Who Owns My Student Loans?

The federal government or a commercial entity owns your student loans.

Private companies own all private loans. The U.S. Department of Education holds most federal loans.

Both the Department of Education and private institutions partner with third parties called student loan servicers. Loan servicers manage your student loans by handling billing statements, payment inquiries and other administrative tasks. If you have any questions about your account, they are who you call.

Loan servicers can change often, so keep your contact information current to stay up to date on who services your loan.

» MORE: Student loan customer service: What your servicer can do

How to find out who owns your student loans

To determine who owns and services your student loans:

Sign into your Federal Student Aid account. Federal Student Aid (FSA) is an office of the Department of Education. It manages the entire federal aid program and has a list of loan servicers for federal loans.

On the FSA website, you can set up an account or log into an existing one with your FSA ID. Once you sign in, you can find the name of your servicer on the right-hand side of your dashboard.

» GET READY: Download NerdWallet’s student loan repayment checklist and reading list

Check your mail or email. If your servicer changes, you’ll be notified via mail or email. Be sure that your contact information is up to date in your FSA account so you don’t miss any notifications.

In September 2023, many borrowers with federal student loans also received emails from the Department of Education with the name of the servicer, repayment plan options and other information ahead of student loan payments resuming.

Contact your school. Your college's or university’s financial aid office may give you details on who owns your loan. Additionally, you might discover that the school holds your loan.

Pull your credit report. There is no central database for private student loans. Instead, TransUnion, Experian and Equifax credit reports have the latest information on your loan servicers, including contact information.

» MORE: How do I know if my student loans are federal?

What to do after finding out who owns your student loans

Once you know who owns your student loans, there are a few steps you can take to stay up to date on your loan terms and repayment plan:

• Make sure your contact information is current.

• Discuss repayment options with your loan servicer.

• Ask what additional programs are available to you.

Many federal student loan borrowers can access benefits like income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Discuss these options with your loan servicer.

The federal Perkins loan and Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) are excluded from many federal relief programs. Though these are federal loans, they’re held by private companies.

If you have a Perkins or FFELP loan, consider consolidating them into a federal direct loan to qualify for more federal relief programs.