Publication Date: March 24, 2010
DCL ID: | GEN-10-03 FP-10-01 |
Subject: Revised School Closure, False Certification, and Unpaid Refund Loan Discharge Applications
Summary: This letter announces the approval of revised versions of the School Closure, False Certification (Ability to Benefit), False Certification (Disqualifying Status), False Certification (Unauthorized Signature/Unauthorized Payment), and Unpaid Refund loan discharge applications for use by borrowers in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program, and Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program.
Dear Colleague:
Attached to this letter are revised versions, in both Microsoft Word and PDF format, of the following loan discharge applications:
- Loan Discharge Application: School Closure - used by FFEL, Direct Loan, and Perkins Loan program borrowers to apply for loan discharge if they were unable to complete their program of study because their school closed.
- Loan Discharge Application: False Certification (Ability to Benefit) - used by FFEL and Direct Loan program borrowers to apply for loan discharge if their ability to benefit was falsely certified by their school.
- Loan Discharge Application: False Certification (Disqualifying Status) - used by FFEL and Direct Loan program borrowers to apply for loan discharge if they had a disqualifying status at the time their loans were certified or originated.
- Loan Discharge Application: False Certification (Unauthorized Signature/Unauthorized Payment) - used by FFEL and Direct Loan program borrowers to apply for loan discharge when there was an unauthorized signature or payment by the school.
- Loan Discharge Application: Unpaid Refund - used by FFEL and Direct Loan program borrowers to apply for loan discharge when a portion of a loan was not refunded in accordance with the regulations governing the Title IV federal student aid programs.
The revised School Closure loan discharge application and the three False Certification loan discharge applications are approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB Control Number 1845-0015. The revised Unpaid Refund loan discharge application is approved under OMB Control Number 1845-0058. These revised forms include only minor changes from the previous versions that are currently in use.
Implementation of the Revised Forms
Program participants may begin distributing the attached OMB-approved revised forms immediately. Beginning July 1, 2010, only the attached revised forms may be provided to borrowers. However, the previous versions of the forms may continue to be processed after that date.
Imaging Technology
To accommodate imaging technology, each of the attached forms instructs the borrower to complete and sign the form in ink. However, a pencil signature does not invalidate a form.
The blank space at the top, bottom, or sides of the forms may be used for bar coding.
Printing Instructions
The attached forms must be printed with black ink on white paper. The typeface, point size, and general presentation of the forms may not be changed from the versions that were approved by OMB. However, program participants may change the order of the program names that appear in the headers of the forms so that the name of the program for which the form is being used appears first. In addition, program participants may remove bold type in section headings or may add bold or italic type to the instructions.
Program participants should pre-print the address to which the completed form should be sent, along with appropriate contact information, in the "Where to Send the Completed Loan Discharge Application" section of each form.
Obtaining Copies for Reproduction
The revised forms, in both Microsoft Word and PDF format, are provided as attachments to this letter. The forms will also be available in PDF format on the web site of the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP).
Program participants are responsible for ensuring that the forms used are identical to the forms approved by OMB. No changes may be made to the forms except as expressly authorized above.
Sincerely,
Jeff Baker, Director
Policy Liaison and Implementation
Federal Student Aid