We informed schools in a March 18, 2026, Electronic Announcement that the closeout deadline for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program for the 2024–25 award year is Friday, July 31, 2026. This is the last processing day before the end of the award year. We must receive and accept all school data by this date for it to be included in a school's final ending cash balance for the year.
To be considered successfully closed out, the school must:
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reconcile to an ending cash balance of $0 and total net unbooked disbursements of $0, as reflected on the monthly School Account Statement Report and in the school’s internal records; and
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complete the School Balance Confirmation form on the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website after they have reconciled to a $0 balance both internally and externally.
Note: A school should verify that it has selected the correct program and award year to close out from the dropdown menu.
To meet the closeout deadline, a school must submit all records to the COD System no later than 8 p.m. Eastern time (ET) on Friday, July 31, 2026. After this deadline, the COD System will not accept Direct Loan records and schools will no longer have Direct Loan funds available to draw down for the 2024–25 award year. In other words, we will reduce the school’s current funding level to the greater of net drawdowns or net accepted and posted disbursements.
Notes:
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Though the closeout deadline is July 31, 2026, all cash management, disbursement reporting, and monthly reconciliation regulatory requirements supersede this closeout deadline. If a school is meeting these regulatory requirements, the final closeout stage should begin no later than the last award end date at the school for a given program and year. A school should be able to reconcile to a zero-ending cash balance and close out soon after its final disbursements; they should not wait until the closeout deadline.
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The COD System must accept all records submitted prior to the closeout deadline to be included in a school's final ending cash balance for 2024–25. Also, it can take G5 7–9 days to process refunds of cash transactions to the COD System to be included in your school’s balance. Plan accordingly to allow the system ample time to include refunds of cash in your final ending cash balance prior to the deadline.
Note: Schools should not use G5 drawdown adjustment transactions to move funds from one program, award year, or school to reconcile another program, award year, or school.
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We may make exceptions to the last processing day of the program year on a case-by-case basis if the school’s processing period extends beyond the closeout deadline. Schools falling within this category must contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at the number provided below for further assistance.
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Schools do not need extended processing to submit decreases to award or disbursement amounts or any non-financial changes. If you need to submit increases to award or disbursement amounts or new award or disbursements after the data submission (closeout) deadline, you will need to request an extension to the deadline via the COD website’s “Request Reopen/Extended Processing” page. However, you should not submit a request until after you have completed reconciliation of all program records and are ready to submit increases or new award or disbursement data to the COD System.
For additional 2024–25 Direct Loan closeout information, refer to the March 18, 2026, Electronic Announcement.
We appreciate your cooperation as we work to close out the Direct Loan Program for the 2024–25 award year. If you have questions about this announcement, need help with closeout, or have any special processing considerations that will prevent your school from meeting the closeout deadline, contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. The contact center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.