Forbearance

To download the necessary forbearance forms, visit our 'Forbearance Forms' page. Don’t forget to contact your lender to discuss your options!

If you aren't eligible for a deferment and you can't make your scheduled payments but intend to repay your loan, your lender may grant you forbearance, which allows you to temporarily postpone or reduce your payments. Forbearance provides you short-term relief from your student loan and helps you maintain a good credit rating.

You may request forbearance to:

make no payments for a short period
extend the time for making payments
make smaller payments than scheduled for a specific time period

Lenders aren't required to grant forbearances and may require you to provide reasons for your request in addition to other information.

You'll be charged interest on subsidized, unsubsidized and PLUS loans during forbearance. If you're not able to pay the interest during your forbearance period, keep in mind that your loan balance will increase because the interest will continue to accrue and be added to the total loan amount due. The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 requires the lender to disclose, at the time forbearance is granted, information about the capitalization of interest and the resulting effects on loan balances.

You may be granted forbearance if you're:

willing but unable to make your payments due to personal problems
serving in a medical or dental internship or residency

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adversely affected by military mobilization or local/national disaster
serving in a position under the National Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (PLUS loans are not eligible)
teaching and pursuing the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program
making payments on certain federal student loans that are equal to or greater than 20 percent of your monthly gross income

This isn't a complete list of conditions that qualify loans for forbearance. Contact your lender to discuss your forbearance options. More information is available in our "Guide to Repaying Stafford & Grad PLUS Student Loans" or by contacting your lender. You can also contact our Early Assistance department at 405.234.4340, 800.358.5460 (toll-free) or WeCanHelp@ogslp.org.

Forbearance

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