Publication Date: October 19, 2015
| DCL ID: | GEN-15-20 |
Subject: Direct Loan and FFEL Program Reaffirmation Agreement
Summary: The letter provides information about a new form for use by lenders and loan servicers in the Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan programs.
Note: The attachment to this DCL was replaced with a version that more easily allows loan holders to add their address and phone number to Section 5 of the form.
Dear Colleague:
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the attached Reaffirmation Agreement under OMB Control Number 1845-0133 with an expiration date of 6/30/2018. Loan holders, servicers, and schools are encouraged to begin using the attached form immediately and may not provide any other reaffirmation agreement to borrowers after March 30, 2016.
In Dear Colleague Letter GEN-13-02, we described the following process by which a borrower who inadvertently exceeded an annual or aggregate loan limit could regain Title IV eligibility by reaffirming the excess Direct Loan or FFEL program loan amount.
Step 1 – Either the institution or the student contacts the servicer and explains that the student has inadvertently overborrowed and wishes to reaffirm the debt.
Step 2 – The servicer sends the student the reaffirmation agreement provided in this letter.
Step 3 – The student reads, signs, and returns to the servicer the reaffirmation agreement.
Step 4 – The servicer sends the student confirmation that the reaffirmation agreement has been accepted. The student or servicer provides a copy of the reaffirmation confirmation to the institution.
Step 5 – The inadvertent overborrowing is considered to have been resolved as of the date the servicer receives the student’s signed reaffirmation agreement.
The process described in DCL GEN-13-02 and summarized above continues to apply. However, the reaffirmation agreement referenced in this process above will now be the new, standardized Reaffirmation Agreement that is attached to this letter.
Note that the student must have the school at which the student is seeking Title IV aid complete Section 3 of the form. Section 3 asks the school to identify which loan or loans caused the overborrowing and the amount of the overborrowing.
Printing Instructions
To improve accessibility for visually impaired borrowers, the form is provided only in PDF format as an attachment to this letter. Loan holders and guaranty agencies are responsible for ensuring that the form in use is identical to the form approved by OMB. No changes may be made to the form except as expressly discussed below.
The loan holder or servicer must print the attached form with black ink on white paper. The typeface, point size, and general presentation of the form may not be changed from the version approved by OMB. Loan holders and servicers may use any blank spaces at the top, bottom, or sides of the form for bar coding or other lender- or servicer-specific information. In addition, loan holders and servicers may pre-populate their contact and submission information in the section of the form designed for that purpose.
Sincerely,
Jeff Baker, Director
Policy Liaison and Implementation
Federal Student Aid