Collections Temporarily Delayed
On January 16, 2026, the Department of Education announced that it was temporarily delaying collection of defaulted student loans, but we don’t know how long the pause will last. If your loans are in default when the delay ends, you could face serious consequences, including losing your tax refunds, a portion of your wages, and even some of your Social Security benefits. The government can take these steps without going to court, and there is no statute of limitations to collect this debt.
Take steps now to make sure your loans aren’t in default! If you are in default, act quickly to get out of default and avoid collections.
If you stop making payments on your federal student loans, your loans can go into default. When that happens, the government has powerful tools to collect the debt.
If your loans are in default, the government may be able to:
- garnish your wages,
- seize your federal tax refunds, or
- take a portion of your Social Security benefits to collect on your student loan debt.
While your loans are in default, you also cannot get more federal student aid. You will also not be eligible for many federal loan programs, such as FHA or VA home loans or Small Business Administration loans.
If you are in default, don’t give up. You likely still have options to get out of default or lower the amount being collected — whether you just went into default, have been in default for years, or have already faced collections.
How many missed payments before my loans go into default?
For most federal student loans, if you miss nine months of payments in a row (270 days), your loans will be in default. If you start to fall behind on payments, don’t wait—take steps quickly to avoid going into default.
To avoid default, contact your loan servicer to see if you are eligible for:
You can also ask your servicer to change your payment due date if that would make it easier to pay your loans each month.
Can I get my loans out of default?
YES! Most people have options to get their loans out of default.
You can get your loans out of default by:
- Rehabilitating your defaulted loans by signing up for a loan rehabilitation agreement with your servicer, where you agree to make 9 monthly full, on-time, affordable payments;
- Consolidating your defaulted loans into a new Direct Consolidation Loan;
- Getting your loans discharged or canceled through one of the student loan cancellation and discharge programs.
For more information, visit our page on how to remove your loans from default.
What happens when my loan enters default?
When your federal student loan goes into default, it is moved from your regular loan servicer to a servicer that handles only defaulted loans. For most borrowers, this is the Default Resolution Group (DRG). The DRG works with loans that are held (owned) by the federal government. If you have older FFEL loans that are held (owned) by a private lender or a state agency — not the federal government — your loan may be sent to a different specialized servicer or to a Private Collection Agency (PCA).
Even though your loan is considered in default after 270 days without a payment, it can take up to 360 days before it is moved from your regular servicer to the Default Resolution Group (DRG). Before the transfer happens, you may receive a “last chance” notice by email or mail. This notice may tell you to act before your loan is officially transferred to the default servicer. Do not ignore this notice if you get it. Contact your servicer right away to ask about your options. You may be able to avoid default by requesting a forbearance or applying for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.
If your loan hasn’t been transferred to the default servicer, you still have a brief window to avoid the collection. Act fast and call your loan servicer to request a retroactive forbearance or apply for an income-driven repayment plan.
Will I get any notice when my loans go into default?
Once your loans are moved to the default loan servicer, you must be sent a notice telling you your loans are in default and giving you options to get out of default before collections start. The notice will outline the options you must take to avoid collections. You must respond to that notice within 65 days. If you fail to take action or respond, the government may move forward to collect your debt using its collection powers.
This may be the only notice you receive before the government takes your tax refund. However, before the government takes your wages or a portion of your Social Security check or other federal benefits, it will send you another notice and give you another opportunity to act to avoid collections.
See our page on what to do if you receive a notice that your loans are in default.
See our different pages on what to do to stop the government from garnishing your wages, seizing a portion of your social security check or federal benefits, or taking your tax refunds.
In some cases, the government will sue borrowers who default on their federal student loans. The goal is to get a court order that allows it to collect the debt. But this does not happen often because the government can collect through tax refund seizure, wage garnishment, or benefit offsets. If you have recently been sued over a student loan, it is more likely that you were sued for a private student loan debt, not a federal debt. But you should speak with an attorney to be sure and to understand your options.
