What is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program?

PSLF is a federal loan forgiveness program available to individuals with federal student loans who work for a government or not-for-profit organization. This program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you fulfill the criteria below. 

What is the eligibility criteria?

  1. You must be employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or qualifying not-for-profit organization;
  2. Work full-time for that agency or organization;
  3. Have Direct Loans under an income-driven repayment plan or a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan and
  4. You must make 120 qualifying monthly payments, which need not be consecutive. It will take at least ten years before you can qualify for forgiveness. 

To review eligibility for the PSLF program, you may visit the criteria outlined on the Office of Federal Student Aid website. 

Are the University of Iowa and University of Iowa Health Care eligible employers?

Yes, the university is a U.S.-based government organization at the state level and is a qualifying employer. 

Complete the Employment Certification Form (ECF):

The University Benefits Office can complete the employer portion of the PSLF Employment Certification Form (ECF). You can submit the PSLF form digitally through the PSLF Help Tool, SAVI, or manually using a paper form that can be forwarded to the Benefits Office by mail, fax, or email at benefits@uiowa.edu. 

Employment/Certification Periods

The PSLF form only allows one certification period per form. You must fill out separate forms for each employment period if you have both full-time and part-time employment. Combining full-time and part-time jobs on one PSLF form may lead to denial.

Only certify employment periods after October 1, 2007, as that is when the PSLF program began. 

Submit Your Form

  • Log in to the Federal Student Aid (FSA) website using your account username and password (FSA ID).
  • Go to the "Loan Forgiveness" drop-down menu and select "Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)."
  • Follow the instructions on the website to complete your application. Please use the employer information provided below to fill in your application when prompted:
    • Employer Identification Number (EIN): 426004813
    • Employer Name: University of Iowa
    • Employer Address: 1 West Prentiss Street, Iowa City, IA 52242
  • Digitally sign your form in the PSLF Help Tool, then request your employer’s electronic signature.
 

Note: You do not need to email the benefits office to notify them that you have submitted your form. Using the proper email address (benefits@uiowa.edu) in your application will send your request to the appropriate team member for processing. Sending additional emails may delay reviewing and processing your request.

  • Once the application is received by the Benefits Office, your employment records will be reviewed and verified. If there are errors or discrepancies in the application, you will be notified via email. 
  • Once the Benefits Office has digitally signed the application, your form will be electronically submitted to the PSLF servicer for processing.

If you prefer not to use the PSLF Help Tool, you can download and print a blank PDF of the form, complete all sections, sign it, and have your employer(s) sign it.

Note: Completing your PSLF form this way may add time to processing it.

You can also print out a pre-filled PSLF form generated by the PSLF Help Tool:

 

  1. Choose the manual signature option while you are using the tool.
  2. On the next page, select the View in My Activity button.
  3. From the My Activity page, download your form.
  4. Print your form.
  5. Sign your form.
  6. Have your employer(s) sign your form.
  7. Submit your form using one of the methods noted below.

 

If you choose to complete a downloaded PDF of the PSLF form, it must be submitted with acceptable signatures from both you and your employer.

 

 

 

 

Signature Examples and Types:

 

 

 

 

 

  • Hand drawn from signature pad, mouse, or finger

  • A scanned photo of a signature that was hand-drawn on paper

  • A wet signature was drawn in ink and sent to us in original format.

  • Types of signatures that will NOT work: Typed using a cursive font or any other font or Digital certificate-based signature. 

Once the form is complete and signed by the University Benefits Office, send it to the U.S. Department of Education. You may mail the form to this address:

U.S. Department of Education
P.O. Box 300010
Greenville, TX 75403

You may also fax your PSLF form to 540-212-2415.

What happens after the submission of your form?

If you complete the form electronically, the employer section of the ECF will be completed by the Benefits Office and submitted to the Department of Education. If you submit a paper form, it will be emailed back to you and you will submit to the Department of Education. The Benefits Office does not determine eligibility for the PSLF program and does not receive status updates after submission. 

PSLF Frequently Asked Questions

The University's Tax ID number is 42-6004813.

Send your form to benefits@uiowa.edu for employment certification.

An employee is considered full-time for the purposes of PSLF if they work an average of 30 hours per week during the period being certified. The calculation includes time spent on employer provided leave or leave granted under FMLA.

For a monthly payment to count as eligible for PSLF, the borrower must be a full-time employee with a qualifying employer in the month they make a qualifying payment. 

If you are a current employee of UI/UIHC, you can view your appointment history in Employee Self Service. After logging in, select the Time and Pay icon. Under the Compensation section, select Appointment & Salary History. 

A few reasons why your form may be denied include your employment dates or hours worked are incorrect. Feel free to email the Benefits Office if you are unsure of the denial reason.

You may work more than 40 hours per week in a salaried position. However, we are only able to verify that your position is budgeted for 40 hours. You do not receive additional credit for working more than 40 hours.

Each employment period has to be submitted using its own separate application. 

If an employee leaves the University and then returns weeks, months, or years later, each period of employment must be submitted on a separate application.

Frequent errors our processors encounter:

  • Many employees will enter their dates of employment for several different periods of employment in one application. After review, the processors find that the employee has had gaps of employment during that span. These employees must have a separate application for each period of employment between the gaps. 
    • Examples:
      • Employee A worked for the University in 2012 and left to take another non-University of Iowa position in 2013. Employee A came back to work for the University in 2016 and has been employed full-time until the current year.
        • Employee A must submit two separate applications: one for employment from 2012-2013, and the second application would include employment from 2016 to current. 

Please send an email to the Benefits Office at benefits@uiowa.edu, and our processors will review your employment records and provide you with the correct information you should use for your application. 

Additional Resources

TIAA and Savi Partnership

TIAA and Savi have teamed up to offer University of Iowa employees a powerful tool to help improve their financial stability while navigating the Student Loan Forgiveness program. This tool makes accessing federal programs that could offer reduced payments and loan forgiveness easier.

Please visit the dedicated UI employee Savi website to learn more about Savi and the student loan forgiveness program. 

ABOUT OUR SITE: 
This webpage describes only the highlights of the PSLF program. Additional terms and conditions may apply. If there are any discrepancies between the information contained herein and the official Federal Student Aid (FSA) website, the FSA will govern. For more detailed information, visit the PSLF website or contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-855-265-4038.