Fill Out Mandatory Forbearance Request (Student Loan Debt Burden) Online
Mandatory Forbearance Request: Student Loan Debt Burden (SLDB)
Federal Student Aid
Requests a mandatory forbearance when total monthly federal student loan payments are 20 percent or more of gross monthly income.
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 Mandatory Forbearance Request: Student Loan Debt Burden (SLDB) is for borrowers whose total monthly federal student loan payments equal 20 percent or more of their gross monthly income. When you meet the criteria and provide the required documentation, your loan holder must grant the forbearance. It covers Direct Loans, FFEL Program loans, and Perkins Loans.
The form includes a short calculation you complete yourself. You can work through it in the Universal PDF editor, download the finished PDF, and mail it to your loan servicer with your income and payment documentation.
Who qualifies
Section 2 walks you through the eligibility math. You compare your total monthly payments on all Title IV loans, meaning Direct, FFEL, and Perkins loans, against 20 percent of your monthly income.
Monthly income can be either your gross taxable income from all sources or one twelfth of the adjusted gross income from your most recent federal tax return, whichever you choose. If your Title IV payments are equal to or greater than 20 percent of that figure, you qualify. Maximum eligibility for this forbearance is 36 months in total.
How to fill out the form
Complete Section 2 in its entirety, then Section 3:
- State whether you have taxable income; if you have none, you skip straight to Section 3
- Enter your total monthly taxable income and attach documentation such as a tax return, W-2s, or pay stubs
- Multiply your income figure by 0.20 as the form directs
- Enter your total monthly payments on all Title IV loans and attach documentation such as monthly statements or repayment schedules
- In Section 3, choose whether to stop payments or make smaller payments, give your requested start date, and sign and date the form
How to submit it
Send the completed form with both sets of documentation to your loan servicer at the address shown in Section 6 of your copy. If your loans are held by different loan holders, each one needs its own request.
The forbearance is granted in increments of up to 12 months, and you must reapply with fresh documentation to extend it, up to the 36 month lifetime maximum. If it turns out you do not qualify, your loan holder may apply a discretionary general forbearance for the same period instead.
Things to weigh before you apply
Interest is charged on all loans during the forbearance, and time spent in forbearance generally does not count toward forgiveness programs. The form notes that a deferment or an income-driven repayment plan may be an alternative; an income-driven plan in particular can produce a lower payment permanently rather than pausing the problem for a year.
Frequently asked questions
If you meet the eligibility criteria and provide the required documentation, your loan holder is required to grant the forbearance. That is different from a general forbearance, which the loan holder can approve or deny at its discretion.
Two things: proof of your monthly income, such as a tax return, W-2s, pay stubs, or dividend statements, and proof of the monthly payments due on each of your Title IV loans, such as a monthly statement or repayment schedule.
It is granted for up to 12 months at a time, and total eligibility is capped at 36 months. To extend it you reapply and show that you still meet the 20 percent test.
Yes, on all of your loans, subsidized and unsubsidized. Unpaid interest may capitalize on FFEL Program loans not held by the Department, but never on Perkins Loans. You can choose to make interest payments during the forbearance.
The form directs borrowers with no taxable income to skip the calculation and continue to Section 3. With no income, your payments necessarily exceed the 20 percent threshold.
Related forms
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