• For federal loans: Log on to the Federal Student Aid website using your FSA ID. Click on the blue numbers in the loan table to see more details about each loan, including your “Current ED servicer.” It may be Navient, or it could be another company such as FedLoan Servicing, Great Lakes Higher Education or Nelnet.

• For private loans: If there is no record of your student loans in the Federal Student Aid system, the loans are private. Log on to your online loan account, if you have one, or check your last loan statement. The company powering the account or sending the statement is your loan servicer.

Not sure whether your loans are federal, private, or a mix of both? Navient services both federal and private loans. Check your credit report to see all of your education debts, including federal and private student loans.

If you have been behind in your federal student loan payment for 270+ days, your loan is in default. 

Default can result in:

• The loan may be accelerated to 100% due; and/or

• The loan may be sent to collections

Note that federal student loans may be subject to wage garnishment without a lawsuit. 

If your federal student loan debt is in default, you have three potential options, but the options outside of option 2 apply only to specific situations-- you may not qualify for them or for any of these options. 

Option 1: Are you Eligible for Discharge? These are possible situations where federal student loans may be discharged. Click the link to learn more about whether or not you qualify and the steps you must take to apply. 

• False Certification

• Closed School

• False Certification

• Borrower's Defense to Repayment

• Profession Related Discharge

  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

  • Teacher Loan Forgiveness

​Option 2: Get out of Default.

IMPORTANT TEMPORARY OPTION: Fresh Start

Fresh Start is a one-time temporary program from the U.S. Department of Education that offers special benefits for borrowers with defaulted federal student loans.

Fresh Start automatically gives you some benefits, such as restoring access to federal student aid (loans and grants). But you need to act to claim the full benefits of Fresh Start and get out of default. Sign up for Fresh Start for free using one of the contact methods below.

If your loans are held by the Department of Education, you can contact them using one of the three methods below. If your loans are held by a guaranty agency, you’ll need to call that agency. If you don’t know who holds your loans, call 1-800-621-3115 (TTY 1-877-825-9923).

Three Ways to Contact the Department of Education About Fresh Start

This process can take less than 10 minutes.

Online—Go to myeddebt.ed.gov and log in to your account. This is the easiest option if you know your login.

Phone—Call 1-800-621-3115 (If you are deaf or hard of hearing, the TTY number is 1-877-825-9923).

Tip: Before calling, look up your income on your most recent federal tax return (line 11 of IRS Form 1040). But if you can’t find it or didn’t file taxes, don’t worry—you should still call.

What to expect on the phone: It will take about 10 minutes. A representative will ask for some information to find your record, then ask why you are calling (your answer: Fresh Start, to get out of default). You will also get an opportunity to sign up for an income-driven repayment plan, which likely will qualify you for a lower monthly payment than a standard plan.

Mail—Write to P.O. Box 5609, Greenville, TX 75403. In your letter, include your name, social security number, date of birth, and the following: “I would like to use Fresh Start to bring my loans back into good standing.”

If you use Fresh Start to get out of default, here’s what will happen:

They’ll transfer your defaulted loans from the Default Resolution Group (or from a guaranty agency) to a loan servicer.

They’ll return your defaulted loans to “in repayment” status.

They’ll remove the record of your default from your credit report.

After the temporary Fresh Start Plan

You can get out of default using only one of the options one time during the life of the loan. In other words, you get one shot at getting out of default. 

• Consolidation

• Rehabilitation

Click here to read detailed information about these two options and how to apply.

Option 3: Bankruptcy This is very rare. Most people cannot prove an undue hardship, which is required for discharge of student loans (federal or private) in bankruptcy. Read here for more information. 

In a majority of cases, Option 2, getting out of default using rehabilitation or consolidation, is the appropriate option. Assuming you went with Option 2, go to step 3.

• Consolidate your federal loans- Be careful to review and understand the types of loans you have. If you plan to qualify for PSLF or Teacher Loan forgiveness, start by reviewing the requirements under those forgiveness options. Some types of loans that are consolidated may disqualify you for the forgiveness. So review your loan types and only consolidate the loans that are eligible.

• Select a repayment plan under one of the Income Driven Repayment plan options.That link also has a loan simulator to help you estimate your payment amount under the repayment options.

• You may need to re-certify your income each year, or sooner if your income situation has changed. It is in your best interest to re-certify if your wages decrease because your repayment amount will likely also decrease. Note that in some situations, your repayment amount can be $0 and you will be making timely payments.

• Do not default again, you will have no other chances to get out of default after you've done it once.

Unlike Federal Loans, Private Student loans are just like private credit cards, but they are not easily dischargeable in bankruptcy. Private lenders are not required to give you any particular repayment plan options, and their standards for total and permanent disability discharge are discretionary (up to their own assessment). 

Still, many people can request a temporary hardship repayment plan which will require a proof of hardship (letter or statement from EDD, or SSA, CalWorks, CalFresh). The repayment will only go as low as $5/month, and only last a certain number of months as determined by the loan provider. 

It is important to stay in contact with your loan providers, federal or private, because they are often more accommodating that other types of loan and credit providers, and you cannot easily discharge the debt.

• Federal- Your loans may be accelerated to 100% due with interest growing. The federal government may garnish your wages and tax returns until the debt is paid off. The federal government does not need to sue you to garnish your wages or tax returns. 

• Private- Your loans may also be accelerated to 100% due with interest growing. The loan provider may sue you to get a judgment from the court in order to garnish your wages, levy your bank accounts, attach a lien to your home, or use any other methods of judgment enforcement they wish. The loan provider may also sell the debt to a debt collector who can sue you to enforce the same judgment rights. In any event, the private loan holder must get a court judgment to enforce collecting the debt from you.