If you’re carrying student debt, you’ve probably asked yourself: how long will it take to get student loan forgiveness? The answer isn’t simple. It depends on your loan type, repayment plan, job, and where you live. There’s no one-size-fits-all timeline-but there are clear paths, and knowing them can save you years of payments.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): 10 Years If You Qualify

PSLF is the fastest route to forgiveness-if you’re eligible. You need to work full-time for a government agency or nonprofit organization and make 120 qualifying monthly payments under an income-driven repayment plan. That’s 10 years. Sounds straightforward? It’s not. Many people get rejected because they didn’t track their payments correctly or were on the wrong repayment plan.

For example, someone working as a teacher in a public school since 2018 and making on-time payments under an income-driven plan will hit 120 payments by 2028. But if they switched plans in 2020 and missed documenting their employment, their payments might not count. The U.S. Department of Education approved over 1.6 million PSLF applications between 2017 and 2024-but nearly half were denied due to paperwork errors.

Income-Driven Repayment Plans: 20 to 25 Years

If you don’t work in public service, your best shot at forgiveness is through an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. These plans cap your monthly payment at 10% to 20% of your discretionary income. After 20 or 25 years of payments, whatever’s left is forgiven.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR): Forgiveness after 25 years
  • Income-Based Repayment (IBR): Forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on when you borrowed
  • Pay As You Earn (PAYE): Forgiveness after 20 years
  • Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE): Forgiveness after 20 years for undergrad loans, 25 for grad loans

Let’s say you borrowed $40,000 for college and now earn $45,000 a year. Under REPAYE, your monthly payment might be $180. Over 20 years, you’d pay about $43,200-more than your original balance. But at the end, the remaining $10,000 or so is wiped clean. The catch? You’ll owe income tax on the forgiven amount unless Congress changes the rule.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness: 5 Years for Some

Teachers in low-income schools can qualify for up to $17,500 in forgiveness after five consecutive years of full-time teaching. This isn’t automatic. You need to submit Form 1088 and prove you taught in a qualifying school for five years straight. It doesn’t matter if you switched districts-just as long as each school was on the Department of Education’s list of eligible institutions.

Many teachers don’t apply because they think the process is too complicated. But the paperwork is straightforward. One high school math teacher in Ohio received $15,000 in forgiveness after filing in her sixth year. She didn’t even realize she qualified until a colleague mentioned it.

Perkins Loan Cancellation: Up to 100% Over Five Years

If you have a Perkins Loan (which ended in 2017 but still affects many borrowers), you may qualify for cancellation based on your job. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, and public defenders can get up to 100% of their loan canceled over five years. The cancellation happens in chunks: 15% after year one, another 15% after year two, then 20% per year for the next three years.

This isn’t a repayment plan-it’s a job-based reward. You don’t make payments during the cancellation period. But you must stay in the qualifying role. Leave early? You lose the remaining percentage.

A symbolic timeline road with milestones for different student loan forgiveness paths and figures walking toward them.

Disability and Death Discharge: Immediate Forgiveness

If you become totally and permanently disabled, your federal student loans are discharged. The process takes about 3 to 5 months if you provide medical documentation. No payments are required during review.

Same goes if you pass away-loans are automatically forgiven. The borrower’s estate doesn’t owe anything. This applies to both federal loans and Parent PLUS loans taken out on behalf of a student.

Bankruptcy: Rare, But Possible

Most people think student loans can’t be wiped out in bankruptcy. That’s mostly true. But since 2022, courts have started granting discharge more often under the “undue hardship” standard. You need to prove you can’t maintain a minimal standard of living if you keep paying, that your hardship will last, and that you’ve made good faith efforts to repay.

A 2023 study from the University of Michigan found that 40% of bankruptcy filers who requested student loan discharge were granted it-up from 15% a decade ago. It’s still hard, but it’s no longer impossible.

What Doesn’t Work: Forgiveness After 7 Years

You’ll hear rumors that loans disappear after seven years. That’s false. Defaulted loans can be removed from your credit report after seven years, but the debt itself doesn’t vanish. The government can still garnish wages, tax refunds, or Social Security benefits. And interest keeps compounding.

One borrower in Texas thought her $32,000 loan was gone after seven years of nonpayment. She got a surprise when the IRS took her refund. She hadn’t realized the debt was still active-and now she owed penalties on top of it.

An hourglass transforming student debt into the word 'FORGIVEN' surrounded by professional icons.

How to Track Your Progress

Knowing your timeline means knowing your count. Log into studentaid.gov and check your repayment plan, payment history, and loan servicer. Make sure your employment certification for PSLF is updated every year. Set calendar reminders.

Use tools like the PSLF Help Tool or apps like Undebt.it to track qualifying payments. Many people miss forgiveness because they assumed their payments counted when they didn’t.

What to Watch Out For

  • Scams: No one can guarantee forgiveness for a fee. The government offers these programs for free.
  • Tax bills: Forgiven amounts under IDR plans are usually taxable income. Set aside money each year.
  • Consolidation traps: Consolidating loans can reset your PSLF clock. Only do it if you’re sure.
  • Switching plans: Going from an IDR to a standard plan might stop your progress toward forgiveness.

Bottom Line: Time Varies, But You Control the Clock

There’s no magic date when your loans vanish. But you can control how fast you get there. If you’re in public service, aim for 10 years. If you’re on an income-driven plan, plan for 20 to 25. Teachers can get relief in five. Disability? It’s immediate.

The key is knowing which path you’re on-and making sure you’re on the right one. Don’t wait until year 19 to find out your payments didn’t count. Start tracking now. Keep records. Ask questions. Forgiveness isn’t handed out-it’s earned by following the rules.