Friday night, the Department of Education rolled out a beta version of its application you can use to file for student loan debt forgiveness. The short form lets you apply for up to $20,000 in debt relief as part of the White House plan to forgive federal student loan debt for borrowers who qualify.
The Education Department said it is using the beta preview to help it “refine its processes” and will be “providing periodic access to the form to help us get ready for our official launch.” The online application was periodically available Friday night through Saturday morning.
The department said If you do submit an application during beta testing, it will be processed, and you won’t need to resubmit. Those who may automatically qualify for student debt forgiveness are urged to apply.
Oct. 23 may be the soonest date the Department of Education can begin canceling student loan debt. The possible new date appears in a court document for a lawsuit by six Republican-led states to stop the student loan relief program. A court decision could put the brakes on student debt relief, however.
Here’s how to see if you’re eligible for the student loan forgiveness and how to apply for debt relief. For more, avoid student loan forgiveness scams by spotting these red flags, and learn which states are taxing student loan forgiveness.
Read more: I Requested a Student Loan Refund. Now My Forgiveness Is More Complicated
Who is eligible to have their student loan debt cancelled?
Under President Joe Biden’s plan, the Department of Education will cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for individual borrowers who make below $125,000 per year or less than $250,000 for married borrowers or those who are heads of households.
You may also be eligible for an additional $10,000 in relief if you received federal Pell Grants while enrolled in college, totaling up to $20,000 in debt relief.
The White House assured borrowers that debt cancellation would occur before federal student loan payments restart on Jan. 1, 2023.
How do you apply for student debt relief?
Most of the estimated 40 million borrowers seeking student loan relief will need to apply for forgiveness using the Education Department’s online form. The department said even though the form is for testing the application process, if you submit an application, it will be processed, and you won’t need to resubmit. The form takes about five minutes to fill out, the department said, and will be periodically available till the department officially rolls out the application.
Note if the Department of Education already has your income information on file, the department may have enough information to automatically forgive your debt without applying. This group who will automatically qualify may number as many as 8 million borrowers and mostly includes those who are enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. The department recommends filing out the form, anyway, if you think you are in this group in case it doesn’t have enough information to automatically cancel debt.
If the department doesn’t have your income details on file, you must complete the application to supply the information the department needs to determine if you qualify to have debt cancelled.
You won’t need to upload supporting documents or use your FSA ID to submit your application, the Department of Education said. The White House on Oct. 11 tweeted a preview of the application. (Here’s a PDF image of the form.) The application is now periodically available through desktop and mobile browsers in both English and Spanish versions, the department said.
Once you submit your application, it’ll be reviewed to determine your eligibility for debt relief, and the department will work with your loan servicers to process your relief. The department said it will send you an email after you submit the form, notifying you it has successfully received your application, and the department will contact you if it needs additional information, such as proof of income.
What information do you need to file out the student loan relief application?
The Department of Education application for student loan debt forgiveness includes two sections: The first, labeled “Borrower Information,” has fields you’ll fill out to provide information the department needs to determine your eligibility.
The application requires the following personal information from borrowers:
Name (including a former last name if applicable)Social Security numberDate of birthPhone numberEmail address
The second section, labeled “Review and Submit the Agreement,” is a sworn statement that you are eligible for debt relief. It asks borrowers to affirm that they’re requesting loan forgiveness, that they’re eligible based on the income requirements and that, if asked, they’ll provide proof of income to the Department of Education before March 31, 2024.
You could be eligible for $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan debt forgiveness.
James Martin/CNET
How do I access the student debt forgiveness application?
The Education Department said its online form to apply for federal student loan debt relief is available now in beta form and will be periodically available as it prepares for the “official launch.”
The beta version of the form went live Friday evening and the form was frequently available on both desktop or mobile browsers through Saturday morning. Anecdotally, we frequently checked for the desktop and mobile versions of the form and found the the application was sometimes available on desktop but not mobile and sometimes the other way around, so check both to see if the application beta is live. If the application is not available when you check, the department said “We appreciate your interest in debt relief and invite you to check back soon.”
What is the deadline to apply for student loan debt relief?
Borrowers who are eligible have until Dec. 31, 2023, to apply for forgiveness.
During an Aug. 26 press briefing, National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti said that after borrowers complete their applications, “They can expect relief within four to six weeks.” It’s not clear, however, how postponing student debt cancellation until the proposed Oct. 23 date will affect that time frame.
“Borrowers are advised to apply by roughly Nov. 15, in order to receive relief before the payment pause expires on Dec. 31,” Ramamurti said.
To learn more about the student loan plan, go to the Department of Education subscription page and sign up to receive “Federal Student Loan Borrower Updates,” the first checkbox in a long list of education topics.
If you made payments on your student loans during the moratorium, you can now request a refund from your loan servicer. For anyone who’s not eligible for the student loan forgiveness — or who will still owe money after the debt is canceled — payments and interest are still paused until January 2023.