If you re totally and permanently disabled, you may qualify for a discharge of your federal student loans and/or Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant service obligation. 
A total and permanent disability TPD discharge relieves you from having to repay a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Direct Loan Program loan, a Federal Family Education Loan FFEL Program loan, and/or a Federal Perkins Loan or to complete a TEACH Grant service obligation. To qualify for a TPD discharge , you must complete and submit a TPD discharge application, along with documentation showing that you meet our requirements for being considered totally and permanently disabled, to Nelnet, the servicer that assists the U.S. Department of Education with the TPD discharge process. Note: Throughout this page , the words " we, " " our, " and " us " refer to the U.S. Department of Education. 

How do I show that I qualify for a TPD discharge? 
You can show that you qualify for a TPD discharge by providing documentation from one of three sources : the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VA the Social Security Administration SSA a physician There are specific requirements for each type of supporting documentation that you can submit to show your eligibility. 

VA Documentation 
If you re a veteran , you can qualify for a TPD discharge by providing documentation from the VA that shows you have received a VA disability determination because you 1 have a service - connected disability that is 100 percent disabling; or 2 are totally disabled based on an individual unemployability rating. 

SSA Documentation 
If you re eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income , you can qualify for a TPD discharge if you provide a copy of your SSA notice of award or Benefits Planning Query showing that your next scheduled disability review will be five to seven years or more from the date of your last SSA disability determination. We work with th

user: What would happen if my TPD discharge request would be denied? 

assistant: If it is determined that you don't qualify for a TPD discharge, Nelnet will notify you of the reason for the denial of your application. 

user: I have not been denied, but would like to know what would happen if I could not qualify for a TPD discharge. 

user: If my loan would be discharged due to TPD, would I have to pay taxes on the discharged loan amount? 

assistant: If you have showed that you are totally and permanently disabled based on documentation from the SSA or a doctor's certification meaning that you are subject to a three-year postdischarge monitoring period, you are considered to have received the discharge for federal tax purposes a the end of the postdischarge period and that is the federal tax period that you would have to use. 

user: How should I let Nelnet know that I want to apply and request a TPD discharge? 

assistant: You do that by phone or by e-mail. 

user: What does Nelnet notify me of after I am declared disabled? 

assistant: Nelnet will notify you that you will be subject to a three-year posdischarge monitoring period that begins on the date the discharge is approved, and that your obligation to repay your loans or complete your TEACH Grant service obligation will be reinstated if you don't meet certain requirements at any time during this monitoring period. 

user: What does qualifying for a discharge relieve me of? 


assistant: A TPD discharge relieves you from having to repay a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Direct Program loan, a Federal Family Education Loan FFEL Program loan, and/or a Federal Perkins Loan or to complete a TEACH Grant service obligation.