Fill Out Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application Online
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application (TLFA)
Federal Student Aid
Applies for forgiveness of Direct or FFEL Program loans after five consecutive complete academic years of qualifying teaching at a low-income school.
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 Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application (TLFA) is how eligible teachers request forgiveness on Direct Loan and FFEL Program loans after teaching full time for at least five consecutive, complete academic years at an eligible low income school or educational service agency. The amount that can be forgiven depends on your teaching category and is listed on StudentAid.gov.
You can fill in the borrower sections in the Universal PDF editor and download a clean PDF, then have the chief administrative officer of your school or agency complete the certification before you send the application to your loan servicer.
Who qualifies
The core requirement is employment as a full time teacher for five consecutive, complete academic years at an eligible elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency. The form's definitions make clear that a teacher means someone providing direct classroom teaching or classroom type teaching in a non-classroom setting; school librarians, guidance counselors, and administrative staff do not count for this program.
Higher forgiveness amounts apply to highly qualified full time special education teachers and to highly qualified secondary math and science teachers, with a lower amount for other highly qualified elementary and secondary teachers. The exact figures for each category are listed on StudentAid.gov and printed on the form.
How to fill out the application
The application has borrower sections and a certification section:
- Section 1: your identifying information
- Section 2: check where you taught during the five year period and the teacher categories that apply to you
- Section 3: disclose any loan forgiveness you previously applied for or received from another loan holder or servicer
- Section 4: read the understandings, then sign and date the application
- Section 5: completed by the chief administrative officer (CAO) of the school or educational service agency, who certifies your dates of qualifying service; if you taught at more than one school, either a single CAO with access to all the records or a CAO from each school must certify
How to submit it
Return the completed application to your loan servicer at the address shown in Section 7 of your copy. If you are requesting forgiveness on loans held by different loan holders, each one needs its own application with its own certification.
While your application is under review, your loan holder applies a forbearance on the qualifying loans from the date it receives the completed application until the request is approved or denied, unless you tell it you want to keep making payments. Continuing to pay during review can reduce the amount left to forgive.
Points to check before applying
A few program rules are worth confirming on StudentAid.gov before you file: the school or agency must qualify as low income for the relevant years, which you can check in the Department's published low income school directory; the same period of teaching service cannot be counted toward both Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness; and PLUS loans are not eligible for this program.
Frequently asked questions
After you have completed the five consecutive, complete academic years of qualifying teaching. During those years you can use the separate Teacher Loan Forgiveness Forbearance Request to pause payments if your expected forgiveness would cover your remaining balance.
It depends on your teaching category. Highly qualified special education teachers and secondary math and science teachers qualify for the higher tier, and other highly qualified elementary and secondary teachers for the lower tier. The current amounts are listed on StudentAid.gov.
An official at your school or educational service agency who has access to the employment records that establish your eligibility, typically a principal, superintendent, or human resources officer. If you taught at multiple schools, one CAO with access to all records can certify for all of them, or each school's CAO certifies separately.
No. The same period of teaching service cannot count toward both programs. Teachers with larger balances often compare the two on StudentAid.gov before deciding which to pursue.
By default your loan holder places the qualifying loans in forbearance from the date it receives your completed application until a decision is made. You can opt to keep paying instead, but the form notes that doing so may reduce the amount of your forgiveness.
No. The application covers Direct Loan and FFEL Program loans. PLUS loans and Perkins Loans are not eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness, though Perkins Loans have separate cancellation provisions described on StudentAid.gov.
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.