Nelnet Customer Service: What It Can Do and How to Contact

Nelnet is one of several companies that service federal student loans by collecting and tracking payments. It also provides private student loans and refinancing. If Nelnet is your student loan servicer, here’s what it can help you do.

• Register for online access to your account. Once you have access you can contact Nelnet, access your monthly billing statements and pay bills.

• Enroll in autopay. Nelnet can deduct your payments automatically from your bank account. Signing up for autopay will reduce your interest by 0.25 percentage point.

• Sign up for income-driven repayment. You can request income-driven repayment, which limits your student loan payments to a percentage of your income, by completing a paper form with Nelnet. (You can apply online on studentaid.gov and then recertify your income each year online as well.)

• Process deferment and forbearance requests. Nelnet can help you temporarily stop making payments or reduce your payment amount if you qualify. This helps you stay in good standing to avoid default. But during any periods of deferment or forbearance, interest can continue to build.

• Process monthly payments and extra payments. Nelnet will track and collect your payments. If you want to make additional payments, you can instruct Nelnet (online, by phone or by mail) to apply extra payments to your current balance. Otherwise, it may apply the additional amount to next month’s payment instead.

» MORE: Student loan servicers: Who are they and what do they do?

Your loan servicer is assigned by the U.S. Department of Education when your loan is disbursed to your college for the first time. The name of the company sending you a federal loan bill every month is your servicer. If your loan payments haven’t begun or you’re not sure which company is your servicer, log in to My Federal Student Aid to find out. You can also get in touch with any of the loan servicer contact centers by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID.

Servicers are there to help you, but they may offer choices that are best for the company, not the borrower. That means they can’t change how payments are processed and may not suggest the most beneficial repayment option for you. It’s most important to know your repayment options so you can know the right questions to ask.

Great Lakes is transferring loans to Nelnet

Another federal student loan servicer called Great Lakes is in the process of transferring its portfolio to Nelnet. In 2018 Nelnet acquired Great Lakes, but the two entities handled servicing separately. The transfer is slated to wrap up by the end of June 2023.

Loan transferring from Great Lakes to Nelnet started in March 2022. If Great Lakes is your servicer, you can expect to be notified that your account will be transferred two weeks prior to your transfer date. You'll also receive notification from Nelnet once the transfer is complete and a new federal student loan account number.

Great Lakes will continue to forward payments to Nelnet, for at least 120 days after your transfer date, but you must set up a new online account with Nelnet after your loan transfers. You'll have to set all new payment preferences with Nelnet.

Am I stuck with Nelnet until my loans are paid off?

Loans are sometimes transferred from one servicer to another by the Department of Education.

The Department of Education is planning to shift the student loan servicing landscape by signing new servicing contracts with five companies to eventually take over all loan servicing. That means your loan servicer is likely to change. Nelnet is scheduled to continue servicing loans through at least December 2023.

Prior to servicing contracts ending, borrowers should do the following:

• Download and save your payment history from your online account or request a copy from your servicer.

• Update your contact information with your most recent address, phone number and email address.

You’ll be notified when a loan servicing transfer happens, and you’ll manage payments with the new servicer. All servicers deliver the same options and programs, but customer service may differ from one to another.

Otherwise, you are likely to remain with Nelnet unless you act to switch servicers. Use this tool to find out what might work for you.

How to reach Nelnet customer service

Nelnet phone number: 888-486-4722.

Nelnet hours of operation: Monday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET; Tuesday and Wednesday 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET; Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET.

Nelnet address for general correspondence:

Nelnet P.O. Box 82561 Lincoln, NE 68501-2561

Nelnet website: nelnet.com/welcome

Nelnet email: Complete the online form

Nelnet social channels: Nelnet Facebook & Nelnet Twitter

How to complain about Nelnet

If you’re having difficulty with Nelnet that you have been unable to resolve, start by filing a complaint directly with its ombudsman. It’s the servicer’s highest customer service office.

Call 888-486-4722 or email [email protected].

You can send mail to:

Nelnet Guarantor Solutions P.O. Box 82561 Lincoln, NE 68501-2561

If your issue goes unresolved, you can also make complaints about Nelnet to:

• Federal Student Aid Feedback System.

• Your state attorney general's office.

• Your state consumer protection office.

• Your congressional representative.

Make sure to keep records of conversations you have, including the day, time and customer service representative you spoke with. Keep copies of any letters, bills or emails about your account.

How to settle a dispute with Nelnet

If a complaint doesn’t help, you can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. This method should be used only as a last resort, says the federal student aid office. When you’re ready to reach out, here’s how to get in touch:

Phone: 877-557-2575

By mail: U.S. Department of Education

FSA Ombudsman Group

P.O. Box 1854

Monticello, KY 42633

You can also reach out to a student loans nonprofit such as The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, which provides free dispute resolution.

The federal student loan servicers

Learn more about each of the federal loan servicers, including what they can do and how to contact.