How can you apply for student loan forgiveness in 2026?

Federal student loan borrowers have had a lot to keep track of over the last few years, but the major changes that took effect last month have made this an especially important time to review your federal student loans. As of July 1, a new income-driven repayment option is available and the repayment rules have been shifted to depend more heavily on when you borrowed. The SAVE plan is no longer an option, either.

But while many student loan borrowers know that they may have to shift their repayment strategies now, what they may not realize is that these changes can also impact your student loan forgiveness options. You can’t pursue any federal student loan forgiveness options without fully understanding how your loans are structured and how you’re repaying them, after all.

So, if you haven’t checked your federal student loan account since the July changes took effect, now could be a good time to do so. While forgiveness programs haven’t disappeared, the route you should take toward having your balances discharged may look a lot different now.

Find out how much you could save by refinancing your student loans now.

How can you apply for student loan forgiveness in 2026?

There’s no single application that covers every type of federal student loan forgiveness. Rather, the process depends on which program you qualify for. That said, here are some of the main steps to take now:

Start by reviewing your loans. Log in to your Federal Student Aid account and check your loan types, balances, disbursement dates and current repayment plan. Disbursement dates are particularly important right now, as borrowers whose loans were all disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, generally have the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) as their only income-driven repayment option. Borrowers with older loans, on the other hand, may have access to additional plans.

Determine which forgiveness program fits your situation. For example, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) can eliminate the remaining balance on eligible Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for an eligible government or nonprofit employer. Other options include Teacher Loan Forgiveness and certain discharge programs for borrowers who meet specific requirements.

Make sure you’re on an eligible repayment plan. In order to pursue federal student loan forgiveness, you have to be on an eligible repayment plan, and this is where last month’s changes become especially important. RAP became available July 1 alongside the new Tiered Standard plan, while PAYE and ICR are scheduled to be retired no later than July 1, 2028. Eligibility for the remaining plans can depend on when your loans were disbursed, so don’t ***ume the plan you previously intended to use is still your best — or available — option.

Complete the appropriate application or certification. Each forgiveness route has its own application or certification requirements you’ll need to meet. If you’re pursuing PSLF, for example, you can use the PSLF Help Tool to check your employer, obtain employment certification and submit your PSLF form electronically. For income-driven repayment forgiveness, you can submit an IDR application through StudentAid.gov.

After you’ve completed the application process, it’s important to keep records of the ***ociated applications, employment certifications and qualifying payments. Student loan forgiveness can take years to earn, so regularly checking your progress can help you catch discrepancies before they become harder to resolve.

Learn more about the student loan refinancing options available today.

Should you refinance your student loans while pursuing forgiveness?

With all of the recent changes to federal student loan repayment, student loan refinancing may also be on your radar — particularly if a private lender can offer you a lower interest rate. But whether refinancing your student loans makes sense depends heavily on the type of loans you have and your forgiveness plans.

If you have private student loans, refinancing could potentially reduce your student loan rate or monthly payment if you qualify for better terms. Private student loans generally aren’t eligible for federal student loan forgiveness anyway, so refinancing them to make them more affordable doesn’t eliminate federal forgiveness benefits you otherwise would have had.

Federal student loans are different. Refinancing federal student loans with a private lender turns them into private loans. That means you can lose access to important federal benefits, including income-driven repayment, PSLF, Teacher Loan Forgiveness and certain federal discharge and payment relief options.

As a result, borrowers who expect to qualify for federal student loan forgiveness should generally weigh those lost protections against any potential refinancing savings before making the switch. Someone who isn’t eligible for student loan forgiveness and has stable finances, strong credit and a substantially lower private refinancing offer may have a different calculation.

If you have both types of student loans, you also have the option to refinance only your private loans and leave your eligible federal loans untouched. That can provide you with some interest savings without giving up the federal protections attached to the rest of your debt.

The bottom line

Applying for student loan forgiveness this year starts with identifying the program you qualify for and making sure your loans and repayment plan satisfy its requirements. That’s particularly important after the recent changes, which introduced RAP and the Tiered Standard plan and altered the repayment landscape for both existing and new borrowers.

And while refinancing your student loans could be useful for some borrowers, think carefully before refinancing federal student loan debt. A lower rate can be valuable, but if the move costs you access to thousands of dollars in potential forgiveness, the tradeoff may not make financial sense.