Publication Date: April 18, 2014
| DCL ID: | GEN-14-08 |
Subject: Revised Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request Form
Summary: The letter announces OMB approval of a revised Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request form for use by lenders and servicers in the Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs.
Note: On March 10, 2015 and again on June 30, 2015 we updated this Dear Colleague Letter by replacing the attached form with a form that is formatted to be more accessible. Only formatting changes were made. The content on the form and in the Dear Colleague Letter has not changed.
Dear Colleague:
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the attached revised Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request form under OMB Control Number 1845-0102. This form replaces the previous version of the form, but the expiration date remains 11/30/2015.
Loan holders and servicers may begin using the revised form immediately. The previous version of the form may no longer be distributed to borrowers after September 30, 2014, but may continue to be accepted from borrowers after that date.Substantive Changes to the Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request Form
The only substantive change to the form from the prior version is the renaming of the form and the addition of information about the terms and conditions of the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan that are effective for new borrowers on or after July 1, 2014. Other minor language changes were made to the form for clarity.
Reformatting of the Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request Form
As we announced in DCL GEN-13-23 and DCL GEN-14-02, we are reformatting forms that are used by borrowers during the repayment of their loans (loan servicing forms) so that the forms are more accessible to those with visual impairments. Such changes include:
- Increasing the font size for most of the form to 11 point;
- Eliminating the use of tables to format text and fields in the form;
- Reformatting long sections of text into columns; and
- Tagging the form so that it adheres to ED accessibility standards.
These formatting changes will be made in all future revisions to loan servicing forms. To the extent that a borrower cannot submit the Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request form through the online application on the StudentLoans.gov website, we encourage loan holders and servicers to provide that this form, and all other loan servicing forms, be completed and submitted electronically to the extent practicable, and to make information about electronic submission widely available to borrowers.
Printing Instructions
To improve accessibility for visually impaired borrowers, the revised Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request 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 they use is the form approved by OMB. No changes may be made to the form except as expressly provided below.
The loan holder or servicer must print the 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, DirectorPolicy Liaison and Implementation
Federal Student Aid