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Student loan help

Are you having issues with your student loan servicer? DFR is here to help. Oregon's  Student Loan Ombuds can help borrowers resolve disputes with their loan servicer and make sure they are in compliance with the law. All student loan servicers in Oregon must obtain a license from DFR. Check a license at NMLSConsumeraccess.org.

Student loan news

  • The application is now available for borrowers to separate loans from their spouses under The Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act passed in 2022. Approved applications will result in direct loans for each borrower, which are eligible for most federal student loan benefits. 
  • In the final step of the IDR payment count adjustment, borrowers are now able to see progress tracked toward forgiveness by logging on to studentaid.gov. Screenshotting IDR and PSLF counts is recommended.
  • A new total and permanent disability discharge application was recently posted to studentaid.gov/forms-library. The new form is designed to be more usable by medical professionals and was published along with a new FAQ. 
  • No student loan forgiveness will be subject to federal or Oregon income tax through Dec. 31, 2025. Oregon generally conforms with the federal tax code.
  • A federal court issued an injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Education from implementing parts of the Saving on A Valuable Education, and other income-driven repayment (IDR), plans. Eligible borrowers may now apply for PAYE and ICR plans. Processing wait times are long, as the application queue is long. Student loan cancellation due to months in repayment (IDR cancellation) is being processed only for borrowers currently enrolled in IBR. All other IDR-based cancellation is paused, pending U.S. Supreme Court review.

Help with your student loan


Oregon's Student Loan Ombuds

Lane Thompson
Student Loan Ombuds
Pronouns: she/they

DFR.bankingproducthelp@dcbs.oregon.gov

Consumer Hotline
888-877-4894

Para más información llame al ombudsman de préstamos estudiantiles de la División de Regulación Financiera al 888-877-4894.

PO Box 14480
Salem, OR 97309

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Student Loan Help
What you should know about your rights and responsibilities as a borrower

Student loan borrower rights

  • Information about student loans should be clear and available. This information includes: servicer contact information, assessment/schedule of fees, eligibility for Income Driven Repayment Plans, how payments are applied, amortization schedule, and payment history.

  • Servicers should be knowledgeable about the private and federally contracted repayment options available.

  • Servicers should apply payments fairly and in full.

  • Servicers should grant borrowers access to information reported to credit agencies on that borrowers behalf.

  • Borrowers may sue for deception, fraud, or other violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and any other federal or state laws.

  • Borrowers can submit a complaint, receive timely acknowledgement of the complaint, and work with the Oregon Student Loan Ombuds toward a resolution.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Log in to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool with your Federal Student Aid ID, and the tool will walk you through the process.

​Most people whose debt was canceled through the settlement received a postcard alerting them they were part of the class action lawsuit and that their loans had been canceled. If Navient serviced your federal loans as of 2017, you entered repayment before 2015, and you spent time in forbearance – or if Navient serviced your defaulted private loan and you attended certain for-profit schools – you may be eligible. There is no application. There is both federal restitution and private loan cancelation available. If you believe you are in either category, visit commonly asked questions at navientagsettlement.com.​​

Use your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID to log on to https://studentaid.gov/idr. If you don't know your FSA username or password, you can reset it by selecting “forgot username" or “forgot password" at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landing​.​

All you need is the employer identification number (EIN), which can be found on your W-2 form or paystub. Enter the EIN in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Employer Search tool to get either an “eligible" or “ineligible" result. Eligibility for PSLF is based on your employer and your full-time status, not your position.​

Federal student loans and private student loans can look very similar. Sometimes they are even serviced by the same company. The best way to find out if your loans are federal is by logging in to StudentAid.gov.​ If your loan does not show up there, or if you do not have a Federal Student Aid ID, then your loan is private. Private student loans do not qualify for repayment and discharge programs such as income-driven repayment or Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Many federal student loan types offer the ability to consolidate them into a new federal loan. Refinancing federal loans with a private company is a separate process, and is rarely a good deal as it forfeits many of the benefits of a federal loan​. To learn more about consolidation, visit https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/consolidation.​

​While, in most cases, no credit is required to take out student loans; payments toward student debt, both on time and late, are reported to all three credit bureaus monthly. If loans are rehabilitated from a previous default, the default – but not the late payment history – should be removed from your credit report. If you believe your servicer misreported something, please contact them for help. If you are not able to contact them, please file a complaint with the student loan ombuds.

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Income-driven repayment plans – including $0 monthly payment options as well as forbearance – are generally available for all federal loans. Log in to ​studentaid.gov to learn more and apply. Private loans have few to none of these options available. Call your servicer if you think you might miss a payment.

There are two options for getting back on track with federal student loans – rehabilitation or consolidation. Consolidation gets rid of the old loan and creates a completely new loan with the same terms as the previous one. This is the best path if you are in a rush to get back on track. Neither the default nor late-payment history is removed from your credit history when you consolidate into a new loan. Rehabilitation is a process where the collection agency or servicer collects auto-debited payments (usually $5 per month) for 10 months. After those 10 months, your loan returns to current status (the late payment history remains), and you can resume payments as though you had never defaulted. This is the better option if you are trying to retain the loans and/or servicer you already had or to get the default removed from your credit report. To learn more about these options and apply for one, log on to https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/default/get-out.​

​You should never have to pay for the benefits that already come with federal student loans. Anyone who is trying to charge you to consolidate, rehabilitate, get on an income-driven repayment plan, or apply for forgiveness, is likely taking advantage of you. The U.S. Department of Education will not call you about your loans, so a call claiming to be from them is a scam. Anything that directs you to a site other than  studentaid.gov​ could be a scam. If you need additional support in navigating the student loan process, reach out to a nonprofit student loan counselor such as those at​ DevNW​​​​


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