 were denied loan relief. (See Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Data, April 2021). This rate is similar to the rejection rate in all other years since the program was created.
To help more people qualify for loan forgiveness under this program, the Biden administration announced that, beginning in April 2022, it will implement a new online Public Service Loan Forgiveness appeal and reconsideration process for payment counts and employer qualification. (To qualify for this kind of loan forgiveness, you must make 120 payments while employed full-time by a qualifying employer or employers.) Under this new process, borrowers can find out whether their denied accounts were handled appropriately under federal law.
When available, you'll be able to submit your reconsideration request through StudentAid.gov.
Effective date: April 2022