Student Loan Forgiveness for Students with Disabilities: A Comprehensive Guide

Student loan debt can be a significant burden, especially for individuals with disabilities. Recognizing this challenge, the U.S. Congress created the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge program to alleviate the financial hardship of student loan borrowers who become disabled. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the TPD discharge program, its requirements, and other potential avenues for student loan forgiveness for students with disabilities.

Understanding the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge Program

The Department of Education's TPD discharge program eliminates federal student loan debt for qualified borrowers who are totally and permanently disabled. Under federal law, individuals with such disabilities are eligible for a discharge of their federal student loans and TEACH Grant service obligations. It is important to note that the TPD discharge program operates independently of other federal and state disability benefits programs, such as those administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Social Security Administration.

Between 2020 and 2025, the Education Department approved $18.7 billion in debt relief for nearly 633,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability, and recent improvements to the program make it easier than ever for borrowers to access debt relief.

Eligibility Criteria for TPD Discharge

To receive TPD discharge, you must demonstrate that you have a physical or mental disability that severely limits your ability to work, both currently and in the future. The application uses the term "an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity." In most cases, you'll have to provide specific kinds of proof of your disability.

There are three primary ways to qualify for TPD discharge:

Veterans Affairs (VA) Determination: The Department of Education works with the VA every quarter to identify people who qualify. If you believe you have a qualifying VA disability determination, you can submit a TPD discharge application.
Social Security Administration (SSA) Determination: You can apply for TPD discharge if you’re eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. If you believe you qualify based on an SSA disability determination, you can submit a TPD discharge application.
Medical Professional Certification: You can qualify for TPD discharge by getting a medical professional to certify the “Authorized Medical Professional Certification” section of your TPD discharge application.

The Role of Medical Professionals

Borrowers seeking TPD discharge must have their medical provider complete the application form. The provider will indicate whether the borrower has a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, the severity of the impairment, and the length of the impairment.

However, medical professionals can sometimes be a barrier to a borrower’s debt relief when they decline to complete the required form or complete it incorrectly. Some borrowers reported to the Education Department that their medical provider refused to complete the application-not because the provider disagreed that the patient had a qualifying disability, but because they did not think they were allowed to complete the form based on misconceptions about the program rules.

Completing the TPD Discharge Application

There are two ways a borrower can have their medical provider complete the TPD discharge application:

Original Method: Print an application form, complete and sign one page, and have their provider complete and sign another page.
Online Form: Complete a new online form on StudentAid.gov. After logging into their account, a borrower can attest to their eligibility for TPD discharge and agree to place their loans in forbearance pending discharge approval.

To submit an application digitally, visit the TPD Discharge Application page. You’ll be taken to the first section of the TPD discharge application where you’ll be asked to confirm your contact information.

It is recommended to complete, sign, and submit your TPD discharge application online. You can then upload your manually signed application in the “My Activity” section of your StudentAid.gov account. To do this, log in to StudentAid.gov and visit the “Document Upload Tool” page. From the dropdown below “Submission Type,” select “Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge.” Then, select either “TPD Application” or “Applicant Representative Designation Form” as appropriate for the form being uploaded.

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If neither of these options work for you, you can download a blank TPD discharge application to fill out and submit manually.

Important Considerations for Medical Professionals

On the TPD discharge application, authorized medical professionals must provide their state and professional license number, which the Education Department’s TPD contractor verifies against state licensing databases. If the license number is missing, illegible, or expired, the contractor will first attempt to contact the provider to correct the information. The authorized medical professional must answer all questions and write answers in every text box, even if to indicate “not applicable.” Missed questions or blank text boxes could result in rejection of the application.

Applying on Behalf of Someone Else

A caregiver or representative can apply on your behalf if it’s a challenge to complete an application by yourself. They just need to complete an Applicant Representative Designation (ARD) form (also available as a downloadable PDF).

Once your application is submitted, you’ll be able to track its status in the “My Activity” section of your StudentAid.gov account.

Automatic TPD Discharge

The Education Department announced that it would no longer make those classified as totally and permanently disabled (TPD) by the Social Security Administration (SSA) apply for their federal student loans to be discharged. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that allow them to proactively determine whether you may qualify for a TPD discharge. This applies if you are a veteran as well.

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The Importance of TPD Discharge

Student loan debt is a disability rights issue. Nearly 3 in 5 people with disabilities with student loans struggle with food insecurity and paying house or utility bills. Facing these challenges can force borrowers to take additional jobs to pay for debt. It can stop people from buying houses or cars or seeking more education. The Arc has relentlessly advocated for changes to relieve people with disabilities from student loan debt.

Other Federal Loan Forgiveness Programs

Got federal student loan debt? There are several programs that might forgive your loan in certain situations-if you qualify. Federal loan forgiveness programs refer to federal student loans only-those made by the government, like direct loans. They do not apply to private student loans made from banks, credit unions, and other financial companies.

Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans

An IDR plan bases your monthly payment on your income and family size. Under all four plans, any remaining loan balance is forgiven if your federal student loans aren’t fully repaid at the end of the repayment period. If you’d like to repay your federal student loans under an income-driven plan, you need to fill out an application.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF)

Teaching pays off-literally. Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) can forgive up to $17,500 of your federal direct or Family Federal Education (FFEL) subsidized or unsubsidized loans. You’ve been employed as a full-time teacher at an eligible school for five complete and consecutive academic years. You may be able to qualify to have up to $17,500 of your loans forgiven if you’re a highly qualified special ed and secondary math or science teacher.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

New to PSLF?

Borrower Defense to Repayment

Borrower defense to repayment is a legal ground for discharging federal Direct Loans. Borrowers apply for borrower defense for specific reasons that are outlined more thoroughly here.

Closed School Discharge

Another form of school-related discharge is closed school discharge.

Segal AmeriCorps Education Award

The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award is a benefit received by participants who complete a term of national service in an approved AmeriCorps program-AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, or AmeriCorps State and National.

Forgiveness vs Forbearance

These aren’t the same. Forgiveness erases your debt; forbearance is when a lender lets you stop making payments-or lets you make smaller payments-for a short period of time, like 12 months. This is usually due to a temporary event, like an illness; you can’t make full payments right now, but you will in a few months. Forbearance is available for both federal and most private student loans. Teacher Loan Forgiveness Forbearance lets you defer payments until the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program begins.

Additional Resources and Protection

If you think you qualify for any of these federal loan forgiveness programs, be sure to check with your school’s financial aid office or read up at the official federal student aid site to see if your loans, your employment, or your situation are covered.

The Education Department is taking action against schools that lied or misrepresented things like job placement, how much money their graduates earned, or if their credits would be accepted at other schools.

You never have to pay for help with your student loans.

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