If you have missed a federal student loan payment, check your account status and contact the organization handling your loan as soon as possible. If the loan is delinquent but not in default, ask about a payment you can manage or temporary relief. If it is in default, confirm the status with the loan holder and compare rehabilitation with consolidation before choosing a way forward. The right options depend on your loan type, disbursement history, income, and account status.
Start by finding out whether the loan is delinquent or in default
A missed payment does not immediately mean your loan is in default. Federal Student Aid says a federal loan becomes delinquent the day after a scheduled payment is missed. A servicer may report a delinquency to the three major national credit bureaus when it reaches 90 days or more. A federal loan generally enters default after 270 days without scheduled payments. Those are separate stages, and the options available to you depend in part on which stage your account has reached.
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Do not rely only on a notice, an old email, or your memory of when you last paid. Sign in to StudentAid.gov to review your federal loan information and identify the current servicer or loan holder. Then check the account with that organization for the status, past-due amount, payment history, and next due date. If the account has been transferred because of default, the organization currently responsible for handling it may differ from the servicer you remember.
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- Delinquent, not in default: Contact the servicer promptly. Ask about bringing the account current, changing repayment plans, or requesting approved temporary relief.
- In default: Confirm the status and contact the listed loan holder or the Department of Education’s Default Resolution Group to ask which resolution options apply to your loan.
- Status unclear or possibly wrong: Ask the organization handling the account to review the payment history and explain how it calculated the status. Keep records of the review request and any payment-processing confirmation you have.
Federal Student Aid’s guidance reviewed October 9, 2026, gives the 90-day reporting and 270-day default thresholds. They are important warning points, not a reason to wait until a threshold is reached: contact the servicer as soon as you know you cannot make a payment.
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If you are delinquent but not in default
Your first practical step is a conversation with the servicer listed on your account. Tell the representative that you have missed a payment and want to understand your options for this specific loan. Federal Student Aid advises borrowers who are not in default and cannot afford their monthly payment to contact the servicer promptly about lowering the payment or requesting temporary relief.
Prepare for the call or secure message
Before contacting the servicer, note the loan or account identifier shown in your account, the dates and amounts of payments you believe you made, and what amount you can realistically pay. You do not need to guess at an official payment amount. The servicer should explain the account’s actual past-due balance and the terms of any option it offers.
- Ask which loans are delinquent and whether any are already in default.
- Ask for the total amount past due and how it was calculated, including any payments that may still be processing.
- Ask what repayment plans are available for each loan and whether a plan change could reduce the monthly amount.
- If you cannot afford the available payment, ask whether deferment or forbearance is available for your circumstances.
- Before ending the conversation, confirm the next due date, the action you must take, when it must be completed, and how the servicer will confirm the arrangement.
Write down the date of the contact, the representative’s name or reference number if provided, and the instructions you received. If you use a secure message or other written channel, save the exchange. If you believe a payment was made but not credited, provide the date and payment confirmation details and ask for an account review. Keep copies of relevant records while the issue is being reviewed; a particular appeal process may vary by loan and account.
Ask about a payment plan that fits your situation
A repayment-plan change may be preferable to letting payments continue to fall behind, but a lower payment is not automatic. Plan availability and payment amounts depend on factors such as the loan type, disbursement dates, income, and the borrower’s eligibility. Ask the servicer to identify the plans you can actually choose and explain the estimated payment and terms before you agree.
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Plan availability is also changing. Federal Student Aid’s current guidance describes changes for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, including the Tiered Standard Plan and Repayment Assistance Plan. Which plans apply can depend on a borrower’s disbursement history and eligibility. Do not assume that a plan described for another borrower, or on an older page, is available for your loans. Confirm your choices with the servicer and use current official Federal Student Aid information for your own account.
When comparing options, ask how the payment was calculated, when the new amount would begin, what you must do to enroll, and what happens if your income or circumstances change. Get the final terms from the servicer rather than treating an estimate or general online description as your required payment.
Understand the trade-offs of temporary relief
Deferment and forbearance can temporarily pause or reduce payments when a borrower qualifies, but they are not interchangeable labels for a cost-free break. Interest may accrue during a relief period, increasing the amount owed. The period can also affect eligibility or progress toward some discharge programs. Before accepting either option, ask the servicer:
- Which form of relief is available for your loan and why you qualify;
- Whether payments stop completely or are reduced, and for how long;
- Whether interest will accrue and how it will be handled;
- What happens when the relief period ends, including the next payment date; and
- Whether the period changes your progress toward a discharge program you are pursuing.
Ask for the effective dates and terms in writing if possible. If the offered relief only postpones a payment you will still be unable to afford afterward, ask whether a repayment-plan change or another option is more sustainable.
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If you are in default
Default calls for a different response from ordinary delinquency. First confirm the account’s current status in StudentAid.gov and identify the organization now responsible for the loan. For many defaulted borrowers whose loans are with the Department of Education, MyEdDebt.ed.gov is the Department’s official portal for account, payment, and payment-history information. If you have a Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), you may need to contact the guaranty agency assigned to your loan. Use the organization shown for your account rather than assuming that your former servicer still handles it.
Contact the listed loan holder or the Default Resolution Group promptly. Ask which ways of resolving default are available for your particular loan and request an explanation of how each option affects collection activity, the total amount you owe, your credit history, and access to future federal student aid. Do not ignore official collection notices while you are comparing options; ask the loan holder what you must do and by when.
Rehabilitation: a series of required payments
Rehabilitation generally requires nine on-time, voluntary payments under an agreement. For Direct and FFEL loans, those payments must be made within ten consecutive months. Perkins loans follow a separate consecutive-payment rule, so ask the loan holder to explain the requirement for your loan rather than applying the Direct and FFEL schedule to it.
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The standard rehabilitation payment is calculated as 15% of annual discretionary income divided by 12. That formula is not necessarily the amount you will be told to pay: ask the loan holder for your calculated amount and what procedures, if any, are available for your circumstances. Confirm what counts as an on-time payment, the payment dates, and what happens if you miss one. Rehabilitation takes several months because it depends on completing the required payments under the agreement.
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Federal Student Aid says successful rehabilitation can remove the default record from your credit history. Ask the loan holder to explain the effect on your specific credit reporting and what changes after the agreement is completed. Since rehabilitation has a defined payment schedule, consider whether you can make those payments consistently before selecting it.
Consolidation: a different route out of default
Federal Student Aid says consolidation may resolve default faster than rehabilitation. It can also add interest and collection costs, and the default record remains on your credit history. Whether consolidation is available or suitable depends on the loan and the borrower’s circumstances, so have the loan holder explain the requirements and the resulting loan terms before proceeding.
Compare the two routes using the questions that matter to your situation: How soon could default be resolved? What payments are required, and on what schedule? Could interest or collection costs increase the balance? What happens to the default record on your credit history? What changes for future federal aid? The answers may differ by loan and account, and the fastest route is not necessarily the best fit if its costs or consequences are less manageable for you.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDo not begin a rehabilitation or consolidation process based only on a general explanation. Ask the organization handling your account to confirm in writing the required steps, payment amount, deadlines, costs, and the point at which collection activity or default status changes. If you have multiple defaulted loans, ask whether each loan is treated the same way.
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Do not assume collection will wait
Federal Student Aid says involuntary collection may begin after more than 360 days without a payment if the borrower has not resolved default. That is a possibility, not a guaranteed start date or a safe period to delay action. The Department describes possible wage garnishment of up to 15% of a paycheck and Treasury offset. The collection method and timing depend on the account and applicable process.
If you receive a collection notice, read it promptly, note any deadline, and contact the organization named in it to confirm what response is required. Ask what resolution options remain available and whether a proposed agreement affects collection activity. Keep copies of notices and communications. If money has already been withheld or offset, ask the loan holder for an account and payment-history explanation so you can understand how the amounts were applied.
A practical checklist for your next contact
- Check StudentAid.gov and the current servicer or loan-holder account to confirm status and account ownership.
- Write down the past-due amount, payment history, next due date, and any notice deadlines.
- State the monthly amount you can manage and ask which plans or relief options apply to your loan.
- For deferment or forbearance, ask about duration, interest, the end-of-period payment, and any effect on discharge progress.
- If in default, ask the loan holder to compare rehabilitation and consolidation for your loan, including payments, time, costs, collection effects, credit history, and federal aid.
- Save confirmations and record the agreed payment, due dates, and required actions.
For current guidance, Federal Student Aid’s pages titled How To Prepare for Student Loan Payments, Student Loan Default and Collections: FAQs, and Student Loan Rehabilitation for Borrowers in Default: FAQs address the timelines, default options, and rehabilitation process. Account-specific directions from your servicer or loan holder determine what you need to do next.
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