How to Fill Out and Submit the Liberty University Loan Change Form

The Liberty University Loan Change Form lets you increase, decrease, or cancel a student loan after your financial aid package has been set. Liberty publishes three versions of the form (one for Federal Direct Student Loans, one for Federal PLUS Loans, and one for private loans), and the Financial Aid Office asks that you complete one only when the office specifically requests it, so contact them first if you’re not sure a change is warranted.¹

Pick the Right Version of the Form

Liberty offers three separate loan change forms, and submitting the wrong one will slow your request down.¹

The Federal Direct Student Loan Change Request Form covers Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized loans borrowed in your own name.
The Federal PLUS Loan Change Request Form covers Parent PLUS loans taken out on your behalf, and Grad PLUS loans disbursed before July 1, 2026.
The Private Student Loan Change Request Form covers any non-federal loan from a private lender that Liberty certified.

Each form handles a different loan program under different rules. If you need to adjust more than one loan type, submit a separate form for each.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather this information first so the form takes minutes rather than a return trip:

Your Liberty University ID number, which ties the request to your financial record.
The academic year and specific semester (Fall, Spring, or Summer) the change should apply to.
Your current awarded amounts, visible on your financial aid award letter in the student portal.
The exact dollar amount of the increase, decrease, or full cancellation. Rounding or estimating can push a request past your annual or aggregate borrowing cap and force the office to send it back.

Federal student loans also carry an origination fee that’s withheld from the disbursement. For Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans first disbursed between October 1, 2020 and October 1, 2026, the fee is 1.057%; for Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans over the same window, it’s 4.228%.² A $1,000 Unsubsidized increase disburses at roughly $989.43 after the fee. Borrow enough to cover the actual expense you have in mind.

Federal Borrowing Limits Your Increase Can’t Exceed

Any increase has to fit within the annual and lifetime caps set by federal law. The annual limits on combined Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized borrowing depend on your year in school and dependency status:³

First-year dependent undergraduates: $5,500 total, with a $3,500 Subsidized maximum.
Second-year dependent undergraduates: $6,500 total, with a $4,500 Subsidized maximum.
Third-year and beyond dependent undergraduates: $7,500 total, with a $5,500 Subsidized maximum.
First-year independent undergraduates: $9,500 total, with a $3,500 Subsidized maximum.
Second-year independent undergraduates: $10,500 total, with a $4,500 Subsidized maximum.
Third-year and beyond independent undergraduates: $12,500 total, with a $5,500 Subsidized maximum.
Graduate or professional students: $20,500 per year, Unsubsidized only.

Lifetime aggregate limits are $31,000 for dependent undergraduates (up to $23,000 Subsidized), $57,500 for independent undergraduates (up to $23,000 Subsidized), and $138,500 for graduate and professional students, which includes any undergraduate borrowing.³

New Rules for Graduate Borrowers After July 1, 2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed graduate and professional borrowing. If you’re a new borrower who has never received a Direct Unsubsidized Loan disbursement before July 1, 2026, the new aggregate limits are $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students, with a combined ceiling of $200,000. Grad PLUS Loans are no longer available to new borrowers as of that date.⁴ Existing borrowers may qualify for a transitional exception that keeps the older limits in place for up to three academic years or the remaining length of the program, whichever is shorter. Ask the Financial Aid Office which set of limits applies to you.

Where to Find the Form

Liberty retired its old ASIST student portal on November 16, 2025, replacing it with Banner 9 Self-Service (SSB9), which is built into the myLU portal.⁵ Older instructions that reference ASIST no longer apply. Two electronic paths lead to the form:

Your Student Checklist at checklist.liberty.edu handles most financial aid forms. If the Financial Aid Office has flagged a loan change for your account, it will appear there.¹
The SSB – Financial Aid section of SSB9, at student.ssb9.liberty.edu, hosts forms that don’t appear on the checklist. SSB9 is web-based and works on mobile browsers.⁶

If neither electronic option fits your situation, print the form, sign it, scan it, and email it to financialaid@liberty.edu.¹

Filling Out and Submitting the Form

The form asks you to select an action for each loan category: increase, decrease, or cancel. For an increase, enter the additional amount you want to borrow above the current award. For a decrease, enter the dollar amount to remove. A cancellation zeroes the loan for that term.

Each loan type is a separate line item, so you can increase an Unsubsidized loan while leaving the Subsidized loan alone on the same form. Enter exact figures rather than rounded ones. A request that goes over your remaining annual or aggregate limit will come back for correction.

Signatures and Counseling

First-time borrowers who haven’t yet received any Direct Loan disbursement have to complete entrance counseling before any funds can be released, even after the form is approved.⁷ You’ll also need a signed Master Promissory Note on file, which is generally valid for up to 10 years within the same loan program.

Dependent students need a parent to review and electronically sign most Financial Aid Office forms. Parents can sign in with their own Liberty account or create a Liberty Guest Account.¹ A missing parent signature is one of the most common reasons a form sits unprocessed, so make sure your parent knows a request is pending.

What Happens After You Submit

Watch for an on-screen confirmation and a receipt email, and save both. Those records establish the submission date if a timing dispute ever arises.

The Financial Aid Office reviews each request to confirm it fits within federal limits and your current award. Liberty does not publish a specific turnaround time, and processing tends to run longer at the start of Fall and Spring semesters when volume peaks. Once the change is approved, updated loan amounts appear on your financial aid award inside SSB9. Review those figures before your tuition payment deadline.

The 120-Day Return Window

If an increase turns out to be more than you need, return the surplus within 120 days of disbursement. Money returned inside that window is treated as a cancellation: the origination fee and any accrued interest on the returned portion are wiped out, and your principal drops by the full amount you send back. After 120 days, returned funds count as a regular payment and get applied to outstanding interest first, not principal. Acting quickly saves real money.

Contacting Liberty’s Financial Aid Office

For questions about which form applies, the status of a pending request, or whether an increase fits within your borrowing limits, reach the Financial Aid Office directly:⁸

Phone: (434) 582-2270, or toll-free at (888) 583-5704
Fax: (434) 582-2053
Email: financialaid@liberty.edu
In person: Student Service Center, Green Hall, Room 1896

1
Liberty University. Financial Aid Forms and Eligibility
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Federal Student Aid. Interest Rates and Fees for Federal Student Loans
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Federal Student Aid. Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
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Federal Student Aid. One Big Beautiful Bill Act – Important Definitions
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Liberty University. href=”https://www.liberty.edu/information-services/products/self-service-banner-9-ssb9/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Banner 9 Self Service (SSB9)
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Liberty University. Banner 9 Self Service (SSB9)
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Federal Student Aid. Direct Loan Counseling
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Liberty University. Contact Us – Student Financial Services