Cascading Problems Make Student Loan Forgiveness Under PSLF Tougher for Many

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act — landmark legislation enacted by congressional Republicans and President Trump in 2025 — made some of the most significant changes to federal student loan programs in a generation. One thing it didn’t do, though, was make any substantial changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a popular program that allows borrowers to get their student loans forgiven after 10 years if they make 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for eligible nonprofit or government employers.

But despite the fact that the program was spared by the recent legislation, PSLF is experiencing widespread problems that collectively jeopardize the ability of borrowers to get student loan forgiveness. Not all of the issues have clear explanations, although some critics say the Education Department’s mass staffing cuts in 2025, its diminished oversight of student loan servicers, its scaling back of borrower-focused initiatives and its current hyperfocus on repayment have all contributed to the cascading failures. 

Here’s what’s going on with PSLF, and what borrowers should know.

Clawbacks of PSLF credit

Late in the summer of 2026, some borrowers began receiving notices from the Education Department that their qualifying PSLF payment counts had been reduced. Borrowers suddenly lost months or even years of student loan forgiveness credit overnight, instantly pushing them further from getting their loans discharged.

The department provided only limited public information on the rollbacks, indicating that officials were simply correcting data errors in Education Department systems that resulted in some borrowers erroneously receiving PSLF credit when they shouldn’t have. And indeed, it appears some individuals got PSLF credit for periods of repayment under plans that generally don’t qualify for PSLF, such as the Extended Repayment Plan or Graduated Repayment Plan.

But other student loan borrowers indicated that they lost PSLF credit for months when they were fully complying with all PSLF program requirements, including making on-time payments under income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. It is unclear if these borrowers were simply erroneously swept up in the department’s efforts to correct the earlier data problem, or if a separate glitch or issue caused them to lose their PSLF credit. So far, the Education Department has not publicly acknowledged the problem, and it’s unclear if officials are working on a solution.

Delayed qualifying PSLF payments

Meanwhile, the Education Department’s online PSLF tracking system also appears to be experiencing glitches or problems. Many borrowers have been reporting that the months of July, August, September and/or October are not showing up on their StudentAid.gov dashboard. It’s not that these months are being reported as ineligible or nonqualifying; they simply are not showing up at all, as if the months don’t exist — even after borrowers have made their regular, on-time payments for those months.

That’s a problem, particularly for borrowers who are nearing their 120th qualifying PSLF payment. If those months aren’t showing up in the PSLF tracker, borrowers can’t receive PSLF credit for those months, even if they made on-time payments and complied with all PSLF program requirements. And if those months would get a borrower to their 120th qualifying payment, they can’t get their student loans forgiven until the months are reported.

Stalled PSLF employment certifications

Borrowers are also reporting stalled processing of PSLF Employment Certification Forms (ECFs). Submitting an ECF is the only way borrowers can get PSLF credit for qualifying payments they have made on their student loans; the Education Department recommends that borrowers submit an ECF at least once each year, and whenever they change employers. Borrowers must also submit a PSLF ECF when they reach their 120th qualifying payment and are eligible for student loan forgiveness.

Normally, borrowers who use the online PSLF Help Tool at StudentAid.gov to submit their ECF can have it processed in a matter of days, with an updated PSLF qualifying payment count displayed on their StudentAid.gov dashboard shortly after their submission. But the Education Department has apparently paused (or at least slowed) ECF processing since late summer 2026, causing some borrowers to wait weeks or months after submission. As with the delayed PSLF tracking, the ECF processing slowdown is preventing borrowers from getting PSLF credit and delaying student loan forgiveness for borrowers who have reached their 120th qualifying payment.

Ongoing PSLF Buyback delays

The PSLF Buyback program also continues to experience lengthy processing delays. PSLF Buyback allows borrowers to apply to make a lump-sum payment covering certain past periods of deferment and forbearance so they can count toward student loan forgiveness. Borrowers would make a payment based on what they would have paid if they had been in repayment under a qualifying repayment plan for the period being bought back. Many borrowers leaving the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan who are also pursuing PSLF rely on PSLF Buyback to “buy back” the roughly two-year SAVE Plan forced forbearance, which hasn’t counted toward PSLF.

But PSLF Buyback continues to be plagued by major backlogs. Although the Education Department hasn’t provided updated data in months, the backlog stood at nearly 90,000 applications in the spring of 2026, and borrowers report waiting one to two years or longer for a decision. To make matters worse, borrowers are not entitled to an automatic administrative forbearance while they wait for a determination. So they have to either continue making their monthly payments while they wait or request a general forbearance, which can have severe interest consequences and won’t count toward PSLF if a borrower’s PSLF Buyback request is denied. Borrowers also don’t have unlimited amounts of general forbearance available.

Options for student loan borrowers experiencing PSLF problems

With the reduction in staff at the Education Department and the gutting of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, federal student loan borrowers don’t have great options for dealing with these PSLF issues. 

Within the Education Department, borrowers can file a PSLF Reconsideration request, which asks the department to review recent determinations about qualifying PSLF payments or employment eligibility. Borrowers can also file a complaint with the Federal Student Aid Feedback or Ombudsman unit. But borrowers have reported mixed results, at best, when utilizing these processes, as these units appear to be facing their own severe backlogs and delays. 

Borrowers can also look outside the Education Department for assistance with PSLF concerns. In some cases, filing a complaint with your federal elected officials (like your congressperson or U.S. senator’s office) can yield results. And some states have state student loan ombudsperson offices that can advocate for state residents experiencing problems with their student loans.