Student Loan Forgiveness: You Have a Few Hours Left to Apply for This Debt Relief Program

If you have any student loans that are in default, the Department of Education is giving you until Oct. 2 at 3 a.m. ET to apply for the Fresh Start program to get them back in good standing so you can potentially qualify for income-driven repayment plans and forgiveness programs.
The deadline was originally slotted for Sept. 30, but was pushed out yesterday, according to an announcement the US Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal, shared on X.
Before the pandemic-related payment pause that started in March 2020, more than 8 million federal loan borrowers had defaulted on their student loans. Your loans are considered in default when you’ve missed payments for 270 days or more. Once student loans are in default, they’re often no longer eligible for forgiveness programs and other federal student loan benefits. The Fresh Start program offers a way to for you to get your loans back in good standing and qualify for debt relief.
The Fresh Start program is a one-time offering from the Department of Education that lets you move your student loans out of default status, while offering many other benefits. Here’s how it works.
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What is the Fresh Start program?
The Fresh Start program is a temporary, one-off program from the Department of Education that can help you get your student loans out of default. Your loans are considered in default status if you missed more than 270 days of payments on them. Fresh Start has an simple sign-up process and can return your loans to active repayment status within four to six weeks.
Normally, borrowers have two options for getting loans out of default: student loan consolidation and rehabilitation, both of which can take several months. Fresh Start is temporarily replacing rehabilitation — and it offers several additional benefits.