Who is my federal student loan servicer?

While the U.S. Department of Education is your lender if you have federal student loans, you won’t contact it when you have questions about your account. Instead, you’ll contact your student loan servicer. This company processes all of your payments over the life of the loan, helps you enroll in the right repayment program and answers any questions.

Borrowers don’t choose their loan servicer — they are assigned one. If you don’t know who your loan servicer is, there are a few ways to find out.

Who is my federal loan servicer?

Your loan servicer can provide details about your loan, such as the loan balance, payment history and more. If you have multiple loans with multiple lenders, the Federal Student Aid website is a good place to start. Here are your options:

• Log in to your account. Sign in to your Federal Student Aid account using your FSA ID. Your loan servicer should be listed on your account dashboard next to the details about your student loans.
• Check the National Student Loan Data System. The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the Department of Education’s central database for federal student aid. To access it, you’ll need to enter your FSA ID or create an account. Your account dashboard will list your federal student loans, along with your student loan servicer, loan balance, interest rate, loan status and other details.
• Call the Federal Student Aid Information Center. You may also call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800-433-3243. It will provide details about your federal student loans, including your loan servicer.
• Check your credit reports. Additionally, your loan servicer may be listed on your credit reports. Head to AnnualCreditReport.com, where you can access a credit report from each of the three main credit bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax and Experian — for free once weekly. Once you pull up a credit report, find where your student loans are listed. The loan servicer and lender should be listed next to the loan. For example: “MOHELA/Department of Education.”
• Call your school. If your loan is for the upcoming school year or you’re still enrolled in classes, then your school’s financial aid office can provide your loan details. This includes your loan status, loan amount and how to cancel the loan.

How to contact your loan servicer

Once you graduate or enter repayment, the loan servicer is your main source of information regarding your loan. Right now, your loan is likely managed by one of the following servicers:

The future of federal student loan servicers

The U.S. Department of Education has transitioned to what it’s calling the “Next Gen” platform, which will streamline online resources and cut back on the number of federal student loan servicers. Five servicers were selected for this new initiative, so many student loan borrowers have been moved to new servicers.

Additionally, FedLoan Servicing, Navient and Granite State Management and Resources all opted to exit their contracts with the Department of Education at the end of 2021. FedLoan loans were transferred to MOHELA, Navient loans to Maximus (Aidvantage) and Granite State loans to Edfinancial Services.

If you use automatic payments, you may need to sign up again with your new servicing company.

What happened to former federal student loan services

Three companies have recently discontinued service and transferred loans over to new servicers:

• Loans formerly serviced by Granite State Credit Union have been taken over by Edfinancial Services
• Loans formerly serviced by Navient have been moved to Aidvantage
• FedLoan(PHEAA) student loans have been moved to one of four servicers: MOHELA, Edfinancial, Aidvantage, or Nelnet

Your loan servicer may change if a company’s contract is not renewed with the United States Department of Education.

How can I tell if my loan has been transferred to another servicer?

Your StudentAid.gov account should be updated with your new servicer’s information within 7-10 days of the transfer. Your loan servicer should also notify you of any change, so be sure the contact information they have on file is current.

Loan servicers for private student loans

Your loan information won’t appear in the NSLDS if you have private student loans. Private institutions such as banks, credit unions and online lenders originate these loans and hire loan servicers to manage the accounts, much like federal student loans.

To find out who services your private student loan, log in to your lender’s website or app. You should be able to find details about your loans, including the loan balance, interest rates and loan servicer.

If you have no idea who the loan servicer is, check your credit reports. The loan servicer should be listed next to the account, along with any contact information.

The bottom line

Finding your student loan servicer can seem frustrating, but there are a few ways to locate this information. Start by logging in to your student loan account, calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center or checking your credit reports.

Once you know who your loan servicer is, create an account if you didn’t have one before. You’ll usually need to create a username and password and provide your name, address and Social Security number for verification purposes. Tell your loan servicer when your address or other information changes so it can continue sending you important information about your loan.

Finally, return to your account each month to make payments, track your progress and get information about hardship options.