Borrowers trying to get their student loans forgiven are facing mounting processing delays by the Education Department, forcing them to make tough choices as loan servicers demand payments even after their debt should have qualified for loan forgiveness.

The problems center on Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF, which offers debt cancellation for borrowers who make 120 qualifying payments (equivalent to 10 years) while working full-time in public service jobs. The PSLF program is plagued by growing dysfunction that is preventing borrowers from getting their student loans forgiven. In particular, recent Education Department system delays are preventing the last several months of qualifying PSLF payments from being credited to borrowers, forcing those who qualified for loan forgiveness months ago to continue making payments long after they should have received a discharge. Here’s what’s going on.

Borrowers Should Get Student Loans Forgiven Under PSLF After Making Their 120th Payment

The PSLF program allows borrowers to get their federal student loans forgiven after they have made 120 qualifying monthly payments. These payments must be made on Direct student loans under an eligible repayment plan while the borrower works as a full-time, W-2 employee for a qualifying nonprofit organization or government entity.

Borrowers are supposed to routinely submit a PSLF employment certification form, which allows the Education Department to confirm their employment and periodically count qualifying payments toward the 120 payments that are needed to achieve loan forgiveness. Qualifying PSLF payment counts can then be tracked through StudentAid.gov, allowing borrowers to review their progress and monitor the month-by-month breakdown of what is (and what is not) counting.

Once a borrower has made their 120th qualifying payments, their obligation to the PSLF program has been fulfilled. They should then be entitled to student loan forgiveness once they submit their final PSLF employment certification.

“We will process your PSLF form and determine how many qualifying payments you made during the employment period on your form and you’ll receive a letter telling you the number of qualifying payments you have made,” says Education Department guidance. “Once your cumulative total of qualifying payments reaches 120, we will confirm your eligibility and work with your servicer to forgive your remaining balance.”

“If your PSLF form is approved for forgiveness, you will be notified that the entire remaining balance of your eligible Direct Loans will be forgiven, including all outstanding interest and principal,” continues the department in a more detailed FAQ website dedicated to PSLF processing. “If you made payments after your 120th qualifying payment, those payments will either be applied to other outstanding federal student loan debt or refunded to you.”

PSLF Processing Delays Are Preventing Student Loans From Being Forgiven

But recent processing delays are significantly impeding the ability of borrowers to get their student loans forgiven through PSLF. The Education Department’s PSLF tracking system is experiencing worsening lags in reporting, which in turn is preventing certain months from being counted toward PSLF. Specifically, many borrowers have been reporting that the months of July, August, and September are not even showing up in the department’s PSLF tracking system, and therefore aren’t being counted toward student loan forgiveness even after a borrower has properly certified their public service employment.

This lag in reporting may not have an immediate impact for borrowers who still have a long way to go before qualifying for student loan forgiveness, provided those months eventually do appear in the PSLF tracking system. But for other borrowers who have made their 120th qualifying payment, the reporting delays are directly preventing them from getting their student loans discharged under the program. Many of these borrowers have started taking to social media and public forums to voice their frustrations.

“Submitted what should have been last ECF...July, August, September not showing still,” said one Reddit user in a post on Tuesday. “Sitting at 117//120 Made some progress, but after submitted my last ECF after my last September payment my loans came to 117/120. Obviously it’s because I’m still waiting on July, August and September to process. I contacted Mohela yesterday about making sure my payments were reported and some people said to hold off on my ECF until those posted. But I didn’t know how long the whole ECF processing would take so I just submitted yesterday before my final 3 monnths posted.. cause honestly, who knows when those will post.”

Some borrowers reported that they have continued to repay their student loans for months even though they should also have qualified for loan forgiveness earlier through PSLF Buyback, which is facing its own major delays and backlogs .

“September was supposed to be 120 months (never mind the buyback request I submitted almost a year ago for 9 months),” wrote another Reddit user on Wednesday. “What are our options? I did an employment recertification and it didn’t update July and August for me despite it accepting the the certification. Idk what to do?”

The Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid has been advising borrowers to submit complaints to the department’s PSLF Reconsideration portal, the Feedback unit, or the Ombudsman group. But all of those units are also facing substantial processing delays and backlogs following staffing cuts that were implemented by the Trump administration. Notably, the PSLF Reconsideration portal is the same unit that receives and processes PSLF Buyback requests.

“119/120 Since July - Asked to submit a feedback request,” said another user on Reddit on Wednesday. “So I called studentaid.gov today about this. I’m tired of my tracker not updating when I should be DONE (Tracker last updated on 7/3/26, I’ve made 2 payments since and should be over my 120 payments now). The rep asked me to submit feedback to open a case on it.”

Borrowers Trying To Get Student Loans Forgiven Under PSLF Despite Delays Have Limited Options

Borrowers who find themselves in this situation, and are unable to receive student loan forgiveness due to the Education Department’s delays, often do not have great options. While technically borrowers are supposed to be entitled to an administrative forbearance while they wait for their student loans to be discharged, they aren’t able to get that forbearance until they actually have 120 qualifying PSLF payments. And they can’t get to the 120 qualifying payment threshold if their final qualifying months aren’t even showing up in the department’s systems. Similarly, borrowers have no legal right to an administrative forbearance while they wait for a decision on their PSLF Buyback application, which could take months or even years given the department’s existing backlog .

Borrowers can elect to go into a general forbearance while they wait. A general forbearance would postpone payments while keeping their student loans in good standing. But borrowers don’t have an unlimited amount of forbearance available. Furthermore, interest will continue to accrue, and the forbearance period won’t count toward loan forgiveness under PSLF if they ultimately don’t qualify for a discharge.

If borrowers don’t request (or cannot get) a forbearance, they will continue to get billed by their loan servicer, and will have to continue making payments on their student loans beyond their PSLF eligibility threshold. If the borrower is ultimately approved for loan forgiveness, they should receive a refund of any excess payments made.

“You should continue to make payments while your PSLF form is being processed, but you have the option to request a forbearance if you believe (or our system determines) you have already made 120 payments,” says Education Department guidance. “If you requested a forbearance while your form is under review, those months would not count toward your 120 payments if it is determined you have not earned forgiveness. Any payments you make beyond the 120 that are required would be refunded to you if it is determined you qualify for forgiveness.”

But the post-PSLF refund process can also be plagued by delays and processing problems. Ultimately, borrowers trying to get their student loans forgiven under PSLF and who are contending with these Education Department processing delays and lags in reporting have few good options. It is critical, however, to retain important student loan records while continuing to push for a resolution.