What Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness? Do I Qualify?

Growing up, it seemed like every kid wanted to be a firefighter, a paramedic or a teacher. Makes sense, right? Those are admirable jobs!

But unfortunately, even though these roles are crucial to society . . . they don’t pay very much. So, the federal government created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to encourage people to work in these careers.

Basically, people in these jobs could have their federal student loans forgiven in exchange for about 10 years of public service. Sounds great, right? Well, there’s a lot more to PSLF than it seems. So, let’s go over everything you need to know—including the latest news, what it takes to qualify, and if it’s worth applying for.

What Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program began in 2007. It offers to forgive the remaining qualifying federal student loan debt of any person who’s worked full time for a qualifying employer, made 120 qualifying payments, and is on a qualifying repayment plan.

Did you catch the word qualifying? It’s kind of a make-or-break term in PSLF, since the rules are pretty strict (not to mention poorly communicated).

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Requirements

Let’s jump in and look at all those qualifications you need.

What Jobs Are Eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

First, you must work full time for one of these organizations:

• A federal, state, local or tribal government organization
• A 501(c)(3) nonprofit
• A not-for-profit that’s not 501(c)(3)-designated but meets other requirements related to public service
• AmeriCorps (in a full-time capacity) or the Peace Corps¹

At least once a year, you’ll have to confirm your employment using the PSLF employment certification form.

Other PSLF Qualifications

Next, you also have to make 120 qualifying student loan payments before you apply, which equals about 10 years of payments. And a payment only counts if it meets these requirements:

• It was made after October 1, 2007.
• It was for the full amount due as shown on your bill.
• It was made no later than 15 days after your due date.
• It was made while you were employed full time by a qualifying employer.
• It was made while you were on a qualifying repayment plan.²

That last one is crucial. The most common type of qualifying repayment plan is an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.

Why IDR plans? Well, these types of repayment plans usually extend the life of the loan while lowering the monthly payment. This means that after making 120 payments, there will still be something to forgive when you’re eligible to apply for PSLF.

But get this: If you just paid . . .If you just paid the standard amount on your loans (without being on a repayment plan), after 120 payments or 10 years they’d probably be paid in full. It’s a safer bet to just get rid of those student loans instead of hoping to successfully jump through all these hoops.

What Are the Requirements for Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

For those who were denied PSLF, Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) offers people a second chance. The qualifications are very similar to PSLF, with a few expansions and new rules.

Ready to get rid of your student loans once and for all? Get our guide.

To qualify for forgiveness under TEPSLF, you have to meet these requirements:

• You were denied for PSLF because some or all your payments weren’t made under a qualifying repayment plan.
• You’ve worked full time for a qualifying employer for 10 years.
• You met the TEPSLF requirements 12 months before applying.
• The last payment you made before applying for TEPSLF was at least as much as your payment under your income-driven repayment plan.
• You’ve made 120 qualifying payments.

The government has also expanded the qualifying repayment plan list for TEPSLF to include the following:

• Graduated Repayment Plan
• Extended Repayment Plan
• Consolidation Standard Repayment Plan
• Consolidation Graduated Repayment Plan³

If you’re approved, any extra payments you made during your 12-month waiting period will be refunded to you.

Which Student Loans Are Eligible for PSLF?

Only federal Direct Loans qualify for PSLF or TEPSLF. This includes:

• Federal Direct Subsidized Loans or Stafford Loans
• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans or Stafford Loans
• Federal Direct PLUS Loans
• Federal Direct Consolidation Loans⁴

Perkins Loans, Federal Family Education Loans and all other private loans don’t qualify for PSLF or TEPSLF.

And while it’s technically possible to consolidate your other federal loans into a Direct Loan to meet the requirement, you should know that consolidating your federal loans resets the clock on PSLF. None of your qualifying payments will matter anymore, and you’ll have to start all over again. Ouch.

What’s the Success Rate of Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

The success rates of the PSLF and TEPSLF are embarrassing.

The very first group of borrowers applied for PSLF in September of 2017 (10 years after it was first created)—and there was trouble right off the bat. Over a million people requested to certify their employment for PSLF, and almost 900,000 were certified as eligible. Seven months later, only 19,321 of those qualified student loan borrowers had actually applied, and just 55 were forgiven.⁵ 

Current PSLF numbers aren’t any better. Of the 2 million folks who have applied for PSLF and met employment requirements since 2020, fewer than 1% have actually received forgiveness under the original setup.⁶ Yikes!

Is Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Worth It?

In general, trying to get your student loans forgiven through the PSLF program is not worth it. It’s a super complicated process, it keeps you in debt for way too long, it can trap you in a job you may not even like, and you may not even get approved when it’s all said and done.

Now, if you’ve already put in the hours at an approved job and made the required payments (or you’re super close), and you think applying for forgiveness will help you come out ahead—go ahead and do it. At that point, you might as well try taking advantage.

Otherwise, don’t let PSLF or TEPSLF be your main strategy for getting rid of your student loans. It may seem intimidating, but paying off your student loans yourself is totally possible. You can send your debt packing for good without the government’s help—and it probably won’t take you an entire decade. That’s a lot more exciting than getting a rejection letter from the government telling you 10 years of hard work wasn’t even worth it.

Get on a tight budget and put as much money as possible toward your student loans each month to pay them off fast. Sooner or later, you’ll be debt-free!