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No. Fresh Start is closed. Federal Student Aid says the initiative officially ended at 2:59 a.m. ET on October 2, 2024. The Department’s July 2024 fact sheet had told borrowers the deadline was September 30, 2024; the later-updated guidance gives the official end time. Borrowers still in default must use the federal government’s current loan-resolution channels instead.
What was the Fresh Start deadline?
The Department of Education’s fact sheet, last updated July 11, 2024, said borrowers had until September 30, 2024, to use Fresh Start. Federal Student Aid’s guidance, updated January 6, 2025, states that the initiative officially ended at 2:59 a.m. ET on October 2, 2024. These are two dates in the Department’s materials: the earlier borrower-facing deadline and the later guidance’s official end time. The available official sources do not establish a separate extension announcement or explain the mechanism behind the difference.
Fresh Start cannot be joined now. The Department’s FY2024 annual report also describes the initiative as completed.
Who did Fresh Start cover, and what did it do?
Fresh Start applied to specified federal student loans that were in default before the federal payment pause began on March 13, 2020. It did not cover every loan type or every borrower who later defaulted.
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For eligible borrowers, the initiative temporarily restored eligibility for federal student aid, including Pell Grants and campus-based aid, and provided a route toward repayment options. After qualifying new aid was disbursed, the Department would initiate transfer of eligible defaulted loans to a non-default servicer, removing their default status. Other eligibility issues could still prevent a borrower from receiving aid.
The Department’s April 2022 announcement materials estimated that about 7.5 million borrowers had defaulted federal student loans. That is a historical estimate from 2022, not a current count.
What should you do if your federal loans are still in default?
- Check your federal student aid account. Review your loan information and status through your official Federal Student Aid account.
- Check MyEdDebt.gov. Federal Student Aid identifies this as the official portal for borrowers with defaulted federal loans; use it to find loan-status and loan-holder information.
- Contact the loan holder or the Department’s Default Resolution Group. Ask which resolution routes are available for your specific loan and get the terms before choosing.
- Compare the available routes. Rehabilitation, consolidation, and satisfactory repayment arrangements may resolve default, but the right option depends on your loan type, status, payment terms, and circumstances.
How do current default-resolution routes differ?
Federal Student Aid identifies rehabilitation, consolidation, and satisfactory repayment arrangements as ways to address default. The available official guidance does not establish one route as best for every borrower. Before agreeing to a route, ask the loan holder how it applies to your loan and what happens to your default status, benefits, and collections while the process is underway.
Loan rehabilitation
For most Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) borrowers, rehabilitation requires nine on-time, voluntary payments within a 10-consecutive-month period under an agreement. Defaulted Perkins loans have a different requirement: nine consecutive payments. Confirm the applicable payment amount and terms with the loan holder.
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These are also identified by Federal Student Aid as possible ways to resolve default. Eligibility and consequences can depend on the loan and the borrower’s status, so ask the loan holder to explain the specific requirements, payment schedule, effects on the default record and benefits, and whether collections continue during the process.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was Fresh Start the same as the repayment on-ramp?
No. Fresh Start addressed certain borrowers whose federal loans were already in default before March 13, 2020. The repayment on-ramp was a separate one-year measure concerning consequences for missed payments during its period. Federal Student Aid’s FY2024 annual report says the on-ramp ended in September 2024 and Fresh Start was completed.
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