information,	see	the	discussion	under	<Direct	Subsidized	Loans	and	Direct	Unsubsidized	Loans=	in	DCL	GEN-11-07.
Direct	Unsubsidized	Loans	for	Students	Whose	Parents	Have	Ended	Financial	Support	or	Refuse	To	File	a	FAFSA	Form
If	you	verify	that	the	parents	of	a	dependent	undergraduate	student	have	refused	to	complete	the	parental	information
sections	of	the	Free	Application	for	Federal	Student	Aid	(FAFSA)	form	or	that	they	have	ended	financial	support	for	the
student,	you	may	make	a	professional	judgment	decision	to	offer	the	student	a	Direct	Unsubsidized	Loan	in	an	amount	up
to	the	applicable	annual	loan	limit	for	a	dependent	undergraduate.	For	instance,	under	these	circumstances	a	dependent
second-year	undergraduate	could	receive	up	to	$6,500	in	Direct	Unsubsidized	Loan	funds	(see	Chapter	4	of	this	volume
for	information	on	annual	loan	limits).	However,	the	student	may	not	receive	Direct	Subsidized	Loans	or	aid	from	any	of
the	other	Title	IV	programs.
Self-certification	from	the	dependent	student	is	not	sufficient	to	verify	that	the	parents	have	ended	financial	support	or
have	refused	to	complete	the	FAFSA	form.	In	most	cases,	this	requirement	can	be	met	by	obtaining	a	signed	and	dated
statement	from	one	of	the	student9s	parents.	For	more	information,	see	the	discussion	under	<Dependent	students
without	parent	support=	in	the	<Professional	Judgment=	section	of	Chapter	5	of	the	Application	and	Verification	Guide.
Direct	PLUS	Loans
Direct	PLUS	Loans	are	available	to	graduate	and	professional	students,	and	to	the	parents	of	dependent	undergraduate
students.
A	parent	may	receive	a	Direct	PLUS	Loan	only	to	pay	for	the	education	costs	of	a	dependent	undergraduate	student	who
meets	the	eligible	student	definition.	A	parent	borrower	must	meet	the	same	citizenship	and	residency	requirements	as	a
student.	Similarly,	a	parent	who	is	in	default	on	a	
Title	IV	loan,	or	who	owes	an	overpayment	on	a	Title	IV	grant,	is
ineligible	for	a	Direct	PLUS	Loan	unless	they	have	made	satisfactory	arrangements	to	repay	the	loan	or	grant.	A	parent
who	had	a	prior	Title	IV	loan	discharged	for	total	and	permanent	disability	must	meet	the	same	eligibility	requirements
outlined	for	student	borrowers	in	Volume	1,	Chapter	3.	Finally,	a	parent	is	not	eligible	for	a	Direct	PLUS	Loan	if	the	federal
government	holds	a	judgment	lien	on	their	property	or	if	the	parent	is	incarcerated.	Note,	however,	that	a	parent9s
ineligibility	for	a	Direct	PLUS	Loan	does	not	affect	the	student9s	eligibility	for	other	Title	IV	aid,	assuming	that	the	student
is	otherwise	eligible.
Requirement	To	Offer	Direct	PLUS	Loans	to	Both	Student	and	Parent	Borrowers
Schools	may	choose	whether	to	offer	Direct	PLUS	Loans.	If	your	school	chooses	to	participate	in	the	Direct	PLUS	Loan
Program	and	has	both	undergraduate	and	graduate	or	professional	students,	you	must	make	Direct	PLUS	Loans	available
to	both	the	parents	of	dependent	undergraduate	students	and	to	graduate	or	professional	students.	You	may	not	limit
Direct	PLUS	Loan	borrowing	only	to	parents	or	only	to	graduate	or	professional	students.	For	more	information,	see	the
discussion	under	<Direct	PLUS	Loans=	in	
DCL	GEN-11-07.
Definition	of	<Parent=	for	Direct	PLUS	Loan	Purposes
If	they	meet	all	other	Direct	PLUS	Loan	eligibility	requirements,	the	following	individuals	can	borrow	Direct	PLUS	Loans	on
behalf	of	a	dependent	undergraduate	student:
The	student9s	biological	parent;
The	student9s	legal	adoptive	parent;	or
The	student9s	stepparent	(spouse	of	the	student9s	biological	or	legal	adoptive	parent	at	the	time	of	application),	but
only	if	the	stepparent	is	required	to	provide	their	information	on	the	FAFSA	form	in	accordance	with	the	instructions
on	the	FAFSA	form.
Grandparents	and	other	family	members	are	not	eligible	to	take	out	Direct	PLUS	Loans	on	behalf	of	a	dependent
undergraduate	student	unless	they	have	legally	adopted	the	student.
In	addition	to	the	parent(s)	whose	resources	are	reported	on	a	student9s	FAFSA	form,	any	otherwise	eligible	biological	or
legal	adoptive	parent	of	the	dependent	undergraduate	student	can	also	take	out	a	Direct	PLUS	Loan	on	the	student9s
behalf,	even	if	that	parent9s	information	is	not	reported	on	the	FAFSA	form.
Note	also	that	more	than	one	parent	can	take	out	a	Direct	PLUS	Loan	on	behalf	of	the	same	dependent	undergraduate