Fill Out Cancer Treatment Deferment Request Online
Cancer Treatment Deferment Request (CANC)
Federal Student Aid
Requests postponement of federal student loan payments while the borrower is undergoing cancer treatment and for six months afterward.
Reviewed July 2026
How it works
- 1
Open the form. The official PDF loads straight into the editor, no download needed first.
- 2
Fill it out in the editor. Click anywhere to type, add checkmarks and place your signature.
- 3
Download your PDF. Save the completed form, ready to print or submit.
The Cancer Treatment Deferment Request (CANC) pauses federal student loan payments while a borrower is receiving cancer treatment and for six months after treatment ends. It applies to Direct Loans, FFEL Program loans, and Perkins Loans, and it includes a physician certification section that documents the treatment period.
You can fill in the borrower sections in the Universal PDF editor, download the finished PDF, and bring it to your doctor to complete the certification before sending the form to your loan servicer.
What makes this deferment different
Unlike most deferments, the cancer treatment deferment carries a broad interest benefit. No interest is charged during the deferment period on Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Direct Consolidation Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans, among others listed on the form. A small set of older FFEL and Perkins era loan types still accrue interest, and the form lists those separately.
The form also asks your loan holder to place any loans that are not eligible for the deferment into forbearance for the same period, unless you check the box declining that.
Who qualifies
You qualify if you are receiving, or have received, cancer treatment as certified by a physician, and your loan either was made on or after September 28, 2018 or had entered repayment on or before September 28, 2018.
The deferment begins on the later of September 28, 2018 or the date you began treatment, and it continues through treatment plus six months afterward.
How to fill out the form
The form has a borrower part and a physician part:
- Section 1: your identifying and contact information
- Section 2: the eligibility conditions, which you should read carefully before signing
- Section 3: your requests, including whether you want forbearance on ineligible loans and whether you want to make interest payments on them, followed by your signature and date
- Section 4: completed by a doctor of medicine or osteopathy, who confirms that you are receiving or scheduled to receive cancer treatment and provides the treatment start and expected end dates; separate documentation from the doctor with the same information is also accepted
How to submit it
Send the completed form and the physician certification to your loan servicer, using the address in Section 7 of your copy if one is shown. Submit a separate request to each loan holder if your loans are held in more than one place.
If your treatment is expected to last longer than a year, your loan holder may approve one year at a time and let you extend the deferment with a new certification from your physician.
Frequently asked questions
Not on most loan types. The form lists the loans that carry no interest during this deferment, including Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct PLUS, Perkins, and subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans. A few older loan types, such as Federal PLUS Loans and SLS loans, still accrue interest during the deferment.
It covers your treatment period plus six months after treatment ends. If treatment is expected to run longer than a year, the loan holder may grant the deferment in one year increments and extend it based on a new physician certification.
A doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy who is legally authorized to practice medicine. The doctor certifies your treatment status and dates in Section 4, or you can attach separate documentation from the doctor that includes the same details.
By default the form asks your loan holder to put them into forbearance for the same period. Interest accrues during that forbearance, and you can check a box to make interest payments on those loans or a different box to decline the forbearance entirely.
Yes. Fill in the borrower sections in the Universal PDF editor, download the PDF, then print and sign it and have your physician complete their section before you send it to your servicer.
Related forms
Universal PDF is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Forms are provided from official government sources; always confirm you have the current version before filing.