If you had student loan debt before you were incarcerated, you may be able to get some relief.
Common Concerns
Help with Loan Payments During Incarceration
Unfortunately, being incarcerated does not automatically pause your student loan bills. However, you may be eligible for other relief to help you manage your student loans and avoid default while incarcerated, such as income-driven repayment, deferment, or forbearance. You may also be eligible for a loan cancellation or forgiveness program.
If you can’t afford to pay your student loans while you are incarcerated, you can ask your loan servicer about your options. On an income-driven repayment plan, your monthly payment could be as low as $0 per month. Enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan also allows you to earn credit toward having your loan balance canceled after a certain number of years of payments and may reduce the amount of interest you are charged, so that the debt doesn’t continue to grow and burden you in the future.
Looking for money for college during incarceration or after your release? See our page discussing how to get financial aid.
Help with Default & Collections of Student Loans
Are your loans in default?
Get a Fresh Start!
If you have student loans in default, you may be able to get a Fresh Start from the Department of Education. Under the Fresh Start initiative, borrowers with eligible loans will be put back into good standing and will be able to use a streamlined process to sign up for income-driven repayment plans, forbearance, or deferment. Through this program, you may also be able to renew your eligibility for Pell Grants. The Fresh Start program is time-limited. Don’t wait, ask for a Fresh Start today online, by phone, or by mail.
See this new fact sheet from the Department of Education for more information on getting your loans out of default using Fresh Start while you are incarcerated.
If your federal student loans are in default while you are incarcerated, you may want to get your loans out of default to restore your eligibility for Pell Grants or to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan. See our page on getting out of default for more information on taking those steps.
Another option you have is to see if you are eligible for special relief to stop collection of your loans based on how long you will be incarcerated. Not many people know about these programs, but if you are incarcerated, you may be able to get relief from collections on your federal student loans. You will not get relief automatically, you need to apply.
Relief is Based on How Long You Will Be Incarcerated
If you will be incarcerated for 10 years or more, you can ask the government to write off your defaulted federal student loans. This may protect you from having money taken from your wages, social security benefits, or tax refunds after you are released. The debt can be reinstated, however, if you decide to make repayment arrangements in the future.
If you will be incarcerated for more than 9 months but less than 10 years, you can ask the government to stop collections until your earliest possible release date.
If you will be incarcerated for 9 months or less, you can ask the government to pause collections while you are incarcerated. The government will follow up to restart collections after your anticipated parole or earliest release date.
How Do I Ask the Government to Write Off My Loans or Stop Collections While I’m Incarcerated?
You need to send a letter to the Department of Education with proof of how long you are expected to be incarcerated in order to ask for a write-off or to stop collections.
The letter must be completed on the penal institution’s letterhead, must be signed by a prison official, and must include:
- your name,
- your social security number,
- your date of birth,
- your inmate number,
- your release date or date of eligibility for parole (whichever is sooner), and
- the name, title, and phone number of the prison official who signs the letter.
Send the letter to the Department of Education at this address:
US Department of Education
PO Box 5609
Greenville, TX 75403-5609
Even if your application is approved, your loans are not canceled and will still remain in default. Write-offs are not the same as loan cancellation. When the government writes off a debt, it means that they will stop trying to collect because they don’t think collection is possible. This can help protect you and your family from future collection by the government. The debt is still considered due though.
NOTE: Because there is little public information about the government’s servicing and collection practices for incarcerated borrowers, these policies may change without notice.
