Revision of the Federal Student Loan Discharge Applications

Posted Date: January 29, 2019

Author: Federal Student Aid

Subject: Revision of the Federal Student Loan Discharge Applications

Approval of Revised Forms

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved revised versions of the federal student loan discharge applications under OMB Control Number 1845-0058. The revised versions have an expiration date of September 30, 2020. The forms are for use by borrowers who are seeking discharge based on closed school, false certification, or unpaid refunds of loans made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, and the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program.

The revised forms are attached to this announcement.

Changes to the Forms

There are few substantive changes to the forms, but we have made formatting and language changes for greater clarity and simplicity.

Implementation and Transition to the Revised Forms

FFEL and Perkins Program participants may begin distributing the attached OMB-approved forms to borrowers immediately. Beginning July 1, 2019, only the revised versions of the forms that are attached to this letter may be provided to borrowers. However, the previous versions of the forms may continue to be accepted from borrowers and processed after that date.

Printing Instructions

To improve accessibility for visually impaired borrowers, we are providing the revised forms only in PDF format. Loan holders, servicers, and guaranty agencies are responsible for ensuring that the forms they use are identical to the attached OMB-approved forms. No changes may be made to the forms except as expressly provided below.

The loan holder, servicer, or guaranty agency must print the forms on white paper with black ink. The typeface, point size, and general presentation of the forms may not be changed from the attached versions. Loan holders and servicers may use any blank spaces at the top, bottom, or sides of the forms for bar coding or other loan holder-specific or servicer-specific information. Also, loan holders and servicers may pre-populate their contact information the appropriate sections of the forms.

Reminder

As a reminder, any form which has an expiration date in the past (meaning that the form is expired) remains valid for use until the Department publishes a new version of the form with an updated expiration date.