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TLFF

TEACHER LOAN FORGIVENESS FORBEARANCE REQUEST

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program

Federal Family Education Loan Program [DRAFT 03/10/2014]

OMB No. 1845-0059

Form Approved

Exp. Date xx/xx/xxxx

WARNING: Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or misrepresentation on this form or on any 

accompanying document is subject to penalties that may include fines, imprisonment, or both, under the U.S. Criminal 

Code and 20 U.S.C. 1097.

SECTION 1: BORROWER IDENTIFICATION

Please enter or correct the following information.

Check this box if any of your information has changed.

SSN

Name

Address

City, State, Zip

Telephone – Primary

Telephone – Alternate

Email (optional)

___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

( _______ ) _______ - _____________

( _______ ) _______ - _____________

____________________________________

SECTION 2: LOAN FORGIVENESS FORBEARANCE REQUEST

READ SECTION 5 BEFORE YOU BEGIN COMPLETING THE FORM.

I request forbearance of payments on my eligible Direct Loan and/or FFEL program loan(s) while I am performing 

qualifying teaching service as a full-time teacher at an elementary or secondary school or for an educational service 

agency. During the period that qualifies me for this forbearance –

(A) I am teaching (check one):

at an eligible elementary school at an eligible secondary school for an eligible educational service agency

and 

(B) I am (check one):

A full-time highly qualified special education teacher for elementary school children with disabilities. The children’s 

disabilities corresponded to my special education training, and I demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the 

content areas of the elementary school curriculum (loan forgiveness of up to $17,500).

A full-time highly qualified special education teacher for secondary school children with disabilities. The children’s 

disabilities corresponded to my special education training, and I demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the 

content areas of the secondary school curriculum (loan forgiveness of up to $17,500).

A full-time highly qualified mathematics teacher for secondary school students (loan forgiveness of up to $17,500).

A full-time highly qualified science teacher for secondary school students (loan forgiveness of up to $17,500).

A full-time secondary education teacher in a subject area relevant to my academic major, or a full-time highly 

qualified secondary education teacher (loan forgiveness of up to $5,000).

A full-time elementary education teacher and I demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, 

mathematics, and other areas of the elementary school curriculum, or a full-time highly qualified elementary education 

teacher (loan forgiveness of up to $5,000).
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SECTION 2: LOAN FORGIVENESS FORBEARANCE REQUEST (CONTINUED)

The current academic year of teaching service for which I am requesting forbearance begins/began on (show dates as 

mm-dd-yyyy) ___ ___ - ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___ and ends on ___ ___ - ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___. I expect to complete 

my fifth year of qualifying teaching service on ___ ___ - ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___. I am/will be performing my qualifying 

teaching service at the following school or educational service agency (ESA):

School (not school district) or ESA Name ________________________________________________________________

Check here if this is a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) or operated on an Indian 

reservation by an Indian tribal group under contract with the BIE.

School or ESA Address (Street, City, State, Zip Code) _______________________________________________________

County ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone ( _______ ) _______ - _____________

SECTION 3: UNDERSTANDINGS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND AUTHORIZATION

I understand that: 

(1) This forbearance is granted in twelve-month increments and if I choose to extend it, I must reapply each year during 

the five consecutive years of required employment;

(2) Any unpaid interest that accrues during the forbearance period may be capitalized, as permitted by law; 

(3) I qualify for this forbearance only if my loan holder determines that the expected forgiveness amount for which I am 

performing qualifying service (up to $5,000 or up to $17,500, as applicable) will satisfy the anticipated outstanding 

balance of my eligible loan(s) at the end of my fifth year of qualifying service; and

(4) If I am past due on payments not covered by this forbearance, my loan holder may grant me a separate forbearance 

to resolve the delinquency on these payments at the time my request is processed.

I certify that:

(1) The information I provided in Section 2 is true and correct;

(2) After the forbearance ends, I agree to repay the loan(s) according to the terms of my promissory note(s) and 

repayment schedule(s);

(3) I will notify my loan holder immediately if my teaching service at an eligible school or ESA ends or I otherwise 

become ineligible for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program; and

(4) I meet the eligibility requirements and have read and understand the definitions and terms and conditions for the 

Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program in Sections 6 through 8.

I authorize the loan holder to which I submit this request (and its agents or contractors) to contact me regarding my 

request or my loan(s), including repayment of my loan(s), at the number that I provide on this form or any future 

number that I provide for my cellular telephone or other wireless device using automated telephone dialing equipment 

or artificial or prerecorded voice or text messages.

Borrower Signature ________________________________________ Today’s Date ___ ___ - ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___

SECTION 4: WHERE TO SEND THE COMPLETED TEACHER LOAN FORGIVENESS FORBEARANCE REQUEST

Return the completed form and any required 

documentation to:

(If no address is shown, return to your loan servicer.)

If you need help completing this form, call:

(If no information is shown, contact your loan servicer.)
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SECTION 5: GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE FORM

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching 

profession. Under this program, if you teach full time for five consecutive, complete academic years at certain 

elementary and secondary schools or for certain educational service agencies that serve low-income families and meet 

other qualifications, you may be eligible for forgiveness of up to a combined total of $17,500 in principal and interest on 

your Direct Loan and/or FFEL program loans. For complete definitions and terms and conditions, see Sections 6 through 

8. Your loan holder will not return any payments you make during the period in which you meet the qualifications for 

this loan forgiveness. This forbearance is intended to assist borrowers who are expected to qualify for forgiveness of 

their total loan amounts, by allowing them to not make payments during this period.

Before completing Sections 2 and 3, carefully read the entire form. Be sure to provide all requested information. Type or 

print using dark ink. Show dates as mm-dd-yyyy (for example, show “January 31, 2014” as “01-31-2014”).

If you do not qualify for this forbearance this year, you may contact your loan holder(s) for other forbearance options or 

reapply for this forbearance in a year when you are completing five consecutive, complete years of teaching service.

Return the completed form to the address shown in Section 4. If you are applying for forbearance of loans that are held 

by different loan holders, you must submit a separate form to each loan holder.

SECTION 6: DEFINITIONS

 A forbearance is a temporary cessation of payments, an extension of time for making payments, or temporary 

acceptance of smaller payments than previously scheduled. You are responsible for any interest that accrues on a 

loan during forbearance. If you do not pay the interest that accrues on the loan, the interest may be capitalized.

o Capitalization is the addition of unpaid interest to the principal balance of your loan. This will increase the 

principal and total cost of your loan.

 A teacher is a person who provides direct classroom teaching or classroom-type teaching in a non-classroom setting, 

including special education teachers (see below). 

NOTE: School librarians, guidance counselors, and other administrative staff are not considered teachers for the 

purposes of this loan forgiveness program.

o Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a 

child with a disability (see below), including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals 

and institutions, and in other settings; and instruction in physical education (see below). 

o A child with a disability is a child who needs special education and related services because the child has mental 

retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment 

(including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic impairment, autism, a traumatic brain

injury, another health impairment, or a specific learning disability. For a child age 3 through 9, the term “a child 

with a disability” may, at the discretion of the state and the local educational agency, include a child who needs

special education and related services because the child is experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the

state and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following 

areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional 

development, or adaptive development.

o Physical education means the development of physical and motor fitness, fundamental motor skills and 

patterns, and skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports (including intramural and 

lifetime sports), and includes special physical education, adapted physical education, movement education, and 

motor development.
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SECTION 6: DEFINITIONS (CONTINUED)

 An elementary school is a public or nonprofit private school that provides elementary education as determined by 

state law or, if the school is not in a state, by the U.S. Department of Education.

 A secondary school is a public or nonprofit private school that provides secondary education as determined by state 

law or, if the school is not in a state, by the U.S. Department of Education.

 An educational service agency is a regional public multiservice agency (not a private organization) authorized by 

state statute to develop, manage, and provide services or programs to local educational agencies (such as public 

school districts), as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

 An academic year is:

o One complete school year at the same school or for the same educational service agency, or

o Two complete and consecutive half years at different schools or for different educational service agencies, or

o Two complete and consecutive half years from different school years at either the same school or for the same 

educational service agency or at different schools or for different educational service agencies.

Half years do not include summer sessions. Two half years generally fall within a 12-month period. For schools or 

educational service agencies that have a year-round program of instruction, a minimum of nine months is 

considered an academic year.

 Full time means the standard used by a state in defining full-time employment as a teacher. If you teach in more 

than one school or educational service agency, full time is based on the combination of all of your qualifying 

employment.

 Loans that are eligible for forgiveness are Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans (Direct Subsidized Loans), Federal 

Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loans (Direct Unsubsidized Loans), Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans, 

Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans, and any portion of a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan or Federal 

Consolidation Loan that paid off an eligible Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Subsidized Federal 

Stafford Loan, or Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan. Direct PLUS Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, and any portion of a 

Direct Consolidation Loan or Federal Consolidation Loan that repaid a PLUS loan are not eligible for forgiveness. 

 The holder of a Direct Loan Program loan is the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The holder of a FFEL Program 

loan may be a lender, guaranty agency, secondary market, or ED.

SECTION 7: DEFINITION OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED

PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS (INCLUDING TEACHERS EMPLOYED BY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCIES)

To be a highly qualified teacher, a teacher of public elementary or secondary school students must:

 Have obtained full state certification as a teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to 

certification) or passed the state teacher licensing examination, and hold a license to teach in that state, except that 

when used with respect to teaching in a public charter school, the term “highly qualified teacher” means that the 

teacher meets the requirements set forth in the state’s public charter school law; and

 Not have had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis.

In addition –

A teacher of elementary school students who is new to the profession also is considered highly qualified if the teacher:

 Holds at least a bachelor’s degree; and

 Has demonstrated, by passing a rigorous state test, subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, 

mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum (which may consist of passing a staterequired certification or licensing test or tests in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic 

elementary school curriculum).

A teacher of middle or secondary school students who is new to the profession also is considered highly qualified if the 

teacher:
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SECTION 7: DEFINITION OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED (CONTINUED)

 Holds at least a bachelor’s degree; and

 Has demonstrated a high level of competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches by:

o Passing a rigorous state academic subject test in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches 

(which may consist of a passing level of performance on a state-required certification or licensing test or tests in 

each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches); or

o Successful completion, in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches, of an academic major, a 

graduate degree, coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major, or advanced certification or 

credentialing.

A teacher of elementary, middle, or secondary school students who is not new to the profession also is considered 

highly qualified if the teacher holds at least a bachelor’s degree and:

 Meets the applicable standards of a teacher of elementary, middle, or secondary school students who is new to the 

profession; or

 Demonstrates competence in all the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches based on a high objective, 

uniform state standard of evaluation that:

o Is set by the state for both grade appropriate academic subject matter knowledge and teaching skills;

o Is aligned with challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards and developed 

in consultation with core content specialists, teachers, principals, and school administrators;

o Provides objective, coherent information about the teacher’s attainment of core content knowledge in the 

academic subjects in which a teacher teaches;

o Is applied uniformly to all teachers in the same academic subject and the same grade level throughout the state;

o Takes into consideration, but is not based primarily on, the time the teacher has been teaching in the academic 

subject;

o Is made available to the public upon request; and

o May involve multiple, objective measures of teacher competency.

PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS

To be a highly qualified teacher, a teacher in a private, non-profit elementary or secondary school who is not a highly 

qualified teacher as defined above must be permitted to and satisfy rigorous subject knowledge and skills tests by taking 

competency tests in applicable grade levels and subject areas. The competency tests must be recognized by five or more 

states for the purposes of fulfilling the highly qualified teacher requirements under section 9101 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act of 1965. The teacher must also achieve a score on each test that equals or exceeds the average 

passing score for those five states.

SECTION 8: TERMS AND CONDITIONS

 To qualify for loan forgiveness, you must not have had an outstanding balance on a Direct Loan or FFEL program 

loan on October 1, 1998, or on the date that you obtained a Direct Loan or FFEL program loan after October 1, 1998. 

This means that if you had an outstanding balance on one or more Direct Loan or FFEL program loans on October 1, 

1998, or on any Direct Loan or FFEL program loans that you obtained while you had an outstanding balance on a 

Direct Loan or FFEL program loan made on or before October 1, 1998, you may qualify for loan forgiveness if you 

later paid all of those loans in full so that you had no outstanding balance on any Direct Loan or FFEL program loan 

at the time you obtained a new Direct Loan or FFEL program loan after October 1, 1998.

 You are not eligible to receive forgiveness of a defaulted loan unless you have first made satisfactory repayment 

arrangements with the holder of the defaulted loan.

 Any loan for which you are seeking forgiveness must have been made before the end of your five academic years of 

qualifying teaching service.
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SECTION 8: TERMS AND CONDITIONS (CONTINUED)

 You must not have received benefits through the AmeriCorps Program under Subtitle D of Title I of the National and 

Community Service Act of 1990 or loan forgiveness under the Direct Loan Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program 

for the same teaching service for which you are seeking forgiveness on your Direct Loan and/or FFEL program loans.

 You must have been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive, complete academic years at an 

elementary or secondary school or for an educational service agency that:

o Is in a school district that qualifies for funds under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

1965, as amended;

o Has been selected by ED based on a determination that more than 30% of the school’s or educational service 

agency’s total enrollment is made up of children who qualify for services provided under Title I; and

o Is listed in the Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits (available 

online at www.tcli.ed.gov). If this directory is not available before May 1 of any year, the previous year’s 

directory may be used.

If your school or educational service agency meets the above requirements for at least one year of your teaching 

service, but does not meet these requirements during subsequent years, your subsequent years of teaching at the 

school or educational service agency may be counted toward the required five years of teaching.

NOTE: All elementary and secondary schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) or operated on Indian 

reservations by Indian tribal groups under contract with the BIE qualify as schools serving low-income students.

 You may qualify for forbearance while performing qualifying teaching service only if your loan holder determines 

that the expected forgiveness amount for which you are performing the service (up to $5,000 or up to $17,500, as 

applicable) will satisfy the anticipated outstanding balance of your eligible loan(s) at the end of your fifth year of 

qualifying teaching.

 You may qualify for forgiveness based on qualifying teaching service at any combination of eligible elementary 

schools, secondary schools, or educational service agencies. However:

o Teaching at an eligible elementary or secondary school may be counted only if at least one of the five years of 

teaching was after the 1997–1998 academic year.

o Teaching for an eligible educational service agency may be counted only if the consecutive five-year period 

includes qualifying service for an eligible educational service agency performed after the 2007–2008 academic 

year.

 If your five consecutive, complete years of qualifying teaching service began before October 30, 2004:

o You may receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness if you were:

 A full-time teacher for elementary school students and you demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in 

reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the elementary school curriculum; or

 A full-time teacher for secondary school students and you taught in a subject area that was relevant to your 

academic major.

o You may receive up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness if you were:

 A highly qualified full-time teacher of mathematics or science to secondary school students; or

 A highly qualified special education teacher whose primary responsibility was to provide special education 

to children with disabilities, and you taught children with disabilities that corresponded to your area of 

special education training and have demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the content areas of the 

curriculum that you taught.

 If your five consecutive, complete years of qualifying teaching service began on or after October 30, 2004:

o You may receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness if you were a highly qualified full-time teacher for elementary 

or secondary school students.

o You may receive up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness if you were:
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SECTION 8: TERMS AND CONDITIONS (CONTINUED)

 A highly qualified full-time teacher of mathematics or science to secondary school students; or

 A highly qualified special education teacher whose primary responsibility was to provide special education 

to children with disabilities, and you taught children with disabilities that corresponded to your area of 

special education training and have demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the content areas of the 

curriculum that you taught.

 If you were unable to complete an academic year of teaching, that year may still be counted toward the required 

five consecutive, complete academic years if:

o You completed at least one-half of the academic year; and

o Your employer considers you to have fulfilled your contract requirements for the academic year for the 

purposes of salary increases, tenure, and retirement; and

o You were unable to complete the academic year because:

 You returned to postsecondary education, on at least a half-time basis, in an area of study directly related to 

the performance of the teaching service described above; or

 You had a condition covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA); or

 You were called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component 

of the Armed Forces.

NOTE: Absence due to a period of postsecondary education, a condition covered under the FMLA, or active duty 

service, including the time needed for you to resume teaching no later than the beginning of the next regularly 

scheduled academic year, is not considered a break in the required five consecutive years.

 If you are determined to be eligible for loan forgiveness under this program, your loan holder will not refund any 

payments that you made or that were made on your behalf before the determination of eligibility.

 You are not eligible to receive forgiveness for more than a combined total of $17,500 of principal and interest of 

your Direct Loan and/or FFEL program loan(s). You are responsible for repaying any loan balance that remains after 

the forgiveness has been granted.

 Unless you instruct your loan holder otherwise, the forgiveness amount will be applied to your loans in the following 

order: (1) Direct Unsubsidized Loan(s) or unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan(s), (2) Direct Subsidized Loan(s) or 

subsidized Federal Stafford Loan(s), and (3) Direct Unsubsidized Consolidation Loan, Direct Subsidized Consolidation 

Loan, or Federal Consolidation Loan.

 If you receive loan forgiveness based on any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements that you make on this form or 

on any accompanying documents, you may be subject to civil and criminal penalties under applicable federal law.

SECTION 9: IMPORTANT NOTICES

PRIVACY ACT DISCLOSURE NOTICE

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) requires that the following notice be provided to you:

The authorities for collecting the requested information from and about you are 428(b)(2)(A) et seq. and 451 et seq. of 

the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(2)(A) et seq. and 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) and the 

authority for collecting and using your Social Security Number (SSN) is 484(a)(4) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(4)). 

Participating in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct 

Loan) Program and giving us your SSN are voluntary, but you must provide the requested information, including your 

SSN, to participate.

The principal purposes for collecting the information on this form, including your SSN, are to verify your identity, to 

determine your eligibility to receive a loan or a benefit on a loan (such as a deferment, forbearance, discharge, or 

forgiveness) under the FFEL Program and/or Direct Loan Program, to permit the servicing of your loan(s), and, if it 
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SECTION 9: IMPORTANT NOTICES (CONTINUED)

becomes necessary, to locate you and to collect on your loan(s) if your loan(s) becomes delinquent or in default. We also 

use your SSN as an account identifier and to permit you to access your account information electronically.

The information in your file may be disclosed to third parties as authorized under routine uses in the appropriate 

systems of records. The routine uses of this information include its disclosure to federal, state, or local agencies, to other 

federal agencies under computer matching programs, to agencies that we authorize to assist us in administering our 

loan programs, to private parties such as relatives, present and former employers, business and personal associates, to

credit bureau organizations, to financial and educational institutions, to guaranty agencies, and to contractors in order 

to verify your identity, to determine your eligibility to receive a loan or a benefit on a loan, to permit the servicing or 

collection of your loan(s), to counsel you in repayment efforts, to enforce the terms of the loan(s), to investigate 

possible fraud and to verify compliance with federal student financial aid program regulations, to locate you if you 

become delinquent in your loan payments or if you default, to provide default rate calculations, to provide financial aid 

history information, to assist program administrators with tracking refunds and cancellations, or to provide a 

standardized method for educational institutions efficiently to submit student enrollment status.

In the event of litigation, we may send records to the Department of Justice, a court, adjudicative body, counsel, party, 

or witness if the disclosure is relevant and necessary to the litigation. If this information, either alone or with other 

information, indicates a potential violation of law, we may send it to the appropriate authority for action. We may send 

information to members of Congress if you ask them to help you with federal student aid questions. In circumstances 

involving employment complaints, grievances, or disciplinary actions, we may disclose relevant records to adjudicate or 

investigate the issues. If provided for by a collective bargaining agreement, we may disclose records to a labor 

organization recognized under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71. Disclosures may also be made to qualified researchers under Privacy 

Act safeguards.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION NOTICE

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information 

unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information 

collection is 1845-0059. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 minutes 

(0.33 hours) per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to 

this collection is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with 34 CFR 682.216(e) and 34 CFR 685.217(c)(13). If you 

have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, contact your loan servicer at 

the address shown in Section 4.