The Borrower Defense to Repayment program can forgive a borrower's federal student loans if they were defrauded or intentionally misled by their school.
What borrow defense provides
Here's what happens if the Education Department approves your borrower defense application. You receive:
Full discharge (100%) of federal student loans related to your application.
Reimbursement of any amount already paid toward the loans, according to regulations.
Requests to remove negative credit reporting with the credit bureaus.
Reinstatement of federal student aid eligibility, if you lost it.
Do you qualify for borrower defense student loan forgiveness?
You may qualify if your school:
Intentionally misled you about your education program.
Caused you harm as a result to a degree that warrants full discharge of your loans.
You can submit a claim whether or not your school closed and even if you’re eligible for other loan forgiveness programs. You can’t submit a claim for private loans or costs you paid out of pocket.
Not sure if you should apply? Find out if your school has been the subject of legal action by the federal government, state attorneys general or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If your loans were disbursed before July 1, 2020, a judgment against your school can be grounds for a successful borrower defense.
How to apply for borrower defense
Submit a borrower defense loan discharge application on the Federal Student Aid office's website. An application takes about three hours to complete, including preparation time.
After you submit your application, the Department of Education legally has three years to make a decision on your application. However, you may receive a decision much sooner than that. You’ll get a decision by email.
To strengthen your claim, submit a detailed explanation of why your loans might qualify, along with any supporting evidence. This could include:
Actual licensure passage rates that are different from what the school advertised.
Actual employment rates that are different from what the school advertised.
Actual selectivity and admissions profiles that are different from what the school advertised.
Dishonest representation of school held certifications or approval for programs.
Dishonest representation of the education resources the school provided.
Dishonest representation of the transferability of credits.
Dishonest representations of graduate placement rates and salaries.
Dishonest representations regarding financial assistance.
For help with your claim, find legal clinics in your area through local nonprofits, law schools, city services or legal aid groups. You may also contact the National Consumer Law Center.
How to get a borrower defense forbearance
You can ask for a forbearance when you apply. It pauses your payments and collections while the Education Department reviews your claim. After you apply, the Education Department will email you a confirmation. It will explain your forbearance options. Even though the process may be automatic, you should contact your federal student loan servicer to make sure they received your forbearance notification and are processing it appropriately.
A borrower defense claim can result in full loan forgiveness, partial loan forgiveness or no loan forgiveness. Interest keeps building while the Education Department reviews your claim. You’ll owe interest on any part of your loans that isn’t cancelled.
