What Jobs Qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)?
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program1 was created by the U.S. government as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and offers a path to forgiveness for federal student loan borrowers working at least 10 years, full-time for the government or a qualifying nonprofit organization. Since then, $69.2 billion of student loan debt has been discharged through the PSLF program (as of July 2024), according to the Education Department (ED). The PSLF program has been fully managed through Federal Student Aid since May 2024.
This program is only available to federal student loan borrowers (it’s important to note that the PSLF program is not available for private student loans). Additionally, the rules and requirements for PSLF have changed multiple times since the program’s inception. Read on for a deeper understanding of how the PSLF program works and what types of public sector jobs could qualify.
What is PSLF?
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program may provide loan forgiveness for eligible federal Direct Loan borrowers who work full-time for qualifying government or nonprofit organizations and meet program requirements, including making 120 qualifying payments. Here's how it works.
How does PSLF work?
To pursue and qualify for PSLF, 120 qualifying monthly payments must be made under a qualifying repayment plan — typically, an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan — paid on time (within 15 days of due date) and in the full due amount.
What jobs qualify for PSLF?
As for job types and titles, qualifying employment for the PSLF program is more about your employer than the job you do. If you're a full-time government employee (federal, state, local, or tribal), your employment is likely eligible for PSLF, though additional criteria must be met at the borrower-level. You could even be eligible for PSLF as a government contractor, so long as you’re directly employed by a qualifying employer — such as a nonprofit — that is doing work under a government contract. Just note that as a contractor, you’re generally considered full-time if you work at least 30 hours per week or if you meet your employer’s definition of full-time — whichever is greater.
Qualifying for PSLF as a nonprofit employee
If you’re employed by a nonprofit, the general rule is that it needs to be tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. However, there’s a chance you could be eligible for PSLF even if your organization is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. According to studentaid.gov, a nonprofit that is not tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) could be considered a qualifying employer if it provides certain types of qualifying public services. For example, eligible not-for-profit organizations include most private elementary and secondary schools, private colleges and universities, and many other organizations.
A not-for-profit organization that is not exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is considered a qualifying employer if it provides at least one of the following public services:
- Emergency management
- Military service (on behalf of the U.S. armed forces or the National Guard) or civilian service to the military
- Law enforcement: Crime prevention, control or reduction of crime, or the enforcement of criminal law
- Public interest law services
- Early childhood education
- Public service for individuals with disabilities or older adults
- Public health
- Public safety
- Public education
- Public library services
- School library or other school-based services
Learn more here.
Common job types that qualify for PSLF
Common jobs that could qualify for PSLF include:
- Healthcare workers such as:
- Doctors
- Physician assistants
- Nurses
- EMTs
- Hospital support personnel
- Therapists
- Mental health counselors
- Other HCPs
- Educators such as:
- K-12 teachers
- Special education teachers
- Student aides
- Professors
- School administrators
- Librarians
- School support personnel
- First responders employed by federal, state, local, or tribal governments, such as:
- Law enforcement professionals
- Firefighters
- EMTs
- Active-duty military personnel
- Government personnel employed by federal, state, local, or tribal governments, such as:
- Officials
- Aides and support personnel
- Social workers
- Researchers
- Contract workers
- Compensated volunteer and nonprofit work such as:
- AmeriCorps
- Peace Corps
To better understand your PSLF eligibility, you can also use the employer search tool on studentaid.gov to see if your current and past employers are on the eligible list.
Jobs that don’t qualify for PSLF
To further understand what types of jobs and employers typically do qualify for PSLF, it can be helpful to understand the ones that do not. Here’s a short list:
- For-profit organizations, including for-profit government contractors
- Labor unions
- Partisan political organizations
Learn more about job types, employers, and employment circumstances that do not qualify for PSLF.
How to apply for PSLF
Getting in and staying in the PSLF program is a notoriously challenging process with a high rejection rate. According to data from studentaid.gov for applications processed from June 30, 2024 through April 30, 2026, only 15.2% of all processed PSLF applications have been approved (708,000 approved for discharge among 4,661,000 total applications). To pursue and qualify for PSLF, you will need to follow these general steps:
Is your employer a government entity or qualifying not-for-profit organization? Use the employer search tool on studentaid.gov to check if your current or past employers are eligible.
Learn more about applying for PSLF at studentaid.gov/pslf. For expert guidance on the PSLF application process, schedule a free consultation2 with one of our student loan specialists.
Alternatives if your job doesn’t qualify for PSLF
If you don’t qualify for PSLF, you may still have other options for federal student loan forgiveness through IDR programs. To learn more about forgiveness through IDR programs, you can contact us for a free student loan consultation. Our student loan specialists can help you compare IDR plans and review your repayment or forgiveness options.
Final words: PSLF-qualifying jobs
For many working Americans, PSLF is a financial lifeline that significantly eases the burden of student loan debt, making it possible to actualize a successful career in public service. While expanded eligibility criteria and waivers have helped make PSLF available to more federal student loan borrowers, many public sector professionals still find the constantly changing legislative landscape as well as the paperwork required for the program to be daunting and time-consuming.
If you have questions about the PSLF process, schedule a free consultation with our student loan specialists and learn more about how to qualify for PSLF or other federal forgiveness programs.