If you work in public service for a government agency or nonprofit, you may be able to have the remaining balance on your federal student loan forgiven after a certain number of payments through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).
Created by the Education Department (ED) in 2007, PSLF is intended to help public-service professionals who may earn lower salaries and struggle to repay their federal student loans. In this context, many teachers, firefighters, and social workers qualify.
However, it’s important to be aware that on October 2025, acting on an executive order signed by President Trump, the ED announced a final rule to the PSLF program, which may exclude some borrowers starting on July 1, 2026.
Below is the latest information borrowers need to know about PSLF eligibility and student debt forgiveness.
Table of Contents
- What Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
- What Are Public Service Loan Forgiveness Jobs?
- Who Is Eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?
- Applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Current State of the Program
- Pros and Cons of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
- Alternatives to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
- FAQ
Key Points
• Under PSLF, federal Direct Loan balances are forgiven after 120 qualifying monthly payments and working for an eligible employer.
• Eligibility requires working in public service for a qualified government or 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, including full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteers.
• Only full-time workers, meeting employer definitions or working at least 30 hours weekly, are eligible for the program.
• Only federal Direct Loans, such as Stafford, Grad PLUS, and Direct Consolidation loans, qualify for PSLF.
• Borrowers pursuing PSLF can enroll in an income-driven repayment plan to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
What Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
The PSLF program provides professionals working full-time in public service with a way to ease the burden of their student loan debt. After making 120 qualifying monthly payments under an eligible repayment plan, such as income-driven repayment, and by working full-time for a qualifying employer, the remaining balance of a borrower’s federal Direct Loans will be forgiven.
What Are Public Service Loan Forgiveness Jobs?
Borrowers working as teachers, firefighters, first-responders, nurses, military members, and doctors may qualify for PSLF. But with this program, it is not only the type of job you have that determines if you can get forgiveness, but also the type of employer.
Currently, qualifying employers include federal, state, local, tribal government and non-profit organizations. (As noted above, the new final rule may affect which organizations qualify, starting July 1, 2026.)
To find out if your employer currently qualifies for PSLF, you can use the Federal Student Aid employer eligibility search tool.
Who Is Eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?
The way that PSLF works is that borrowers must meet certain eligibility criteria to qualify. These criteria include:
Work for a Qualified Employer
Part of PSLF eligibility requires working for a qualified government organization (municipal, state, federal, military, or tribal) or a qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteers are also currently eligible for PSLF.
Some other types of non-profits also qualify, but labor unions, political organizations, and many other non-profits that don’t have 501(c)(3) status do not qualify. Working for a government contractor doesn’t count; you have to work directly for the qualifying organization.
Only full-time workers are eligible — that is, workers who meet their employer’s definition of full-time or work a minimum of 30 hours per week. People employed at multiple qualifying organizations in a part-time capacity can be considered full-time as long as they’re working a combined 30 hours per week.
Having Eligible Loans
Only federal Direct loans, including Stafford loans, Grad PLUS loans (but not Parent PLUS loans), and Federal Direct Consolidation loans, are eligible for PSLF.
If you hold Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) or Perkins loans, you need to first consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan for them to be eligible for PSLF. Just be aware that unless your Direct Consolidation loan was disbursed on or before October 1, 2024, any payments you made on the FFEL Program loans or Perkins Loans before you consolidated will not count toward the 120 qualifying payments for PSLF.
Private student loans are not eligible for PSLF.
Recommended: Student Loan Forgiveness Guide
Applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
To apply for the PSLF program, you’ll need to take the following steps:
1. Consolidate FFEL Program and Perkins Loans
As noted above, borrowers with FFEL Program and Perkins Loans must consolidate them with a Direct Consolidation Loan to be eligible for PSLF.
However, as mentioned, payments on FFEL and Perkins loans included in a Direct Consolidation Loan that was disbursed on or after October 1, 2024, will not count toward PSLF. Your payment count on the new Direct Consolidation Loan will start at zero.
2. Sign Up for an Income-Driven Repayment Plan
There are now three available income-driven repayment plans to choose from — Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), and Income-Based Repayment. These plans are designed to make student loan debt more manageable by giving you a monthly payment based on your discretionary income and family size. You must enroll in one of these plans to qualify for PSLF.
Note that any borrowers on the SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan have been placed in forbearance due to a court injunction; the time in forbearance does not count toward PSLF. Those who are eligible need to switch to one of the other three IDR plans to continue making qualifying PSLF payments.
3. Certify Your Employment
To certify your employment, use the PSLF Help Tool. You can either print out the form for you and your employer to sign and then send it in for approval, or you can sign the form electronically and the Education Department will email your employer and request their electronic signature.
4. Make 120 Qualifying Monthly Payments
You must make these qualifying payments while you’re employed by a qualified public service employer. If you switch employers you can still qualify as long as you continue to work for a qualifying organization — but you will have to certify your employment with your new employer.
5. Apply for Forgiveness
After you make your final payment toward PSLF, you will need to fill out and submit a PSLF form for forgiveness.
Current State of the Program
Because the program was created in 2007, the first borrowers to qualify for loan forgiveness applied in 2017. However, early estimates by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported the denial rate as more than 99%. At the same time, many borrowers weren’t even aware that the forgiveness program existed.
In 2022, the Biden administration worked to address these issues by introducing a “limited PSLF waiver,” which allowed student loan holders to receive credit for payments that previously didn’t qualify for PSLF. That was later followed by an IDR account adjustment program. In October 2024, the administration said that more than 1 million public servants had received debt relief through PSLF.
In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Education Department to revise the PSLF program. In October 2025, the department announced the final rule to exclude organizations that have a “substantial illegal purpose.” Because the new rule changes the definition of a qualifying employer, it could restrict eligibility for PSLF. The rule is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2026, though legal challenges to the rule have been filed. For now, the PSLF program is not changing, and those enrolled in PSLF do not have to take any action, according to the ED.
Pros and Cons of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
There are a number of advantages of the PSLF program, but there are some drawbacks as well. These are some of the benefits and disadvantages to consider.
Pros of PSLF
1. The balance of your student loans is forgiven after a set period of time. This can result in significant debt relief for qualifying borrowers working in the public sector.
2. The amount forgiven is typically tax-free when it comes to federal taxes. Because it generally isn’t considered taxable income, the amount forgiven under PSLF isn’t subject to federal taxes, unlike other loan forgiveness programs. (Some states may tax the amount, however.)
3. By offering forgiveness, PSLF encourages professionals to work in public service roles. Professionals in qualifying jobs are making a difference, and your government appreciates it enough to give you a break on your federal student loans.
4. Those pursuing PSLF may have lower monthly student loan payments than they would otherwise because they are on an income-driven repayment plan that bases their payments on their discretionary income and family size.
Cons of PSLF
1. The rules regarding PSLF— including the types of loans, employers, and repayment plans that qualify — are strict.
2. The time commitment is long-term. Borrowers in the program must be employed with a qualifying public service employer — potentially earning a lower salary than they would in the private sector — for at least 10 years.
3. The process to enroll in PSLF and achieve forgiveness can be quite time-consuming and complex.
4. There is some uncertainty regarding the program. The new final rule scheduled to be implemented by the Education Department on July 1, 2026 could restrict some public service organizations and their employees from PSLF.
Alternatives to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
For borrowers looking for student loan debt relief, there are other options besides PSLF. For example, the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program is available to full-time teachers who have completed five consecutive years of teaching in a low-income school. And borrowers reaping their loans under an IDR plan are also eligible for forgiveness after 20 or 25 years.
These federal forgiveness programs do not apply to private student loans. If you are looking for ways to reduce your interest rate or lower your monthly payments for private student loans, refinancing your student loans with a private lender may be an option to explore. When you refinance, you replace your existing loans with a new loan that, ideally, has a lower interest rate, which could reduce your monthly payments potentially saving you money.
However, it is important to be aware that refinancing federal student loans with a private lender may make you ineligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program as well as other federal benefits, such as income-driven repayment and student loan deferment.
The Takeaway
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is one way that eligible borrowers working in public service may be able to have their federal student loans forgiven. Although changes to the program are scheduled to take place in July 2026, for now, the program is proceeding as usual.
Borrowers whose student loans aren’t eligible for PSLF may want to consider different options, including other forgiveness programs or student loan refinancing.
Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.
FAQ
Who qualifies for PSLF?
To qualify for PSLF, borrowers must have federal Direct loans and work full-time in public service for a qualifying non-profit or government agency. They must make 120 qualifying payments under an eligible repayment plan, such as income-driven repayment.
What types of loans are eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
Only federal Direct loans are eligible for PSLF. Other federal loans, such as Perkins Loans and Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) must be consolidated into a federal Direct Consolidation Loan to be eligible.
What is the downside of Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
Some downsides of Public Service Loan Forgiveness include strict eligibility rules and a long-term commitment to working in public service — typically at least 10 years — before forgiveness may be achieved. Additionally, those employed in public service jobs may earn lower salaries than individuals employed in private sector jobs.
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