Do I Qualify for Teacher Loan Forgiveness?

If you are a teacher or work for an educational service and also have federal student loans, you may qualify for Teacher Loan Forgiveness.

Requirements for Teacher Loan Forgiveness Eligibility

To qualify for Teacher Loan Forgiveness, you must have direct loans or FFEL Program loans borrowed after Oct. 1, 1998. You also need to be employed full-time for five complete and consecutive years as a highly qualified teacher. Additionally, the school where you teach must be an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency. It must serve low-income students. See a full directory of schools and agencies that qualify under this program.

What is a Highly Qualified Teacher?

You must be a highly qualified teacher to be eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness. Highly qualified teachers have a bachelor’s degree and are fully certified to teach in their state. If you received a temporary, emergency, or provisional license, the time that you teach with that license does not qualify.

How Much Loan Forgiveness Do I Qualify For?

You can qualify for different amounts of loan forgiveness depending on what subjects you teach. All teachers can receive up to $5,000 in forgiveness. But you can qualify for up to $17,500 if you teach math or science at the secondary level or if you teach special education at the elementary or secondary level.

How to Apply for Teacher Loan Forgiveness

After five consecutive years of teaching, fill out the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application and submit it to your loan servicer. If you have multiple federal loan servicers, submit a form to each of them.

You can qualify for both Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, just not during the same time period. This means that after you complete five consecutive years of teaching for Teacher Loan Forgiveness, you would complete an additional ten years (120 payments) for Public Service Loan Forgiveness