How to Request Deferment or Forbearance for Federal Student Loans

What are deferment and forbearance?

Deferment and forbearance are forms of temporary payment relief for federal student loans. They can allow you to temporarily stop making payments or, in some forbearance situations, make smaller payments when you cannot afford your scheduled amount.

Federal Student Aid recommends contacting your loan servicer to request short-term relief if you are struggling with payments. Your servicer handles billing and can explain which relief options are available for your particular federal loans.

These options are intended for temporary situations. If the problem is that your regular monthly payment is unaffordable over the longer term, a repayment plan based on your circumstances may be more appropriate than repeatedly postponing payments.

What is the difference between deferment and forbearance?

The most important differences involve eligibility and interest accrual.

A deferment is available when you meet specific eligibility requirements. During many deferments, interest generally does not accrue on Direct Subsidized Loans and certain other subsidized federal loans. Interest generally continues to accrue on unsubsidized loans.

During forbearance, interest generally accrues on both subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Federal Student Aid therefore advises borrowers to understand the interest consequences before using temporary relief.

The exact treatment depends on the loan and relief category. Cancer treatment deferment, for example, has special federal interest rules, so do not assume that every deferment follows exactly the same interest treatment.

When can you qualify for deferment?

Federal deferment categories cover several specific circumstances. Depending on your loan type and history, you may qualify during periods such as:

• at least half-time enrollment at an eligible college or career school;
• unemployment or inability to find full-time employment;
• economic hardship, including qualifying Peace Corps service;
• qualifying active-duty military service and certain periods following that service;
• participation in an eligible rehabilitation training program; or
• qualifying cancer treatment.

The requirements and maximum period are not identical for every deferment. For example, unemployment and economic-hardship deferments can be available for up to three years when the applicable federal requirements are met.

What can qualify as economic hardship?

The federal Economic Hardship Deferment Request includes several eligibility paths. These include receiving qualifying federal or state public assistance, serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, or meeting the applicable income test while working full time. The current form identifies qualifying public-assistance programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), state general public assistance and other means-tested benefits.

If eligibility depends on income, the federal form requires documentation of monthly income and information about family size. Do not assume that financial difficulty alone automatically qualifies you for this specific deferment; your servicer must determine whether you meet the applicable requirements.

When can you request forbearance?

Forbearance can temporarily stop or reduce payments when deferment is unavailable or another forbearance category applies. A general forbearance may be requested for temporary hardship involving financial difficulties, a change in employment, medical expenses or another reason explained to the loan holder.

Approval of a general forbearance is discretionary. The official General Forbearance Request states that the loan holder has sole discretion to decide whether to grant the request and, if granted, the period for which it applies.

Other federal forbearance categories have specific requirements. Depending on the circumstances, these can include qualifying medical or dental internship or residency, certain National Guard service, AmeriCorps service, Department of Defense student loan repayment programs and qualifying student-loan debt burden.

How do you find your loan servicer?

Sign in to your StudentAid.gov account and review the My Aid section or account Dashboard. Federal Student Aid displays information about your federal loans and identifies the servicer associated with each loan.

Your servicer manages billing and helps you evaluate repayment and temporary-relief options. Federal Student Aid currently lists servicers including Edfinancial, MOHELA, Aidvantage, Nelnet and other specialized servicers depending on the loan.

If your loan has been transferred to a different federal servicer, the transfer should carry over an existing deferment or forbearance status. You should nevertheless review your new servicer account after the transfer and contact the servicer if the status appears incorrect.

What documents will you need?

The required evidence depends on the relief category. There is no single document list that applies to every borrower.

Federal forms may require documentation establishing the qualifying circumstance. For example, the Economic Hardship Deferment Request can require evidence of qualifying public assistance, Peace Corps service, monthly income and family size, depending on the eligibility path used. Military deferment requests may require qualifying military orders, certification from an authorized official or other service documentation.

For a general forbearance, the federal request form asks why you need relief, whether you want payments stopped or reduced, and the requested beginning and ending months. Follow the current instructions supplied by your servicer because the appropriate form and submission method depend on the loan and relief category.

Will interest keep growing while payments are paused?

It can. During many deferments, borrowers are generally not responsible for interest accruing on eligible subsidized federal loans, while interest generally continues to accrue on unsubsidized loans. During forbearance, interest generally continues to accrue on both subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

Interest that accrues while payments are paused can increase the total cost of repayment. The precise effect, including whether accrued interest can be capitalized in a particular circumstance, depends on the loan and applicable federal rules. Your servicer can show how the requested relief would affect your specific loans.

Does temporary relief count toward student loan forgiveness?

Do not assume every month in deferment or forbearance counts toward forgiveness. Federal Student Aid warns that temporary relief can affect loan-discharge or forgiveness progress, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment discharge.

PSLF rules contain specific eligible payment equivalents and exceptions, so some deferment or forbearance periods can receive different treatment from ordinary periods of paused payment. If you are pursuing PSLF, check the treatment of the particular status before requesting relief. You can also review the Helpydo procedure for submitting the PSLF form.

If you are seeking discharge because of a qualifying total and permanent disability rather than temporary payment relief, that is a separate process. See the Helpydo guide to Total and Permanent Disability discharge.

Can you stop paying as soon as you request relief?

Do not treat submission of a request as automatic approval. Unless your servicer has placed the loan into an applicable temporary status or told you otherwise, continue following the payment instructions on your account while the request is being processed.

This matters because missing required payments can make a loan delinquent. Federal Student Aid states that a loan becomes delinquent beginning the first day after a missed payment. If delinquency continues long enough, the loan can enter default.

Can you request deferment or forbearance after default?

A borrower in default generally needs to resolve the default before regaining normal federal student loan benefits such as requesting deferment or forbearance. Federal Student Aid directs borrowers with defaulted loans to the available default-resolution options.

If your federal loans are already in default, temporary payment relief is therefore not the same process as getting out of default. The Helpydo guide to federal student loan rehabilitation explains one of the available default-resolution routes. Direct Consolidation is a separate option that may also be relevant in some default situations.

What should you check before requesting a payment pause?

• Ask whether you qualify for deferment before choosing discretionary forbearance, especially when deferment would provide an interest benefit on your loans.
• Confirm exactly which loans will receive the relief and the beginning and ending dates.
• Ask whether interest will accrue on each loan during the requested period.
• If pursuing PSLF or another forgiveness or discharge program, confirm how the specific relief status affects qualifying progress.
• Do not assume a pending request means scheduled payments are already suspended.
• If the inability to pay is not temporary, ask your servicer about longer-term repayment alternatives rather than repeatedly relying on short-term relief.