To put your student loans in forbearance, identify whether you qualify for mandatory forbearance or need to request general forbearance, download the matching request form from StudentAid.gov or your servicer, submit it with the required documentation, and keep making your regular payments until you receive written approval with specific start and end dates. Forbearance can pause your federal student loan payments for up to 12 months at a time, but interest accrues on every loan type while you’re paused, so it’s worth understanding the cost before you apply.
Know Which Type You’re Requesting
Federal forbearance splits into two categories, and the difference decides whether your servicer can turn you down.
General forbearance is discretionary. You ask, and the servicer decides. You can request it for financial hardship, medical expenses, or a change in employment, and it covers Direct Loans, FFEL Program loans, and Perkins Loans. Because it’s discretionary, the servicer can deny it even when you’re genuinely struggling.1U.S. Department of Education. Student Loan Debt Burden Mandatory Forbearance Request
Mandatory forbearance removes that discretion. If you meet the criteria and submit the right documentation, your servicer is legally required to approve the request.1U.S. Department of Education. Student Loan Debt Burden Mandatory Forbearance Request Check the mandatory categories first, because if any of them fits, the process is far more predictable:
- Student loan debt burden. Your total monthly payments on all federal Title IV loans equal or exceed 20% of your monthly gross income. You can define monthly income as either your gross taxable income from all sources or one-twelfth of the adjusted gross income on your most recent tax return, whichever helps you qualify. This forbearance carries a 36-month lifetime cap, granted in increments of up to 12 months.2Federal Student Aid. Mandatory Forbearance Request – Student Loan Debt Burden
- Medical or dental internship or residency. You’ve been accepted into a qualifying program, don’t qualify for a deferment, and can document either that the program leads to a degree or certificate or that the training is required before you can practice. If the second applies, you need a statement from the state licensing agency confirming the requirement.3Federal Student Aid. Service-Based Mandatory Forbearance Request – Medical or Dental Internship/Residency
- National service. You’re serving in an AmeriCorps or similar national service position and receiving a national service education award.4eCFR. 34 CFR 685.205 – Forbearance
- Qualifying teaching service. You’re performing the type of teaching that would qualify you for teacher loan forgiveness. Annual documentation of your service dates and a certification of intent are required.4eCFR. 34 CFR 685.205 – Forbearance
- Department of Defense Student Loan Repayment Program. You’re participating in the DoD repayment program.1U.S. Department of Education. Student Loan Debt Burden Mandatory Forbearance Request
- National Guard activation. You’re on active state duty for more than 30 consecutive days and don’t qualify for a military service deferment.5eCFR. 34 CFR 682.211 – Forbearance
If none of these fits, you’re asking for general forbearance and making the case for financial hardship yourself.
The Steps to Apply
The process itself is straightforward. Accuracy matters more than speed.
1. Download the correct form. The official forms are on StudentAid.gov and on your servicer’s site. Use the General Forbearance Request form or the Mandatory Forbearance Request form that matches your situation.6Federal Student Aid. Loan Forbearance
2. Gather documentation. For general forbearance, you’ll need your Social Security number, loan account numbers, and evidence of your financial situation. For the debt burden category, attach documentation of both income (pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, or dividend statements) and your monthly loan payments (billing statements or repayment schedules).2Federal Student Aid. Mandatory Forbearance Request – Student Loan Debt Burden Medical residency requires program acceptance letters and, where applicable, the state licensing statement. National Guard members need their activation orders.
3. Fill out every field, including the start and end dates you’re requesting. A single forbearance period can last up to 12 months. Blanks and inconsistencies are the most common reasons requests come back.
4. Submit to your servicer. Most servicers accept forms through their online portal, which gives you an instant confirmation. If you mail the form, use certified mail so you have proof of delivery. Servicers sometimes maintain different addresses for different form types, so verify the address on your billing statement.
5. Save your confirmation. Keep the confirmation number or tracking receipt. You’ll need it if questions arise about when your request was received.
6. Keep making payments until you have written approval. This is the step people get wrong. Your forbearance starts when your servicer approves it, not when you submit the form. If you stop paying before you receive written approval with specific start and end dates, those missed payments can be reported as delinquent to credit bureaus.
If you want to extend a forbearance beyond the initial period, the renewal isn’t automatic. Submit a new request with fresh documentation before the current period ends so you don’t create a gap. Debt burden forbearance caps at 36 months lifetime. General forbearance on Perkins Loans caps at three years cumulative. For general forbearance on Direct and FFEL Loans, your servicer may set its own total-time limit.7Federal Student Aid. General Forbearance Request
What Forbearance Actually Costs
Interest accrues on all types of federal student loans during forbearance, including subsidized loans. That makes forbearance fundamentally different from deferment, where the government covers interest on Direct Subsidized Loans.8Federal Student Aid. What Is the Difference Between Loan Deferment and Loan Forbearance
The numbers add up quickly. A $30,000 loan at the current undergraduate rate of 6.39% accrues roughly $5.25 per day in interest.9Federal Student Aid Partners. Interest Rates for Direct Loans First Disbursed Between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 Over a 12-month forbearance, that’s about $1,917 in interest you didn’t owe before. A graduate borrower with $60,000 at 7.94% accrues about $13.05 a day, or roughly $4,763 over a year.
What happens to that accrued interest when forbearance ends depends on who holds the loan. For FFEL Program loans not managed by the Department of Education, accrued interest capitalizes after forbearance, meaning it gets added to your principal balance and future interest compounds on the higher amount.10Federal Student Aid. Interest Rates and Fees for Federal Student Loans For Direct Loans and FFEL loans managed by the Department of Education, the Department has limited capitalization to a short list of triggers, and forbearance is not on that list.11Nelnet Federal Student Aid. Interest Capitalization The interest still accrues and still has to be repaid, but it doesn’t automatically fold into your principal.
You can make interest-only payments during forbearance to keep the balance from growing.
Before You Apply, Check Two Things
Forgiveness Progress
If you’re working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment forgiveness, forbearance is almost always the wrong move. Months in general or mandatory forbearance typically do not count toward the 120 qualifying payments for PSLF or the 20 to 25-year timeline for IDR forgiveness. Every month in forbearance is a month that doesn’t bring you closer to forgiveness.
Income-Driven Repayment
If your income has dropped, an IDR plan may solve the same cash-flow problem without the hidden costs. When your income is low enough, your monthly payment under an IDR plan could be $0, and those $0 payment months count toward forgiveness.12Federal Student Aid. Top FAQs About Income-Driven Repayment Plans You also can’t become delinquent on a $0 payment. Forbearance stops your payments but pauses your progress toward forgiveness, keeps interest running on every loan type, and has a hard time limit. IDR adjusts your payments to what you can afford, keeps the forgiveness clock ticking, and can last as long as you need it.
The trade-off is processing time. Enrolling in an IDR plan takes longer than getting a forbearance approved, and your servicer may place you into a short administrative forbearance while processing your IDR application.13Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Trying to Enroll in an Income-Driven Repayment Plan? Avoid ApplicationAbyss With Our Student Loan Tips and Resources Forbearance still makes sense when you need a fast, short-term pause and aren’t relying on a forgiveness program.
Private Student Loans Work Differently
Everything above applies to federal student loans. If you have private student loans, forbearance may be available, but the rules are entirely set by your lender. There’s no mandatory forbearance category for private loans, and duration limits, interest treatment, and eligibility all depend on your loan contract.14Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Is Forbearance or Deferment Available for Private Student Loans Contact your servicer as early as possible and continue payments until you receive written confirmation that forbearance has been granted.
If Your Request Is Denied
A denial on a general forbearance request is legally permissible because the servicer has discretion. A denial on a mandatory forbearance request when you’ve submitted proper documentation is a different story and worth pushing back on.
Call your servicer first and ask specifically why the request was denied. Often the problem is a missing document or an incomplete form rather than a genuine eligibility issue. Ask what’s needed and resubmit with the corrected materials.
If that doesn’t resolve it, contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. The ombudsman handles disputes between borrowers and servicers, but expects you to try resolving the issue with your servicer first. You can file an assistance request online at StudentAid.gov or call 800-433-3243.15Federal Student Aid Partners. Office of the Ombudsman FSA Come prepared to identify the problem, describe the steps you’ve already taken, and provide documentation supporting your eligibility.