Wondering whether you can get your federal student loans forgiven for your service as a teacher? 
Learn about the forgiveness program to see whether you qualify. Under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program , if you teach full - time for five complete and consecutive academic years in a low - income school or educational service agency, and meet other qualifications , you may be eligible for forgiveness of up to $17,500 on your Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans and your Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans. If you have a Direct Consolidation Loan or a Federal Consolidation Loan , you may be eligible for forgiveness of the outstanding portion of the consolidation loan that repaid an eligible Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan, or Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan. 

What are the eligibility requirements? 
You must not have had an outstanding balance on Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan FFEL Program loans as of Oct. 1 , 1998, or on the date that you obtained a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan after Oct. 1 , 1998. You must have been employed as a full - time, highly qualified teacher for five complete and consecutive academic years , and at least one of those years must have been after the 1997 98 academic year. You must have been employed at an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency that serves low - income students a " low - income school or educational service agency ". The loan for which you are seeking forgiveness must have been made before the end of your five academic years of qualifying teaching service. 

Teaching for Less Than a Complete Academic Year 
If you were unable to complete a full academic year of teaching , that year may still be counted toward the required five complete and consecutive academic years if you completed at least one - half of the academic year ; and your employer considers you to have fulfilled your contract requirements for t

user: If I have a defaulted loan, am I eligible for teacher loan forgiveness?

assistant: Are you currently in default with your loan?

user: Yes, unfortunately, I am

assistant: You will not be eligible for forgiveness of that loan unless you make satisfactory arrangements with the holder of the defaulted loan

user: What is one of the additional requirements of teacher loan forgiveness for elementary, middle or secondary school teachers who are not new to the profession?

assistant: One of the requirements is that the individual must be made available to the public upon request

user: What way do I go about applying for teacher loan forgiveness?

assistant: You need to submit a completed Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application to your loan servicer. You must have completed the required five consecutive years of qualifying teaching

user: I have loans with different loan servicers and am applying for forgiveness, will that cause a problem?

assistant: You will need to submit a separate form to each loan servicer

user: Is it possible to receive teacher loan forgiveness on PLUS loans or Federal Perkins Loans?

assistant: Federal Perkins Loans are not eligible for this type of forgiveness. There is a possibility that you could have a portion or all of the loan canceled based on your employment or volunteer service or even discharged under certain conditions