You may qualify for a discharge of your federal student loans and/or Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant service obligation if you’re totally and permanently disabled.
Loans/Grants that Qualify
- William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans
- Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans
- Federal Perkins Loans
- TEACH Grant
How to Qualify
You can show that you qualify by providing documentation from either:
- the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- the Social Security Administration (SSA)
- an authorized medical professional
Automatic Discharge
The Education Department (ED) works together with the VA and SSA to identify if you are eligible for TPD Discharge. You’ll receive a letter you’ve been identified as qualifying for automatic discharge. You can opt out if you prefer not to have your loans discharged.
How to Apply
If you haven’t received an automatic discharge letter, you’ll need to
- Complete a TPD discharge application.
- Attach supporting documentation proving your eligibility for discharge.
- Send your application and documentation to Nelnet, the TPD discharge servicer.
Things to Note
- You can pause payments on your loans for 120 days while you apply for TPD discharge. You’ll need to call Nelnet at 1-888-486-4722 to inform them that you intend to apply for TPD discharge.
- You can designate an individual or organization to complete and submit your TPD application. To do so, you and your representative must complete an Applicant Representative Designation form. Nelnet must process this form before they will work with your representative, even if this representative has power of attorney over your affairs.
- Once your application has been received, Nelnet will explain the process in full.
- You won’t have to make payments on your loans while your application is being reviewed.
If Discharge is Approved
Nelnet will inform you once your loans or TEACH Grant service obligation has been discharged. Depending on how you qualified, your servicer will refund payments either:
- on or after the effective date of the VA’s disability determination
- after the date Nelnet received the SSA documentation, or
- after the date the medical professional certified your discharge application.
Monitoring Period
If you qualify for TPD discharge through SSA documents or a medical professional’s certification, you’ll go through a three-year post-discharge monitoring period.
Things to Note During Monitoring
- If you receive a new Direct student loan or TEACH Grant while you’re being monitored, you’ll lose your TPD discharge and have the discharged loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation reinstated.
- If you lose the discharge status, you’ll be obligated to repay those loans or fulfill your TEACH Grant obligation.
If Discharge is Denied
Nelnet will inform you that you’ve been denied, your monthly payments will resume, and/or your TEACH Grant obligation will begin again.
You can dispute the denial within 12 months of receiving the denial. Ater 12 months, you’ll need to submit a new TPD discharge application.