There are a variety of ways that student loans can be canceled; however, the override requirements are quite strict and the guidelines must be adhered to and followed without question. One way to cancel your student loans is if you are totally and permanently disabled. The Department of Education has a very strict definition regarding what qualifies as a permanent and total disability, or TPD. To qualify as defined by the Department, you must be unable to work or earn money due to any injury or illness that is expected to last an indefinite period of time or expire, that is, the death of the student in question. The Department’s definition and requirements for TPD differ significantly from the standards set by agencies such as Social Security, Veterans Affairs, and most other federal agencies.

There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to get your student loans discharged this way. Appropriate loan holders and guaranteed agencies should first review each application; it is only after the application is approved that it can be sent to the Department of Education for further review. Please note that at any time during the review processes, you and your physician may be contacted.

Both a medical doctor and a doctor of osteopathy licensed to practice medicine in the United States must describe and authorize both your injury or illness and your permanent and total disability status, all on the application itself. In the same way, each lender should receive a separate application, containing their own original signature and the signature of the doctor, which must be original or a suitable photocopy; stamped signatures are not allowed.

If you were disabled as defined by the Department of Education prior to obtaining the final disbursement of any federal student loan, except consolidation loans, you do not qualify for an annulment. Injuries, illnesses and disabilities must occur before the last disbursement.

When submitting a TPD application, please understand that you will need to verify your income through the Internal Revenue Service. In general, income must be verified for the three years immediately following the date you became disabled.

Finally, if the Department of Education approves your TPD application, they will likely also review any eligibility for reimbursements that involve payments made prior to the date of your disability.

Another way to get your student loans canceled occurs when you have obtained a student loan while attending a college that closed prior to completion of your studies. This also applies to federal student loans, but only if you were actively enrolled, at least part-time, when you closed college and thus were unable to finish your program. You are still considered an actively enrolled student if, at the time of closing, you are on an approved license. Eligibility is also a possibility if the school closed 90 days maximum prior to its withdrawal.

However, students do not qualify for withdrawals or cancellations under these circumstances if they continue to participate and complete a similar program while studying at a different university. If you are working towards a degree comparable to the one you were looking for in the closed school, you may need to repay the withdrawal amount. Also, you do not qualify if you finished all course work but simply did not receive a degree.

There is a possibility that your loans will be canceled if the college or university you attend admits that you were not tested to see how much you could benefit from the course work provided, or that you did not pass the test. Similarly, if the school did not offer facilities, classes, or programs to get you where you need to be, you may be eligible for an override. Similarly, if you don’t meet physical, legal, or other requirements, but are accepted into a school or program anyway, you may be disqualified. In these cases, it doesn’t matter if you have a high school diploma or a comparable certificate, such as a GED.

You are also not eligible for a cancellation of your student loans if you simply feel that the school you attended miseducated you, employed inadequate and unqualified teachers, or offered you poor equipment. If the institution did not provide you with a job placement or promised something else that you did not deliver, you are not eligible for any termination.

Under the Perkins loan regulation, federal law provides that if a borrower is “providing or supervising the provision of services to high-risk children from low-income communities and the families of these children” (Section 674.56[b] Perkins Loan), he or she is eligible to receive a termination of child / family services. Eligibility is also possible if you are caring for adults in a similar way. However, with adults, the services you provide should not overshadow those you offer to high-risk children.