What Employers Qualify for PSLF Loan Forgiveness?

Employers that qualify for PSLF loan forgiveness fall into three groups: U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government organizations; tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofits; and other nonprofits whose work is dedicated to specific public services. Full-time AmeriCorps and Peace Corps service also counts. Your job title and duties do not decide eligibility — the type of organization that signs your paycheck does.¹

Government Organizations at Any Level

Any U.S.-based federal, state, local, or tribal government organization qualifies. That covers every federal agency, state departments, county and city offices, public school districts, state colleges and universities, and tribal government entities.² If a government body issues your W-2, you almost certainly work for a qualifying employer.

Military service counts as well. The regulation includes the U.S. Armed Forces and the National Guard, but it covers active duty and full-time National Guard duty rather than active duty for training or attendance at a service school.²

One catch matters here: you must be employed directly by the government entity. Working for a private company that holds a contract with a government agency does not count, even if you spend your days inside a government building. A narrow exception applies to contracted workers in positions that state law prohibits the qualifying employer from filling with a direct employee; those workers can still qualify.³

501(c)(3) Nonprofits

Any organization that holds tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is a qualifying employer, whatever its mission.⁴ That sweeps in charitable organizations, private nonprofit hospitals, private nonprofit universities, faith-based organizations, and many research institutions. If the organization has a 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS, your employment there counts.

Other Nonprofits Providing Qualifying Public Services

Nonprofits with a different tax-exempt designation, such as 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(6), can still qualify if a majority of their full-time employees work in at least one of these areas:²

Emergency management
Civilian service to military personnel
Military service
Public safety
Law enforcement
Public interest law services
Early childhood education
Public service for individuals with disabilities or the elderly
Public health
Public education
Public library services
School library or other school-based services

The employer has to attest on the PSLF form that it meets this standard.

AmeriCorps and Peace Corps

Full-time AmeriCorps and Peace Corps volunteers are treated as having qualifying employment.² Because volunteer stipends are modest, enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan during your service often produces a $0 monthly payment, and those $0 payments still count toward the 120 qualifying payments as long as the other requirements are met.

If you receive a deferment or forbearance during service instead, you can use a Peace Corps transition payment or an AmeriCorps Segal Education Award to make a lump-sum payment on your Direct Loans afterward. That lump sum can earn credit for up to 12 qualifying payments, calculated by dividing the lump sum by your scheduled monthly payment amount. You can use this option once for Peace Corps service and once for AmeriCorps service.⁵

Employers That Do Not Qualify

For-profit businesses do not qualify, including for-profit government contractors. Two categories of otherwise tax-exempt nonprofits are explicitly excluded as well: labor unions and partisan political organizations.¹ A nonprofit that lacks 501(c)(3) status and does not devote a majority of its full-time workforce to one of the listed public service areas also falls outside the program.

How to Confirm Your Employer

The fastest check is the PSLF Employer Search Tool on StudentAid.gov. You enter your employer’s Employer Identification Number, the nine-digit number the IRS assigns to every business and tax-exempt entity, along with your employment dates, and the tool tells you whether the employer is already in the database.⁶ The EIN appears in Box b of your W-2.⁷

Many government agencies share EINs, particularly state and local offices and federal agencies, so you may need to filter by keyword or scroll through several entries to find the right one.⁶ If your employer does not appear, that alone does not mean it is ineligible. You can submit a PSLF form and the Department of Education will review the organization’s status manually.

What Else Has to Line Up

A qualifying employer alone is not enough. Three other conditions have to be met for your months of service to translate into credit toward forgiveness.

Full-Time Work

Full-time means averaging at least 30 hours per week during the period being certified.³ If you work part-time at two or more qualifying employers, you can combine the hours to reach 30.¹ Teachers and professors on a contract of at least eight months within a 12-month period meet the standard as long as they average 30 hours during the contractual period. For non-tenure-track college and university instructors, each credit or contact hour taught per week is multiplied by 3.35 to determine whether the threshold is met. Paid vacation, paid leave, and time under the Family and Medical Leave Act all count toward your hours.

Loan Type

Only federal Direct Loans are eligible. Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Perkins Loans do not qualify on their own, but you can consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan to become eligible going forward.⁸ If you consolidate on or after September 1, 2024, qualifying payments previously made on Direct Loans included in that consolidation will be credited to the new consolidation loan.⁹ Prior payments made on FFEL or Perkins Loans before consolidation generally do not carry over.

Repayment Plan

Payments count only if you are on an income-driven repayment plan or the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan.⁹ Income-driven plans are the practical choice, since 120 payments on the 10-year standard plan would pay the loan off in full and leave nothing to forgive. The SAVE Plan is currently unavailable due to court-ordered injunctions, and borrowers who were enrolled have been placed in forbearance; as of late 2025, the Department of Education proposed a settlement that would end the SAVE Plan entirely and move affected borrowers into other available repayment plans.¹⁰ If you are affected, switching to another income-driven plan will let your payments start counting again.

An Employer Rule Change Coming in July 2026

A final rule from the Department of Education, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026, updates the definition of qualifying employer to exclude organizations that engage in unlawful activities such that they have a “substantial illegal purpose.”¹¹ For the vast majority of borrowers working at government agencies, hospitals, schools, and mainstream nonprofits, the change will have no practical effect. If you have questions about whether your employer could be affected, the PSLF Help Tool and the employer search database on StudentAid.gov are the best starting points.

1
Federal Student Aid. Tackling the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Form: Employer Tips
2
eCFR. 34 CFR 685.219 – Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
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eCFR. 34 CFR 685.219 – Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
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Federal Student Aid. What Is Qualifying Employment for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)?
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Federal Student Aid. I’m Thinking of Serving as a Peace Corps or AmeriCorps Volunteer
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Federal Student Aid. PSLF Employer Search Tool
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Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
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Federal Student Aid. 4 Beginner Tips for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Success
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Federal Student Aid. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
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Federal Student Aid. Court Actions – Federal Student Aid
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U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education Announces Final Rule on Public Service Loan Forgiveness to Protect American Taxpayers