A may have access to payment is a monthly payment you make on a federal student loan while working full-time for a government agency or nonprofit organization, under a PSLF-may be able to access repayment plan.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program counts your payments toward forgiveness only if three things are true at the same time: you are employed full-time by a may have access to employer, you are repaying an may be able to access federal loan, and you are on an may be able to access repayment plan. A single payment that meets all three conditions counts as one may have access to payment. You need 120 of them to reach forgiveness.
The payment itself does not have to be large. Even a payment of $5 counts, as long as it is made on time and the other conditions are met. What matters is the number of payments, not the total amount paid.
Key Takeaways
- A may have access to payment requires full-time employment with a government agency or nonprofit, an may be able to access federal loan, and an may be able to access repayment plan all at the same time.
- Income-driven repayment plans (PAYE, REPAYE, IBR, and ICR) are the only plans that count toward PSLF; Standard 10-year repayment does not may have access to.
- You must work full-time, which means 30 hours per week or more, though some employers define it differently and you should verify with your employer.
- Payments made while you are not employed full-time by a may have access to employer do not count, even if you are on the right repayment plan.
- You can check your payment count through your loan servicer's website or by submitting a PSLF form to verify your employment history.
The three conditions that must all be true at once
The first condition is full-time employment with a may have access to employer. may have access to employers are U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government agencies, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Working for a for-profit company, a private nonprofit that is not 501(c)(3), or a nonprofit that lobbies does not count. Full-time means 30 hours per week or more, though some employers use a different definition. If your employer calls you full-time but you work fewer than 30 hours, contact your loan servicer to ask whether that employment counts.
The second condition is that you are repaying an may be able to access federal student loan. Direct Loans (subsidized, unsubsidized, and PLUS loans issued after July 1, 2010) count. Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Perkins Loans do not count unless they have been consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Private student loans never count, no matter what repayment plan you are on.
The third condition is that you are on an may be able to access repayment plan. The four plans that count are Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). The Standard 10-year repayment plan does not count, even though it is a federal plan. If you are on Standard repayment and want to pursue PSLF, you must switch to one of the four income-driven plans.
What happens if one condition stops being true
If you leave your may have access to job and take work at a for-profit company, payments you make during that time do not count. If you switch to Standard repayment, payments during that period do not count. If you consolidate your loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan, the payment count on your old loans does not transfer—you start over with the new consolidated loan, though some recent rule changes have created exceptions for certain borrowers.
This is why many borrowers track their employment and repayment plan carefully. If you are unsure whether your current situation still meets all three conditions, contact your loan servicer or submit a PSLF Employment Certification Form. The form does not lock you into anything; it straightforward documents your employment at a point in time and tells you how many payments have counted so far.
How payments are counted and reported
Your loan servicer counts payments automatically once you are on an may be able to access plan with a may have access to employer. You do not have to do anything to trigger the count. However, the servicer can only count payments if they have accurate information about your employment. If you change jobs, change employers, or change repayment plans, tell your servicer right away.
Payments are counted in the month they are due, not the month you make them. If your payment is due on the 15th and you pay on the 20th, it still counts as long as it is not more than 15 days late. Payments that are more than 15 days late do not count. Payments made while your loan is in deferment, forbearance, or in-school status do not count either, even if you are working full-time for a may have access to employer.
The difference between counting and forgiveness
Reaching 120 may have access to payments does not automatically forgive your loans. You must submit a PSLF Forgiveness process to the Department of Education after you have made 120 payments. The process asks you to certify that you have been working full-time for a may have access to employer and that you have been on an may be able to access repayment plan. The department then verifies this information with your employer and your loan servicer.
If the department confirms that all 120 payments were made under the right conditions, your remaining loan balance is forgiven and you owe no taxes on the forgiven amount. If some payments do not meet the conditions, the department will tell you how many actually counted and how many more you need.
Common situations that do and do not count
| Situation | Counts? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You work full-time for a city government and pay on PAYE | Yes | Government employer + may be able to access plan + full-time work |
| You work full-time for a nonprofit and pay on Standard repayment | No | Standard is not an may be able to access plan |
| You work part-time (20 hours/week) for a nonprofit on REPAYE | No | Part-time work does not meet the full-time requirement |
| You work full-time for a for-profit company and pay on IBR | No | For-profit is not a may have access to employer |
| You work full-time for a nonprofit, on PAYE, but your loan is in forbearance | No | Payments in forbearance do not count |
| You work full-time for a nonprofit on ICR and make a $10 payment | Yes | Payment size does not matter; all three conditions are met |
How to verify your payment count
Log into your loan servicer's website and look for a section called "PSLF" or "Public Service Loan Forgiveness." Most servicers show your current payment count there. If the number seems wrong, read your payment history and check the dates against your employment records. If you changed jobs or repayment plans, the count should show a gap where payments stopped counting.
If you want an official record, submit a PSLF Employment Certification Form to your servicer. The form asks for your employer's name, address, and certification that you work full-time. Your employer signs it, you submit it, and the servicer sends you back a letter showing how many payments have counted. This form is useful if you are changing jobs and want to make sure the new employer is also may have access to, or if you are approaching 120 payments and want to verify the count before submitting for forgiveness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to make payments while I am in school?
No. Payments made while your loan is in in-school status do not count toward PSLF, even if you are working full-time for a may have access to employer. Once you leave school and exit in-school status, payments count again. If you are working full-time and in school at the same time, ask your servicer to remove in-school status so your payments will count.
What if I work two part-time jobs that add up to more than 30 hours a week?
PSLF requires full-time employment with a single employer. Two part-time jobs at different employers do not count, even if the hours add up. However, if one employer counts you as full-time and you work additional hours elsewhere, the payments count based on your full-time status at the may have access to employer.
Can I count payments made before I knew about PSLF?
Yes, as long as all three conditions were met at the time. If you were working full-time for a government agency or nonprofit, on an may be able to access repayment plan, and making payments on an may be able to access loan, those payments count even if you did not know the program existed. You do not have to have intended to pursue PSLF for the payments to count.
If I consolidate my loans, do my old payment counts transfer?
Generally, no. When you consolidate into a Direct Consolidation Loan, the payment count on your old loans does not transfer to the new loan. However, recent changes to PSLF rules have created some exceptions for borrowers who consolidated before certain dates. Contact your servicer to find out whether your consolidation qualifies for a payment count transfer.
What happens to my payment count if I take a leave of absence from work?
Payments made while you are not employed full-time do not count. If you take unpaid leave or reduce to part-time status, payments during that period do not count toward the 120. Once you return to full-time status, payments count again. Some employers offer paid leave that maintains your full-time status; if so, payments during that leave may still count—ask your employer and servicer to confirm.