How to Fill Out and Submit the Student Loan Disability Discharge Application

The student loan disability discharge application is the federal form that wipes out your obligation to repay Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans, and can release a TEACH Grant service obligation, when a qualifying disability prevents you from working. You qualify through one of three paths: a Department of Veterans Affairs determination, a Social Security Administration finding, or a licensed medical professional’s certification on the form itself. Which path you pick decides which sections you fill in and what you attach. The form is submitted through StudentAid.gov, by mail, or by fax.

Check First Whether You Need to Apply at All

The Department of Education runs regular data matches with the VA and SSA to identify borrowers who already qualify. If you’re flagged, you’ll get a letter saying your loans will be discharged automatically unless you opt out within 60 days.¹

The match doesn’t catch everyone, especially if your contact information at the Department is out of date. If you have a qualifying VA or SSA determination and haven’t heard anything, go ahead and apply on your own.

Pick Your Qualification Path

Each path uses different evidence, and your answer drives which sections of the form you complete.

VA disability determination. You qualify if the VA has rated you 100% service-connected, or has rated you totally disabled based on individual unemployability. Attach your VA determination letter.²
SSA finding. You qualify if you receive SSDI or SSI and your next scheduled disability review is five to seven years from your most recent determination. Attach your SSA notice of award or a Benefits Planning Query showing the review schedule.³
Medical professional certification. A licensed provider certifies on the form that you cannot perform substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental impairment that is expected to result in death, has lasted at least 60 continuous months, or is expected to last at least 60 continuous months.²

Filling Out the Form

Download the application from StudentAid.gov/disabilitydischarge.⁴

Section 3, Applicant Information

Enter your Social Security number, date of birth, legal name, mailing address, phone numbers, and email. These need to match what the Department already has for your loans. If anything has changed since you last dealt with your loan servicer, check the box indicating updated information. A different name or address on the form than in the records slows things down.

Section 4, Qualification Path

The form asks whether you qualify under the VA route, the SSA route, or a medical professional’s certification. That answer decides what comes next. VA and SSA applicants attach the determination letter or notice of award and skip the medical certification. Medical-certification applicants complete Section 5 themselves and have the provider fill out Section 6.

Section 5, Borrower Statement

If you’re going the medical route, describe your condition and when it started. Be specific. “Back injury” is less useful than “degenerative disc disease diagnosed in 2019 affecting lumbar spine, preventing standing or sitting for more than 20 minutes.” The more concrete your description, the easier it is for the reviewer to line it up with the medical certification in the next section.

Who Can Sign the Medical Certification

Federal regulations limit who may complete the medical section. The authorized certifiers are:

A doctor of medicine (MD) or doctor of osteopathy (DO) licensed to practice in any state
A nurse practitioner licensed by a state
A physician assistant licensed by a state
A certified psychologist at the independent practice level licensed to practice in the United States⁵

The certifying provider must state that you cannot perform any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental impairment that meets one of the three duration or severity standards (death, 60 continuous months past, or 60 continuous months expected). A common reason applications stall is that the provider writes something vague like “patient is disabled” without tying the impairment to the regulatory language. Clinical findings, diagnosis codes, and a clear statement about why the condition meets the duration requirement move an application through. Make sure the provider’s license number, contact information, and signature are legible. On paper submissions the signature must be original; a photocopied signature can get the application returned.

How to Submit

Since the March 2025 servicing transition, applications go through the Department of Education rather than a separate servicer.⁶ The fastest route is to log in at StudentAid.gov and upload the completed form and attachments through the My Activity page or the Document Upload tool.²

To mail a paper application, send it with all supporting documentation to:

U.S. Department of Education – TPD Servicing
P.O. Box 300010
Greenville, TX 75403⁴

You can also fax it to 540-212-2415. Whichever route you take, keep copies of everything, and if you mail, use a method with tracking.

After You Submit

You’ll get a confirmation that the file is in the review queue, and you can check status by logging into StudentAid.gov. VA- and SSA-based applications generally move faster because another federal agency has already made the disability finding. If the reviewer needs more documentation, you’ll receive a notice describing what’s missing; respond quickly, because incomplete files sit. When the review finishes, you’ll get a formal approval or denial. If approved, the discharged loans go to a zero balance and you’re no longer responsible for any remaining amount.

What Applies After Discharge

There is no longer any income-monitoring period after discharge. Going back to work or earning above the substantial gainful activity threshold will not, by itself, bring the debt back.⁷

One action does bring your loans back: taking out a new federal student loan or receiving a new TEACH Grant within three years of the discharge date. That includes Direct Loans and Parent PLUS Loans. If you do, the Department reinstates the discharged loans to their pre-application status, though no interest accrues for the gap between discharge and reinstatement. You get written notice, and the first payment is due no sooner than 90 days after that notice.⁵

Attending school itself doesn’t trigger reinstatement. Private student loans and a Direct Consolidation Loan that doesn’t include previously discharged loans are also permitted. Veterans whose discharge was based on a VA determination are exempt from the three-year restriction entirely; the rule applies only to SSA-path and medical-certification borrowers.⁸

On taxes, debt discharged through the TPD program is excluded from federal gross income under 26 U.S.C. § 108(f)(5), and the exclusion has no current expiration.⁹ You must include your Social Security number on your return for the discharge year, or the exclusion doesn’t apply. States handle this differently; check with your state tax agency if you’re not sure how it treats the discharge.

1
Federal Student Aid Partners. Automatic Total and Permanent Disability Discharge through Social Security Administration Data Match
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Federal Student Aid. Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
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Federal Student Aid. How To Qualify and Apply for Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge
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Federal Student Aid. Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Application
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eCFR. 34 CFR 685.213 – Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
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Federal Student Aid Partners. TPD Discharge Information: TPD Servicing Transition Planned for March 2025
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Administration for Community Living. Total and Permanent Disability Discharge: Helping More Older Borrowers Become Student Loan Debt Free
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VCU National Training and Data Center. Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge of Student Loans
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 108 – Income From Discharge of Indebtedness