Public Service Loan Forgiveness in 2026: Current Eligibility Rules
By Muntasir • Published Aug 05, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • US Student Loans
PSLF still forgives federal loans after 120 qualifying payments, 10 years, while you work full time for a qualifying government or nonprofit employer. A federal judge blocked the Department of Education's rule that would have excluded more employers, so the older, broader employer definition stays in effect.
🎓 120 qualifying monthly payments, full-time public service employment, still the core rule
A federal court vacated the new employer-exclusion rule on June 30, 2026, one day before it would have taken effect
RAP and legacy IBR payments count toward PSLF, but the new Tiered Standard Plan does not
Parent PLUS loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, cannot use RAP, so they lose the path to PSLF
📩 Certify your employment every year using the PSLF Help Tool at studentaid.gov
What PSLF Still Requires
Public Service Loan Forgiveness forgives your remaining federal Direct Loan balance after you make 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer. That structure has not changed. What changed in 2026 is which repayment plans count toward those 120 payments and, briefly, which employers count.
Which Repayment Plans Qualify
Qualifying payments must come from an income-driven plan or the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan. The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) qualifies, and so does legacy Income-Based Repayment (IBR) for borrowers who still have access to it. The new Tiered Standard Plan, the fixed 10-to-25-year plan for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, does not count toward PSLF. If you have loans from after that date and want PSLF, enroll in RAP rather than Tiered Standard.
The Employer Eligibility Rule Fight
The Department of Education finalized a rule that would have redefined qualifying employer to exclude nonprofits and government agencies found to have a substantial illegal purpose, set to take effect July 1, 2026. A federal judge vacated that rule on June 30, 2026, one day before it would have applied, ruling it exceeded the department's authority and left employers guessing at the standard, according to NASFAA . The older, broader definition of qualifying employer, government organizations and 501(c)(3) nonprofits, along with certain other nonprofits providing qualifying public services, stays in effect while the case continues.
Parent PLUS Loans and PSLF
Parent PLUS loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, cannot use RAP, the only income-driven plan available for new loans after that date. Since PSLF requires an income-driven plan or Standard repayment, and Standard alone pays off the loan before any forgiveness would apply, parents who take out new Parent PLUS loans after that date effectively lose the PSLF path for those loans.
Keeping Your Progress on Track
Submit an employment certification form every year and whenever you change employers, so studentaid.gov keeps an accurate count of your qualifying payments. Check your payment count directly on studentaid.gov rather than relying only on your servicer's numbers, since the two can diverge if a certification did not process.