Update: As of February 18, 2025, a federal court issued an injunction that requires a pause on Direct Consolidation Loans being credited with a weighted average of payments based on the count of the underlying loans.
If you have only Direct loans:
With Direct loans, the good news is that your loans already qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), so you don't need to make any changes to your loan situation.
The only way to make sure all of your previous payments are counted is to turn in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) To get started, you can log in to use our PSLF tool! You can complete the form, sign it, and submit it online.
If you've already certified all of your qualifying employment, then you're all set! You can review all of your PSLF details on your FSA portal, including your certified employment dates and qualifying payment counts for each loan.
Please keep in mind that if new loans are disbursed on or after July 1, all loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, will only have access to the Tiered Standard plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), if eligible. Loans must be eligible for RAP to pursue PSLF.
If you have FFEL loans:
FFEL loans are not eligible for PSLF until they have been consolidated into a new Direct Consolidation Loan. Consolidation will mean combining or converting your older loans into one new federal Direct Consolidation loan. Additionally, the Department of Education has stated that for future payments to count towards forgiveness, you will need to enroll in an IDR plan as well. Once your consolidation is complete and your new Direct Consolidation Loan is enrolled in an IDR plan, your payments will begin counting toward forgiveness. You can use Summer’s IDR tool to consolidate and enroll your loans in an IDR plan.
Borrowers with FFEL loans must consolidate these loans and have the new Direct Consolidation Loan disbursed by June 30, 2026, to maintain access to the legacy IDR plans, PSLF, or IDR Forgiveness. Federal Student Aid (FSA) recommends submitting a consolidation application by the end of March 2026 to ensure the new Direct Consolidation Loan is disbursed by June 30th. Review our help center article to learn more about loan consolidation and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) July 1st deadline. However, if new loans are disbursed on or after July 1, all loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, will only have access to the Tiered Standard plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), if eligible.
If you have Perkins loans:
Perkins loans are not eligible for PSLF until they have been consolidated into a new Direct Consolidation Loan. If you're already in the process of pursuing Perkins Loan Cancellation, which is a separate program only for Perkins Loans, you may decide not to consolidate your Perkins loans and pursue PSLF. This will depend on whether you qualify for both programs and how far you are into the Perkins Loan Cancellation process.
- Consolidation will mean combining or converting your older loan types into one new federal Direct Consolidation loan. Additionally, the Department of Education has stated that for future payments to count towards forgiveness, you will need to enroll in an IDR plan as well. Once your consolidation is complete and your new Direct Consolidation Loan is enrolled in an IDR plan, your payments will begin counting toward forgiveness. You can consolidate and enroll in IDR using Summer's IDR tool.
Borrowers with Perkins loans must consolidate these loans and have the new Direct Consolidation Loan disbursed by June 30, 2026, to maintain access to the legacy IDR plans, PSLF, or IDR Forgiveness. Federal Student Aid (FSA) recommends submitting a consolidation application by the end of March 2026 to ensure the new Direct Consolidation Loan is disbursed by June 30th. Review our help center article to learn more about loan consolidation and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) July 1st deadline. However, if new loans are disbursed on or after July 1, all loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, will only have access to the Tiered Standard plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), if eligible.
If you have Parent PLUS loans:
Parent PLUS loans are not initially eligible for income-driven repayment (IDR) or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), but they can be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan to become eligible for PSLF. Parent PLUS loans must be consolidated and have the new Direct Consolidation Loan disbursed by June 30, 2026, to maintain access to the legacy IDR plans, PSLF, or IDR Forgiveness. Federal Student Aid (FSA) recommends submitting a consolidation application by the end of March 2026 to ensure the new Direct Consolidation Loan is disbursed by June 30th. Review our help center article to learn more about loan consolidation and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) July 1st deadline. However, if new loans are disbursed on or after July 1, all loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, will only have access to the Tiered Standard plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), if eligible. Any loans ineligible for RAP won't be eligible for PSLF.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, changes have been made so that Direct Consolidation Loans with underlying Parent PLUS loans must make one payment under the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan before the loan(s) can be switched to the more affordable Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan.
As of July 1, 2026, new Parent PLUS loans will not be eligible for IDR plans and must be repaid under the new Tiered Standard repayment plan. The Tiered Standard plan will be made up of equal monthly payments over a ten to twenty-five-year timeline, depending on the borrower’s original balance.
If you have FFEL or Perkins loans that have already been consolidated:
To make sure your previous payments before consolidation count towards PSLF, you'll need to complete and send in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) This is the only way for the Department of Education to count your qualifying payments. To get started, you can log in to use our PSLF tool! You can complete the form, sign it, and submit it online.
Direct Consolidation Loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, can remain enrolled in the legacy IDR plans through July 1, 2028, but must switch into IBR, if eligible, RAP, or the new Tiered Standard plan by 2028. However, if new loans are disbursed on or after July 1, all loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, will only have access to the Tiered Standard plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), if eligible.
If you've been in a non-IDR repayment plan:
Generally speaking, to be eligible for forgiveness under PSLF, Direct Loans can be enrolled in the Standard repayment plan or any of the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans. On the other hand, Direct Consolidation Loans should be enrolled in an IDR plan to make payments eligible for PSLF. You can use Summer’s IDR tool to enroll your loans in an IDR plan.
You'll need to complete and send in one employment certification form for every employer you've had since you started paying your loans and working in public service. (The earliest they'll accept is October 2007 since that's when the PSLF program was created.) This is the only way for the Department of Education to count your qualifying payments. To get started, you can log in to use our PSLF tool! You can complete the form, sign it, and submit it online.
Direct Loans or Direct Consolidation Loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, can remain enrolled in the legacy IDR plans through July 1, 2028, but must switch into IBR, if eligible, RAP, or the new Tiered Standard plan by 2028. However, if new loans are disbursed on or after July 1, all loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, will only have access to the Tiered Standard plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), if eligible.
Updating your account now that the Waiver and Adjustment have ended:
The Education Department (ED) announced a "Limited PSLF Waiver" and One-Time IDR Adjustment, which temporarily expanded eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for borrowers who have already been making payments. The deadline for these programs passed in 2022 and 2024, respectively. You must submit a new PSLF form to see any updates reflected in your account.