How to Fill Out and Submit an Aidvantage Deferment Form

To pause your federal student loan payments with Aidvantage, you complete the Federal Student Aid deferment request form that matches your situation, attach the required proof, and send the packet to Aidvantage by online upload, mail, or fax. There is no single Aidvantage deferment form. Federal Student Aid publishes a separate form for each deferment category, and picking the right one is the first step.¹

Pick the Form That Matches Your Situation

All deferment forms live in the Federal Student Aid forms library at studentaid.gov/forms-library/, in English and, for most, Spanish.¹ Download the one that fits your circumstances before anything else. Using the wrong form is one of the fastest ways to get your request kicked back.

The common categories:

Economic Hardship, for borrowers receiving public assistance, working full-time with income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guideline for their family size, or serving in the Peace Corps.²
Unemployment, for borrowers looking for full-time work but unable to find it.
In-School, for borrowers enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school.³
Military Service and Post-Active Duty, for active duty during a war, military operation, or national emergency, plus a 13-month period afterward.
Cancer Treatment, covering the treatment period plus six months after it ends.⁴
Graduate Fellowship, for borrowers with an undergraduate degree engaged in full-time graduate fellowship study.
Rehabilitation Training, for borrowers in an approved program for individuals with disabilities.
Parent PLUS Borrower, while the student is enrolled at least half-time and for six months after.

Filling Out the Form

Every deferment form follows the same three-section layout, and the whole thing takes about 15 minutes once your documents are in front of you.

Section 1, Borrower Information. Enter your full name, Social Security Number, date of birth, permanent address, phone number, and email. Add your Aidvantage account number even if the form does not explicitly ask for it; you can find it on your monthly billing statement or on your dashboard after logging in at aidvantage.studentaid.gov.⁵ Including it keeps loose paperwork from getting separated during processing.

Section 2, Deferment Details. Check the box that describes your qualifying condition and fill in the start and end dates of the period you are requesting. Some forms ask you to certify specific actions, such as job-search attempts on the unemployment form. Read the checkboxes carefully. The box you check controls what documentation you need to attach.

Section 3, Certification and Signature. Sign and date the form. Your signature confirms the information is true and that you understand how interest will be handled. Several forms include a section a third party must complete: a school registrar for in-school deferment, a physician for cancer treatment, a commanding officer for military deferment. A form submitted with an empty certifier section will be returned.

Supporting Documents to Attach

The form by itself is not enough. Match your proof to the deferment type:

Economic hardship: recent pay stubs showing monthly income, a benefits verification letter for public assistance, or a copy of your most recent federal tax return.²
Unemployment: proof of eligibility for unemployment insurance, documentation of registration with an employment agency, or a record of job-search contacts.
In-school: your registrar completes the certification section of the form. If your school reports enrollment electronically through the National Student Loan Data System, a separate document may not be needed. Confirm with Aidvantage.
Military service: a copy of your military orders or a letter from a commanding officer with dates of service.
Cancer treatment: your physician completes the certification section, confirming treatment dates and expected duration.⁴

Photocopy everything before you send it. If Aidvantage later says a document never arrived, you want a copy on hand.

How to Submit to Aidvantage

Three options for getting the packet to Aidvantage:

Online upload. Log in at aidvantage.studentaid.gov, go to the documents or upload section of your dashboard, and attach scanned copies in PDF or JPEG. This is the fastest route and usually returns a confirmation receipt.
Mail. Send to Aidvantage – Federal Student Aid Loan Servicing, P.O. Box 300001, Greenville, TX 75403-3001. Aidvantage also accepts mail at P.O. Box 9635, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18773-9635.⁶
Fax to 866-266-0178.⁶

Write your account number on every page, including supporting documents. If you mail the packet, use a method with tracking so you can prove it was delivered. Questions during the process go to Aidvantage at 800-722-1300; TDD/TTY users dial 711.⁶

Keep Paying Until Approval Lands

Do not stop making payments the moment your form goes in the mail. Continue paying on your scheduled due dates until Aidvantage sends written notification that the deferment has been approved and applied to your account. If you stop early and the request is denied or delayed, those missed payments count as delinquent and can push you toward default. Approvals arrive by email or postal mail depending on your communication preferences.

If the request is denied, the notice will explain why. The usual reasons are missing signatures, an incomplete third-party certification, and insufficient income documentation. You can fix the issue and resubmit without penalty.

How Interest Behaves While You Are Deferred

Whether interest builds during your deferment depends on your loan type. On Direct Subsidized Loans, the government covers interest during deferment and your balance stays flat.⁷ On Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Direct PLUS Loans, interest keeps accruing the entire time. When the deferment ends, that unpaid interest capitalizes: it is added to your principal, and you begin paying interest on the larger balance.⁸

The hit can be real on large balances. A borrower with $40,000 in unsubsidized loans at 5 percent who defers for a full year will see roughly $2,000 added to principal, and that new principal then generates its own interest for the rest of the loan. Making interest-only payments during the pause prevents capitalization.⁸

If You Are Working Toward Forgiveness

One thing to know before you file: months in deferment generally do not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment forgiveness, because you are not making payments during that time. If you are pursuing forgiveness, an income-driven repayment plan with a $0 monthly payment often works better than a deferment; a $0 IDR payment still counts as a qualifying payment.⁹

1
Federal Student Aid. Forms Library
2
eCFR. 34 CFR 685.204 – Deferment
3
Federal Student Aid. What Is Half-Time Enrollment?
4
Federal Student Aid. Cancer Treatment Deferment Request
5
Aidvantage. Aidvantage
6
Aidvantage. Aidvantage – Contact Us
7
Federal Student Aid. Student Loan Deferment
8
Federal Student Aid. Interest Capitalization
9
Federal Student Aid. Get Temporary Relief – Deferment and Forbearance