How to Get MOHELA Student Loan Forgiveness

Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) is one of a handful of federal student loan servicers that manages the $1.6 trillion federal student loan debt portfolio. Additionally, MOHELA now manages the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and TEACH Grant programs with the U.S. Department of Education.

It's possible that you've already interacted with MOHELA or will do so in the future if you have federal student loans. Therefore, it’s important to stay on top of your available repayment strategies — especially when it comes to student loan forgiveness.

To clarify, MOHELA doesn't have any exclusive student loan forgiveness programs. But MOHELA borrowers may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs through the PSLF program or income-driven repayment plans.

Here’s what you need to know about your MOHELA loan forgiveness options.

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A quick note about MOHELA and its role in student loans

MOHELA has worked with student loans for several decades as a private lender. Although it was a relatively small player as a federal loan servicer, the Department of Education announced in December 2021 that MOHELA would take over the PSLF and Teach Grant programs from FedLoan Servicing. The transfer of FedLoan accounts to MOHELA was complete in 2022.

MOHELA only manages a portion of IDR plans. As of September 2023, MOHELA manages a total of roughly $357 billion of student loan debt for about 8.36 million borrowers, including loans that are in deferment, forbearance, repayment or within their grace period.

But MOHELA could continue to take on more borrowers who are on income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which would increase its responsibility for loans that could potentially be eligible for loan forgiveness in the future.

Is MOHELA a good loan servicer?

Historically, federal student loan servicers have done a pretty lousy job. But MOHELA is generally reported as one of the better servicers to work with. That said, we can expect more complaints about MOHELA considering they've taken on a much larger share of borrower accounts.

MOHELA loan forgiveness programs for federal loans

If you have federal student loans serviced by MOHELA, it is worth exploring these forgiveness options in detail.

1. Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program allows student loan borrowers to earn tax-free loan forgiveness in as little as 10 years. To be eligible for PSLF, you must:

• Work full-time for a qualifying employer in the public or nonprofit sector.
• Make 120 qualifying monthly payments.
• Have eligible Direct Loans (or consolidate your loans with a Direct Consolidation Loan).

The federal student aid website now offers the PSLF Help Tool, which can assist you in submitting your Employment Certification Form (ECF) and seeking forgiveness.

Note there have been serious mishaps with PSLF processing under both FedLoan Servicing and now MOHELA. One our readers said:

“MOHELA took more than six months to process my PSLF forms and didn’t do it correctly the first time. But when I called, they fixed my counts relatively quickly.”

– 2024 Student Loan Planner Reader Survey

So, it's important to keep track of your PSLF payment count and submit your employment certification annually to avoid surprises.

2. Income-driven repayment forgiveness

IDR plans can lower your monthly student loan payments by capping your payment amount at 5% to 20% of your discretionary income. But they can also make you eligible for MOHELA loan forgiveness after 20 to 25 years of qualifying payments.

Popular federal student loan repayment options include:

• Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), formerly REPAYE
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
• Income-Based Repayment (IBR)
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)

Note that IDR plans require recertification of your income and family size each year in order to determine your monthly payment.

Also, keep in mind that IDR loan forgiveness will be taxed, so it’s important you begin saving for this eventual tax bomb. However, student loan forgiveness isn't taxable through the end of 2025.

3. Teacher Loan Forgiveness

Teachers might be eligible to receive up to $17,500 of MOHELA student loan forgiveness by using the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program.

However, teachers should be mindful of certain caveats and limitations associated with this program.

For instance, the full $17,500 of forgiveness is only available to “highly qualified” math and science teachers at the secondary level and special education teachers — other teachers max out loan forgiveness at $5,000.

Most teachers are better off pursuing PSLF for total forgiveness of their remaining loan balance.

4. Alternative forgiveness options

Depending on your situation, you might be eligible to have your MOHELA student loans canceled through one of these alternative provisions:

• Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge. You must have documentation showing you meet disability discharge requirements from one of three sources: the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Social Security Administration or a physician.
• Closed school discharge. You might be eligible for discharge if your school closes while you're enrolled or soon after you withdraw.
• Death discharge. The federal government will forgive a borrower’s student loans in case of death. The same applies if a parent who has Parent PLUS loans passes away.

StudentAid.gov details additional situations that could result in having your loans forgiven, canceled or discharged.

Other student loan forgiveness programs to explore

Even if you plan on pursuing MOHELA loan forgiveness through federal programs, you might meet eligibility requirements for other state- or profession-based debt relief programs that might include federal and private student loans.

Many states have established student loan repayment programs designed to boost employment in certain regions or professions.

For example, some nursing loans can be forgiven in exchange for working in an underserved area. There are even programs to help wipe away law school debt.

Alternatively, if loan forgiveness isn't an option, you might benefit from student loan refinance options to lower your interest rate or find better loan terms. For instance, Laurel Road and SoFi have fixed and variable rate options that come with large cash-back bonuses.

If you need help figuring out the best repayment plan — which might include loan forgiveness or exploring refinancing — our student debt experts can create a custom plan for you.