Federal student loans never expire. Unlike private student loans, federal loans have no statute of limitations, which is the time limit creditors have to use legal means to collect on a debt. And while the clock technically can run out on private student loans, that doesn’t mean your student loans have vanished — lenders simply can no longer sue you to collect the debt. Plus, waiting it out will wreak havoc on your finances, anyway.
As such, waiting for student loans to expire is not a recommended tactic to manage student loans. Read on to learn more about why your student loans aren’t likely to expire and more effective ways to deal with student loan debt.
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Why Federal Student Loans Don’t Expire
When does my student loan expire?
The answer to that question is “never” when it comes to federal loans. There’s no statute of limitations for collections on federal student loans. This means that if you stop making payments, your loan servicer or a debt collector can sue you to force repayment, regardless of how long it’s been since you last made a payment.
So what happens if you do stop paying your federal student loans altogether? First, your total balance will continue to increase. Whether or not you’re making any payments, interest will accrue, which means that every month your lender will add your new interest fees to your principal loan balance.
After at least 270 days of non-payment, your federal student loan will be in default. This can cause a number of things to happen, including loan acceleration (meaning your entire balance becomes due) and your loan getting sent to collections, which can damage your credit score and lead to additional fees from a collection agency.
Additionally, the federal government may decide to withhold your tax refund or even garnish wages directly from your paycheck. Your loan holder can also sue you to force you to pay up.
Recommended: What Happens When Your Student Loans Go to Collections?
Why Private Student Loans May Expire
Unlike federal student loans, private student loans may be bound by a statute of limitations on collections. The statute of limitations varies by state and is generally between three and 10 years from the date you stopped paying your loans. Once the statute of limitations is up, the debt becomes “time-barred.”
Before you stop making your monthly payments, it’s important to know that a statute of limitations is not the same thing as an expiration date on your loans. A statute of limitations is merely a limit on the time that a lender or debt collector has to sue you in court to force you to pay back the loans.
Even if your debt is time-barred, you still technically owe the money, and failure to pay could lead to student loan default. When you default, you may face negative impacts to your credit score, and you may still end up dealing with collection agencies, plus any additional fees they may charge.
One Way You Can Get Rid of Student Loans
You can technically get rid of federal student loans in bankruptcy. However, doing so is extremely rare.
To potentially get your student loans (federal or private) discharged in bankruptcy, you would have to prove that paying your loans would cause you “undue hardship” (to borrow a phrase right from the U.S. Bankruptcy Code). Proving that paying your loans would cause undue hardship typically involves passing the Brunner test. This is a tool bankruptcy courts use that basically lays out ways in which you might claim undue hardship.
In short, it’s far from a sure thing. But whether you’re 19 or 90 years old, your federal student loans will not just automatically expire after a period of non-payment — and failing to pay has some serious consequences.
Alternative Options to Manage Student Loan Debt
Just because federal student loans don’t expire doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to manage your student loan debt. Here are a few other options you might explore.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is available to professionals who work for qualifying employers in certain fields such as government, the nonprofit sector, and healthcare. This program is meant to encourage graduates to fill needed jobs in the public service sector without worrying about making enough money to pay off their student debt.
PSLF requires that you make 120 payments (the equivalent of 10 years, though they don’t need to be consecutive) while working full-time for a qualifying employer. Only payments made under certain repayment programs (such as income-driven repayment) count toward forgiveness. Still, federal loan forgiveness may be a good option for public servants with lots of debt left to pay.
Income-Driven Repayment
Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans reduce your payments to a percentage of your discretionary income. There are three IDR plans available today:
• Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), which replaced REPAYE
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
• Income-Based Repayment (IBR)
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)
In addition to reducing payments, these plans also extend the repayment term up to 25 years. Once the repayment period is up on the Income-Based Repayment plan, any remaining debt should be forgiven (but may be considered taxable income). The Department of Education is no longer offering forgiveness at the end of PAYE or ICR, but you can get credit for your payments by switching to IBR.
Starting in the summer of 2026, there will be a new income-driven option called the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). This plan offers forgiveness at the end, but only after you’ve paid your loans for 30 years.
Student Loan Refinancing
Another option to save money on your student loans is student loan refinancing. Loan refinancing doesn’t change the underlying amount that you owe. However, it may reduce the amount of money you spend on interest and help you secure better payment terms, which can add up to some serious cash over the life of your loan. When you refinance a federal student loan, you replace it with a private student loan.
Refinancing your federal and private loans based on your current credit score and income may allow you to score a brand new loan with a better interest rate or a shorter payoff term. However, you may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.
To see how refinancing your loans could potentially help you spend less money in interest, you can take a look at this student loan refinance calculator. Just know that if you’re working toward PSLF, refinancing with a private lender will disqualify your loans from this and any other federal program or repayment plan.
💡 Quick Tip: Refinancing comes with a lot of specific terms. If you want a quick refresher, the Student Loan Refinancing Glossary can help you understand the essentials.
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The Takeaway
If you’ve been waiting around for your federal student loans to expire, you’re out of luck — federal student loans don’t expire. While private student loans may expire due to their statute of limitations, your debt won’t just disappear when this happens. Your finances will also suffer in the meantime. This is why it’s important to look into other ways to manage your student loan debt, such as student loan refinancing or income-driven repayment.
Remember that refinancing federal student loans means forfeiting access to federal repayment plans and other forgiveness programs. If you’re not relying on federal benefits, however, it could be an effective way to reduce your interest rate.
SoFi Student Loan Refinance SoFi Loan Products
Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FORFEIT YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
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