Publication Date: January 31, 2012
| DCL ID: | GEN-12-02 |
Subject: Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Form
Summary: This letter announces the approval of an "Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness" form for use by borrowers in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program.
Dear Colleague:
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program was established by Congress with the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, and was created to encourage individuals to enter lower-paying but vitally important public sector jobs such as military service, law enforcement, public education and public health professions. The PSLF Program provides that Direct Loan borrowers who make 120 separate, on-time, monthly payments in certain repayment plans while working for a public service organization may have any remaining balances on their Direct Loans forgiven.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, under OMB Control Number 1845-0110, the Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form for use in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program.
Upon submission of a completed Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form to FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA), the Department’s PSLF loan servicer, the borrower will be informed if the employment reported on the form meets the qualifying employment standards for PSLF. FedLoan Servicing will also provide the borrower with information that will help the borrower keep track of their qualifying employment as well as their qualifying payments on their Direct Loans.
While use of the Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form is not required, the Department will only keep track of a borrower’s progress toward meeting the PSLF eligibility requirements if the borrower submits the form to FedLoan Servicing. If the borrower does not periodically submit the form, the borrower will be required, when submitting an application for forgiveness, to submit an Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form for each employer that he or she wants considered for PSLF employment qualification.
After the borrower makes 120 qualifying payments, the borrower will need to submit the PSLF application to receive loan forgiveness. The application is under development and will be available prior to the date when the first borrowers will be eligible for PSLF Program forgiveness, in October 2017.
Form Availability
Direct Loan borrowers may immediately begin submitting the attached Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form to FedLoan Servicing, following the instructions on the form.
Borrowers can obtain the Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form in PDF format on our Student Aid on the Web site at http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/publicservice. Borrowers may also request a copy of the Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness form from FedLoan Servicing or from their Direct Loan servicer.
If you have any more questions, look at the Question & Answer Page for PSLF at http://studentaid.ed.gov/publicservice.
Sincerely,
Jeff Baker, Director
Policy Liaison and Implementation
Federal Student Aid