Federal student loan servicers: What you need to know

Navigating your student loan debt can be confusing. You may even have multiple student loans over the course of your college career — possibly with different loan servicing companies. And once you've graduated, you're going to have to start repayment.

For federal student loans, all of your loan transactions — from maintaining your address to making payments to requesting loan consolidation — happen through your federal student loan servicing company. These companies, such as Edfinancial, MOHELA and Nelnet, are assigned by the U.S. Department of Education to service your student loan. If you are looking for debt relief, your loan servicer is also your main contact when you wish to defer your student loans for a period of time.

Here's what else you need to know about federal student loan servicing:

How federal student loan servicing works

Once you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and receive your student loan, it will be serviced by another entity.

This federal student loan servicer will do all the "work." This includes tracking and processing your student loan payments, offering hardship options, and simply maintaining your contact information. This is the company you should contact if you need assistance with your loans or have any questions.

Usually, you will find out about your servicer when you are approved for the loan. You can also access the National Student Loan Data System for more information.

Student loan servicing companies

The Department of Education maintains a list of several federal student loan servicing companies, including:

• Edfinancial
• MOHELA
• Aidvantage
• Nelnet
• ECSI
• Default Resolution Group

If you’re in default, your loan may no longer remain with your loan servicer. Instead, it will be sent to a collection agency that you would need to contact.

Can you change your federal student loan servicing company?

For the most part, you cannot change your federal student loan servicing company in order to get better terms or service (e.g., you want to switch to an income-driven repayment plan). However, under certain circumstances — such as if you consolidate your student debt — your loans may shift to a different loan servicing company.

Another example of when your loan servicing company may change is if you apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). In this case, your loan will be assigned to MOHELA, since it handles all PSLF applications. Or, if you apply for Disability Discharge, your loan will be transferred to Nelnet. This loan servicing company processes all disability discharge applications. Refinancing your student loans could also change you to a new servicer, as all your existing loans are consolidated into one.^†

Will I need help outside of my loan servicer?

Your federal student loan servicing company should be your main point of contact for assistance. You should always try to resolve any concerns directly with this company. A manager, or the company's internal ombudsman (the person responsible for investigating complaints on behalf of the loan holder) are good places to start.

The Department of Education also has an ombudsman to help borrowers who need additional help and can’t get through to their loan servicer’s ombudsman.

Managing federal student loan repayment

Paying off your student loans can be a long process. If you’re having trouble meeting your monthly payments and you don’t qualify for forgiveness or deferment through your loan servicer, you might consider student loan refinancing with a different lender.^†

Student loan refinancing consolidates all your loans into one, with a potentially lower monthly payment or interest rate. However, refinancing federal student loans with a private student loan will result in the loss of federal student loan benefits, such as income-based repayment and loan forgiveness. Make sure to understand all your refinancing options before you proceed.

Citizens has flexible refinance options that could fit your situation. If you have questions, or would like more information about paying for college, check out our student loan refinance options.