The Complete Guide To Nelnet Student Loan Forgiveness

By Mentor Staff | Edited By Mentor Staff

Updated On September 5, 2023

Editorial Note: This content is based solely on the author's opinions and is not provided, approved, endorsed or reviewed by any financial institution or partner.

How do we make money? The products featured on this website are from our partners who compensate us. This may impact which companies we review, the products we evaluate, and where and how a product appears on a page. We receive compensation from a partner when you apply for and receive a product through Mentor. This helps us to support our website, offer free content, tools and calculators, and continue to be one of the leading sources on personal finance.

If you have Nelnet student loans, you may be thinking how to get Nelnet student loan forgiveness.

Here’s what you should know about Nelnet student loan forgiveness. In this guide, we will discuss:

Top Picks For Student Loan Refinancing

November 2024

Fixed APR ?APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the price you pay to borrow money. Fixed APR means that your interest rate will always stay the same. Even if interest rates change, your interest rate or monthly payment will not. Fixed APR includes a 0.25% discount when you enroll in autopay.
Variable APR ?APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the price you pay to borrow money. Variable APR means that your interest rate can fluctuate over time, which can increase or decrease your monthly student loan payment. Typically, a variable-rate loan has a lower introductory rate than a fixed-loan rate loan. Variable APR includes a 0.25% discount when you enroll in autopay.
APR
3.99% - 9.99%
5.99% - 9.99%
3.99% - 9.99%

View Details

on SoFi's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.99% - 9.99%
Fixed APR:
3.99% - 9.99%
Minimum Credit Score:
650
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000 ($10,000 in CA)

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
3.95% - 8.99%
5.89% - 9.74%
3.95% - 9.74%

View Details

on Earnest's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.89% - 9.74%
Fixed APR:
3.95% - 8.99%
Minimum Credit Score:
650
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5-20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States except NV
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
No
5.19% - 9.74%
5.99% - 9.74%
5.19% - 9.74%

View Details

on NaviRefi's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.99% - 9.74%
Fixed APR:
5.19% - 9.74%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,001 ($10,001 in CA)

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5-20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States except NV
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
No
4.84% - 8.44%
4.86% - 8.49%
4.84% - 8.49%

View Details

on ELFI's website

Overview

Variable APR:
4.86% - 8.49%
Fixed APR:
4.84% - 8.44%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
$35,000
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$10,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
4.84% - 9.99%
5.89% - 9.99%
4.84% - 9.99%

View Details

on Splash's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.89% - 9.99%
Fixed APR:
4.84% - 9.99%
Minimum Credit Score:
640
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5 – 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states
Hardship Deferment:
Varies
Co-signer Option:
No
5.89% - 10.98%
7.02% - 12.44%
5.89% - 12.44%

View Details

on Citizens' website

Overview

Variable APR:
7.02% - 12.44%
Fixed APR:
5.89% - 10.98%
Minimum Credit Score:
Not disclosed
Minimum Income:
$24,000
Fees:
No prepayment or origination fees
Minimum Loan Amount:
$10,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
4.99% - 8.90%
5.29% - 9.20%
4.99% - 9.20%

View Details

on Laurel Road's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.29% - 9.20%
Fixed APR:
4.99% - 8.90%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
5.49% - 9.75%
5.53% - 12.18%
5.49% - 12.18%

View Details

on LendKey's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.53% - 12.18%
Fixed APR:
5.49% - 9.75%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
$24,000
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states, except ME, ND, NV, RI, WV
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes

How to get Nelnet student loan forgiveness

How do you get Nelnet student loan forgiveness? If you have federal student loans with Nelnet, there are many options to get student loan forgiveness. For example:

These five federal student loan forgiveness programs are available to student loan borrowers with federal student loans. Each program has its own requirements and offers either partial student loan forgiveness or total student loan cancellation.

Make sure you review all the requirements for each program. For example, if you have FFELP Loans or Perkins Loans, you may need to do a Direct Loan Consolidation before you can qualify for student loan forgiveness.

Nelnet student loan forgiveness options

If you have federal student loans and Nelnet is your student loan servicer, there are several options to get student loan forgiveness.

Income-Driven Repayment

There are several income-driven repayment plans, including Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR).

After 20 years (undergraduate student loans) or 25 years (graduate student loans) of monthly student loan payments, student loan borrowers can qualify for student loan forgiveness on their remaining federal student loan balance.

President Joe Biden proposed a new student loan forgiveness plan, which would include lower monthly student loan payments and earlier student loan forgiveness.

Apply for an income-driven repayment plan: To enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, contact Nelnet.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a federal program that helps student loan borrowers who work for a qualified non-profit or public service employer get total federal student loan forgiveness. Borrowers must meet several requirements, including enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan and making 120 monthly student loan payments.

Apply for public service loan forgiveness: To apply for public service loan forgiveness, contact Nelnet or the U.S. Department of Education. If you pursue public service loan forgiveness, you will get a new student loan servicer for your federal student loans.

Borrower Defense To Repayment

Borrower defense to repayment is an option for student loan forgiveness for millions of student loan borrowers. If your college or university closed or misled you, and you have Nelnet student loans, you could qualify for partial student loan forgiveness or total student loan forgiveness.

Apply for borrower defense to repayment: To apply for borrower defense to repayment, you can apply directly through the U.S. Department of Education.

Total and Permanent Disability

If you have a total and permanent disability, and you have Nelnet student loans, the federal government can forgive your student loans.

Apply for total and permanent disability: To apply for total and permanent disability, you can apply directly through the U.S. Department of Education.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

Teacher Loan Forgiveness is a program for student loan forgiveness of federal student loans. If you have Nelnet student loans and want to get student loan forgiveness, you could be eligible if you meet several requirements.

For example, you could earn up to $17,500 of student loan forgiveness if you teach full-time for five complete and consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency.

Apply for teacher loan forgiveness: To apply for Teacher Loan Forgiveness, you can apply directly through the U.S. Department of Education.

Biden student loan forgiveness: Nelnet student loans

President Biden announced historic student loan relief for millions of student loan borrowers. Biden’s plan included both wide-scale student loan forgiveness and a final extension of the student loan payment pause.

If you have Nelnet student loans, here’s how to qualify for $10,000 of student loan forgiveness (or $20,000 if you had a Pell Grant in college):

  1. Federal student loans: you must have a federal student loan that is owned by the federal government. For example, eligible federal student loans include Direct Loans such as Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Direct Consolidation Loans. Importantly, the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t own all federal student loans. For example, many FFELP Loans and Perkins Loans are owned by third-party investors as well as colleges and universities, respectively.
  2. Income Requirement: You must have earned up to $125,000 annually during the Covid-19 pandemic. Your family income must be less than $250,000.

If you received a Pell Grant to attend college, then you could be eligible to receive up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness.

How to contact Nelnet customer service

There are several ways to contact Nelnet customer service to get student loan forgiveness and explore options for student loan repayment:

Nelnet Phone Number: 1-888-486-4722

Nelnet Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern

Nelnet Website: Nelnet.com

Nelnet Email: Help@Nelnet.net or send an email with this Nelnet online email form

Nelnet Social Media: Nelnet Facebook and Nelnet Twitter

Nelnet Fax Number: 1-877-402-5816

Nelnet Customer Login: https://www.nelnet.com/account/login

Nelnet Upload Documents: You can upload documents to your Nelnet online account.

Where to Send Payments To Nelnet: You should send your payment to Nelnet based on your account number.

You can find your account number on your account statement. Account numbers are preceded by “E,” “D,” or “J”:

Payments for accounts beginning with “E” to:

U.S. Department of Education
P.O. Box 2837
Portland, OR 97208-2837

Payments for accounts beginning with “D” to:

Nelnet
P.O. Box 2970
Omaha, NE 68103-2970

Payments for accounts beginning with “J” to:

Nelnet
P.O. Box 2877
Omaha, NE 68103-2877

Documents related to deferment, forbearance, repayment plans, or enrollment status changes:

Nelnet
Attn: Enrollment Processing
P.O. Box 82565
Lincoln, NE 68501-2565

Documents related to loan discharge or forgiveness claims:

Nelnet
Attn: Claims
P.O. Box: 82505
Lincoln, NE 68501-2505

Documents related to bankruptcy claims:

Nelnet
Attn: Claims
P.O. Box: 82505
Lincoln, NE 68501-2505

Nelnet Mailing Address For General Correspondence:

Nelnet
P.O. Box 82561
Lincoln, NE 68501-2561
Fax: 877.402.5816

California Residents:
P.O. Box 82578
Lincoln, NE 68501-2578
WrittenRequest@nelnet.net

Let's mentor your money

Get the latest personal finance advice delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter Subscription