Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge 101

Who Assists The Department With TPD discharge?

Nelnet assists the U.S. Department of Education (called “the Department” throughout this site) in administering the TPD discharge process. Nelnet manages this site and communicates with borrowers on behalf of the Department concerning TPD discharge requests.

The terms "borrower," “you,” and “your” are used throughout this site to refer to any TPD discharge applicant, including individuals who are applying for discharge of a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program service obligation. The terms “we,” “us,” and “our” are used to refer to Nelnet.

What Is TPD discharge?

A TPD discharge relieves you from having to repay a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loan, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loan, and/or Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program loan or complete a TEACH Grant service obligation on the basis of your total and permanent disability. Before your federal student loans or TEACH Grant service obligation can be discharged, you must provide information to the Department to show that you are totally and permanently disabled. The Department will evaluate the information and determine if you qualify for a TPD discharge.

If you think you might qualify and want to apply for a TPD discharge, you must provide the information the Department needs to make a determination by completing a TPD discharge application and gathering supporting documentation that shows you are totally and permanently disabled. Depending on your situation, you will either attach the supporting documentation to your application or have a licensed medical professional* complete Section 4 of your application. Once everything is complete, you’ll mail the discharge application and, if required, the supporting documentation to us.

To find out what types of licensed medical professionals may certify your TPD application, visit our FAQ page.

I haven’t applied for a TPD discharge, but I received a letter saying that I may be eligible. Why?

We have agreements with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that allow us to proactively determine whether you may qualify for a TPD discharge. If we determine that you may qualify, we will contact you to let you know what you need to do to request a discharge.

The following sections outline the qualifications for TPD discharge and explain what will happen when the Department makes its determination.

How Do I Show That I’m totally and permanently disabled?

You can show that you are totally and permanently disabled in one of the following three ways:

1. We regularly receive information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) identifying veterans who may qualify for TPD discharge. If you are a veteran and we have received information from the VA indicating that you have a service-connected disability (or disabilities) that is 100% disabling or that you are totally disabled based on an individual unemployability rating, we will contact you by letter to notify you that you are eligible for a TPD discharge. The letter we send will also explain that unless you tell us by the date specified in the letter that you do not want to receive a TPD discharge, the Department will automatically approve the discharge of your federal student loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation. If you want to have your loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation discharged, you are not required to take any further action. We will instruct the holders of your federal student loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation to discharge your loans and/or service obligation. You will not need to complete a TPD discharge application or provide documentation of your VA disability determination.

   If you are a veteran and you believe you meet the eligibility requirements for TPD discharge based on a disability determination from the VA, but we did not contact you about a TPD discharge, you can submit a TPD discharge application along with documentation from the VA showing that you have a service-connected disability (or disabilities) that is 100% disabling or that you are totally disabled based on an individual unemployability rating. The documentation you provide must include the effective date of the VA’s determination.

2. We regularly receive information from the Social Security Administration (SSA) identifying individuals who may qualify for TPD discharge. If we have received information from the SSA indicating that you are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and that your next scheduled disability review will be no less than 3 years from the date of your most recent SSA disability determination, we will contact you by letter to notify you that you are eligible for a TPD discharge. The letter we send will also explain that, unless you tell us by the date specified in the letter that you do not want to receive a TPD discharge, the Department will automatically approve the discharge of your federal student loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation. If you want to have your loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation discharged, you are not required to take any further action. We will instruct the holders of your federal student loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation to discharge your loans and/or service obligation. You will not need to complete a TPD discharge application or provide documentation of your SSA disability determination.

   Additionally, you can apply for TPD discharge if you are eligible for SSDI or SSI benefits. To qualify this way, you need to provide either

   • a copy of your SSA notice of award or

   • a Benefits Planning Query if one of the following is true:

     1. Your next scheduled disability review has been scheduled within five to seven years from the date of your last SSA disability determination.
     2. Your next continuing disability review has been scheduled at three years.
     3. You have a medical onset date for SSDI or SSI of at least five years before you apply for TPD discharge.
     4. You qualify for SSDI or SSI based on a compassionate allowance.
     5. You are currently receiving SSA retirement benefits, and immediately before you qualified for retirement benefits, you met one of the requirements described above.

3. You can submit a certification from a licensed medical professional who is licensed to practice in the United States that you are totally and permanently disabled. A licensed medical professional must certify that you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that:

   • Can be expected to result in death;
   • Has lasted for a continuous period of not less than 60 months; or
   • Can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 60 months.

Each option for showing that you are totally and permanently disabled has specific requirements for the supporting documentation that you must submit with your TPD discharge application. To review the supporting documentation requirements, click here.

What should I do if I want to apply for a TPD discharge?

You should let us know that you want to apply. You can do this by phone or email.

Phone: 888.303.7818

Call Center Hours:

Monday - Wednesday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (ET), Thursday - Friday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (ET)

Email: DisabilityInformation@Nelnet.net

You can also let us know that you intend to apply for a TPD discharge by clicking here.

When you let us know that you want to apply for a TPD discharge, we will take the following actions:

• First, we will provide you with the information you need to apply for a TPD discharge.
• Second, we will review our records and identify your federal student loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation that may qualify for a TPD discharge.
• Finally, we will contact your loan holders and instruct them to suspend collection activity on your loans for a period of up to 120 days. This means that during the 120-day period you will not be required to make payments on your loans.

The suspension of collection activity will give you time to complete the TPD discharge application and return it to us for processing. If we do not receive your application within the 120-day period, your loan holders will resume collection activity on your loans, and you will again be required to make payments.

Can my representative apply on my behalf and help me throughout the process?

Yes, your representative can complete and submit your TPD discharge application on your behalf, and assist you throughout the discharge process. However, you and your representative must complete an Applicant Representative Designation form. We must receive and process this form before we can work with your representative. You must submit this form even if you have a power of attorney for your representative.

To download and/or print the Applicant Representative Designation form, click here.

What happens after I apply?

After we receive your TPD discharge application, we will take the following actions:

• First, we’ll contact the holders of your federal student loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation and instruct them to suspend collection activity on your loans while we determine your eligibility for discharge. This means that you will not be required to make payments on your loans while we evaluate your discharge application.

NOTE: If any of your loans are in default and payments are being collected by wage garnishment and/or Treasury Offset, the garnishment or offset may continue. If your request for TPD discharge is approved, the wage garnishments and/or Treasury Offset Payments will be discontinued.

• Second, we will review the TPD discharge application that you submit along with any supporting documentation to ensure that the application is complete, and that it includes information that indicates you may qualify for a discharge.
• Finally, once we have received all required documentation and have determined that you appear to meet the eligibility requirements for a TPD discharge, we will forward your request on to the Department for a final decision.

What happens if I apply based on VA determination of unemployability due to service-connected disability?

The Department will evaluate the documentation that you submit and either approve or deny your TPD discharge request.

Approval

If the Department approves your discharge request, we will notify you and the holders of your loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation of the approval. We will also instruct the loan holders to return any loan payments received on or after your disability date to the person who made the payments. For this purpose, your “disability date” is the effective date of the VA’s determination that you have a service-connected disability (or disabilities) that is 100% disabling or an individual unemployability rating.

After being notified that the Department has approved your discharge request, your loan holders will discharge your loans.

Denial

If the Department denies your discharge request, we will notify you of the denial. We will also instruct your loan holders to resume collection activity on your loans. The letter that we send will include the reason for the denial and information on how you may request a re-evaluation of your application by submitting additional documentation from the VA.

What happens if I apply based on SSA documentation or licensed medical professional’s certification?

The Department will evaluate the required documentation we received from SSA or that you submitted and either approve or deny your TPD discharge request.

Approval

If the Department approves your TPD discharge request, the following will occur:

• We will notify you and the holders of your loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation of the approval.
• We will instruct the loan holders to return any loan payments received after your disability date to the person who made the payments. For this purpose, your “disability date” is the date we received the documentation of your SSA notice of award for SSDI or SSI benefits, or the date a licensed medical professional signed your discharge application, depending on the type of documentation you provided to show that you are totally and permanently disabled.
• After being notified that the Department has approved your discharge request, your loan holders will transfer your loans and/or TEACH Grant service obligation to us for discharge. You will then be subject to a 3-year post-discharge monitoring period that begins on the date the discharge is approved. There are requirements that you must meet during the post-discharge monitoring period. Click here for detailed information regarding the 3-year post-discharge monitoring period requirements.
• We will reinstate your obligation to repay your discharged loans or complete your discharged TEACH Grant service obligation if at any time during the 3-year monitoring period you do not meet the requirements of the post-discharge monitoring period.

Denial

If the Department denies your TPD discharge request, we will notify you of the denial. We will also instruct your loan holders to resume collection activity on your loans. The letter that we send will include the reason for the denial and instructions on what you can do if you have questions about the basis of the decision or believe there is other information that the Department should consider.

Note: If you receive a new Direct Loan, Perkins Loan, or TEACH Grant before the Department grants a discharge, the Department will deny your discharge request and instruct your loan holders to resume collection activity on your loans.

Will I be eligible for new loans or teach grants?

If the Department grants a TPD discharge of your federal student loans or TEACH Grant service obligation, you will not be eligible to receive a new Direct Loan, Perkins Loan, or TEACH Grant in the future unless:

• You obtain a certification from a licensed medical professional that you are able to engage in substantial gainful activity; and
• You sign a statement acknowledging that the new loan or TEACH Grant service obligation cannot be discharged in the future on the basis of any injury or illness present at the time the new loan or TEACH Grant is made, unless your condition substantially deteriorates so that you are again totally and permanently disabled.

In addition, if your discharge was granted based on documentation from the SSA or a licensed medical professional’s certification and you request a new Direct Loan, Perkins Loan, or TEACH Grant during the 3-year post-discharge monitoring period described earlier, you must resume repayment on the previously discharged loans or acknowledge that you are once again subject to the terms of your TEACH Grant service obligation before you can receive the new loan or TEACH Grant.

How do I apply?

For information about TPD discharge application options, click here.

If you are ready to download your TPD discharge application at StudentAid.gov, click here.