Reviewed program guide
Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
A federal discharge of eligible student loans and of a TEACH Grant service obligation for borrowers with a qualifying total and permanent disability. Many borrowers are now discharged through Social Security and VA data matching without ever applying, so check that before you pay anyone.
Total and Permanent Disability discharge can end repayment on eligible federal student loans, and on a TEACH Grant service obligation, when the Department of Education accepts proof that a disability is total and permanent. Before anything else, check whether it already happened to you. The Department matches its records against Social Security and Department of Veterans Affairs data, and borrowers identified in a match are discharged with no application at all. Sign in to your StudentAid.gov account and read any recent mail from the Department. If a discharge is already in motion, there is no work left to buy, from us or anyone. If you do need to apply, the application is free and you can file it yourself at StudentAid.gov.
Reading this guide does not decide eligibility. The free screening checks your answers against reviewed routing criteria.
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A video guide is in production
We are preparing a reviewed, captioned explainer for this program. The written guide below is available now.
At a glance
Overview
Total and Permanent Disability discharge can end repayment on eligible federal student loans, and on a TEACH Grant service obligation, when the Department of Education accepts proof that a disability is total and permanent. Before anything else, check whether it already happened to you. The Department matches its records against Social Security and Department of Veterans Affairs data, and borrowers identified in a match are discharged with no application at all. Sign in to your StudentAid.gov account and read any recent mail from the Department. If a discharge is already in motion, there is no work left to buy, from us or anyone. If you do need to apply, the application is free and you can file it yourself at StudentAid.gov.
Who it may help
This path is built for borrowers whose physical or mental condition keeps them from working now and is expected to keep doing so. Three groups usually arrive here: veterans with a determination from the Department of Veterans Affairs that they are unemployable because of a service-connected disability, people receiving SSDI or SSI whose award papers show a long disability-review cycle, and people whose treating clinician is willing to certify the federal standard. A family member or authorized representative can act for a borrower who cannot manage the paperwork alone. Receiving disability benefits from any agency does not by itself settle the federal question, because the Department reads the specific documents rather than the diagnosis. Screening can organize preliminary facts and records, but screening cannot determine qualification or select a final path.
How it works
There are three evidence routes and you need only one. A veteran can submit VA documentation of a determination of unemployability due to a service-connected disability, and no medical certification is needed on that route. A Social Security recipient can submit a Benefit Planning Query or an award notice showing a qualifying disability-review schedule. Everyone else has a medical professional complete the certification section of the discharge application: a doctor of medicine or osteopathy, and now also a state-licensed nurse practitioner or physician assistant, or a licensed psychologist practicing independently. The Department handles these applications through StudentAid.gov. A signed certification goes stale, so it has to reach the Department within the window printed on the form. Administrative support can help organize forms, records, and communications; it does not replace the decision-maker's review.
Documents and next steps
Which records matter depends on your route. On the veterans route, the VA letter showing the unemployability determination or the rating it rests on. On the Social Security route, a Benefit Planning Query or the award notice, whichever one shows your disability-review schedule or established onset date, since that detail rather than the benefit itself is what the Department reads. On the medical route, the completed certification signed by your clinician, dated recently enough to still be usable. Everyone should bring the federal loan record from StudentAid.gov, any letter the Department or a servicer has already sent about disability, and, if someone is acting for the borrower, the paperwork showing that authority. The next step is to compare the records with the cited official source and any current instructions issued by the responsible agency, court, creditor, or other decision-maker.
Read this carefully
Important considerations
Old information is the biggest hazard here. Servicing of these discharges moved back in-house to the Department, yet many websites, and even some servicer pages, still send borrowers to the phone number and website of the company that used to handle them. Processing has been paused before, which is why we set no date for a decision. After a discharge, the Department no longer monitors your income the way it once did. A different rule survives: taking out a new federal Direct Loan or receiving a new TEACH Grant within a set period after discharge can reinstate the obligation you just cleared, so talk to us before borrowing again. On taxes, current federal law excludes a disability discharge from federal taxable income when the return reports the required Social Security numbers. Whether California does the same is a question for a tax professional, and a servicer may still issue a 1099-C. Attorney judgment is separate from administrative help and is required for individualized legal strategy or advice.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
These answers provide general information. Your facts and records determine what may apply.
How can I tell whether my loans were already discharged without me applying?
The Department matches its records against Social Security and VA data, and borrowers identified in a match are discharged without filing anything. Sign in to your StudentAid.gov account, look at the status of each loan, and read any mail from the Department or your servicer. Tell us what you find before anything is signed: if the discharge has already happened, there is nothing here for a law firm to do, and we would rather say so than open a matter.
I receive SSDI. Does that mean I qualify?
Not by itself. The Department looks at what your award notice or Benefit Planning Query says about when your case is scheduled for a disability review, or how long ago your disability onset was established. Some award notices show a schedule that fits the federal standard and some do not, and the wording is easy to misread. If your papers do not fit, the medical certification route may still be open.
Will a discharge create a tax bill or affect future borrowing?
Current federal law treats a disability discharge as excluded from federal taxable income when the return reports the required Social Security numbers, and a servicer may still send a 1099-C. Whether California treats it the same way is a question we send to a tax professional rather than answer ourselves. Separately, taking out a new federal Direct Loan or receiving a new TEACH Grant within a set period after discharge can reinstate the obligation that was discharged.
Official sources
- Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education (opens in a new window)
Retrieved Jul 24, 2026
Important disclosure
This page provides general information, not a qualification or legal determination. Screening and services cannot guarantee approval, forgiveness, discharge, settlement, timing, or any particular result. The responsible agency, court, creditor, or other decision-maker applies the controlling requirements.
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