Key Factors
- The PSLF Buyback backlog stood at roughly 88,000 pending requests as of April 30, 2026, although the Division of Schooling estimates 18,000 to 19,000 of these are duplicate submissions.
- April 2026 was the primary month selections outpaced new requests since court-ordered reporting started: 6,870 requests had been processed towards 4,790 obtained, with a 96% approval charge.
- Based mostly on reader reviews to The Faculty Investor, common processing time now runs 20 to 24 months — debtors who submitted requests in December 2024 are nonetheless ready as of August 2026.
The Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness (PSLF) Buyback program lets debtors pay for previous months spent in deferment or forbearance so these months rely towards the 120 funds wanted for forgiveness. This system in style as a result of SAVE forbearance and stays badly backed up.
As of the newest court-filed information, about 88,000 buyback requests had been pending with the Division of Schooling. That is up from 49,318 when court-ordered reporting started in mid-2025, and it peaked at 89,720 in March 2026. The division now says a significant share of the queue (an estimated 18,000 to 19,000 requests) are duplicates from debtors who submitted greater than as soon as whereas ready, which might put the true variety of debtors in line nearer to 69,000 to 70,000.
There may be one piece of actual progress: April 2026 was the primary month on file the place the division determined extra buyback requests than it obtained. Whether or not that tempo holds is the query that may decide how lengthy debtors preserve ready.
What The Numbers Look Like
For a lot of the program’s existence, debtors had no visibility into the buyback queue. That modified due to a lawsuit.
The American Federation of Academics sued the Division of Schooling over stalled income-driven compensation (IDR) and PSLF processing. Below the ensuing settlement in AFT v. U.S. Division of Schooling, the division should file standing reviews with the federal courtroom exhibiting precisely what number of IDR and buyback purposes it obtained, processed, accredited, and denied every month. The settlement additionally protects delayed debtors from an sudden tax invoice — extra on that beneath.
The newest report, filed Might 19, 2026, covers April and exhibits:
- 4,790 new buyback requests obtained
- 6,870 requests processed — 6,600 accredited, 200 denied, and 70 closed and not using a resolution
- 11,500 mortgage discharges accomplished
- ~88,000 requests nonetheless pending
The approval charge has climbed sharply. In February 2026, about 81% of determined requests had been accredited. By April, that determine hit 96%,an indication the division is clearing eligible requests fairly than working by denials.
One caveat: a few of these denials and closures are hitting debtors who reached 120 qualifying funds on their very own whereas ready, making their buyback requests moot by the point they had been reviewed.
Choose Reggie B. Walton held a standing convention within the case on August 5, 2026, and the following one is ready for September 2, 2026. Information protecting Might, June, and July had not been publicly filed as of this replace.
It is also seemingly the queue of pending requests has dropped to the 60,000 vary because the duplicates had been eliminated en-masse in June and July 2026.
How Does PSLF Buyback Work?
PLSF Buyback permits debtors looking for Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness to make funds for time in forbearance as a lump sum.
Debtors involved in PSLF Buyback should submit a request by PSLF Reconsideration and specify that they’re looking for to purchase again months. If accredited, they have to make a lump-sum fee equal to what they’d have owed beneath an Earnings-Pushed Reimbursement (IDR) plan for the months they’re shopping for again.
Key particulars on eligibility:
- Debtors should have 120 accredited months of qualifying employment earlier than making use of.
- Solely deferment or forbearance durations tied to eligible employment could be purchased again.
- The buyback quantity is calculated primarily based on what the borrower’s IDR fee would have been on the time.
- Funds should be accomplished inside 90 days of receiving the buyback settlement.
As soon as the fee is made, the borrower’s mortgage is processed for PSLF forgiveness.
How Lengthy Does PSLF Buyback Take?
The method nonetheless follows 5 levels, however the wait at stage two is the place debtors get caught:
- Request submitted by StudentAid.gov
- Evaluation — a guide eligibility test by Federal Scholar Support workers. That is the bottleneck. Based mostly on reader reviews to The Faculty Investor, common processing time is now 20 to 24 months, and debtors who submitted in December 2024 are nonetheless ready as of August 2026.
- Buyback settlement despatched with the quantity owed
- Fee window — 90 days to pay
- Remaining processing — forgiveness and discharge, which may take a number of extra weeks to point out in your account
When this text was first printed in early 2025, the division was quoting 60 to 90 days for processing. That steering is gone.
The division now not publishes an official timeline, and the maths explains why: even at April’s file tempo of 6,870 selections per thirty days, working by 88,000 pending requests would take about 13 months — or roughly 10 months if the duplicate requests are stripped out first. And that math solely covers the present queue, not the debtors already deep in it. The division says it plans to establish and take away duplicates up entrance fairly than catching them later within the course of, which ought to assist.
In the event you’re near 120 funds, it might pay to evaluate buyback towards merely resuming funds — many debtors within the queue will hit 120 by common month-to-month funds earlier than their request is ever reviewed.
What This Means For Your Family
In the event you’re ready on buyback, your loans keep of their present standing till the request is determined — and for a lot of debtors, which means funds proceed. This is the sensible fallout:
Maintain making funds if you happen to’re in compensation. Months you pay whereas ready nonetheless rely towards PSLF if you happen to’re in a qualifying plan and job. If forgiveness comes by later, funds made past your one hundred and twentieth qualifying month ought to be refunded.
Do not rely on forgiveness for near-term monetary planning. In the event you’re budgeting round mortgage forgiveness — for a house buy, a profession change, or retirement timing — construct in about two years of cushion. Debtors who submitted in December 2024 are nonetheless ready.
Do not submit a second request. Duplicate submissions do not pace something up. The division has flagged roughly one in 5 pending requests as duplicates, and so they’ve clogged the queue for everybody.
Watch your e-mail and StudentAid.gov account. The 90-day fee clock begins when your settlement arrives. Lacking that window means beginning over. Our PSLF guidelines covers what to trace when you wait.
Is Buyback Protected In The Future?
Regardless of all of the proposed adjustments to pupil loans, PSLF buyback does seem secure for now. It has bipartisan help as a result of debtors are making funds in direction of their loans, and that is seen as a very good factor.
Nonetheless, it isn’t assured to exist ceaselessly. Whereas PSLF was created by Congress (and thus would require Congressional motion to eradicate), PSLF Buyback was created by rulemaking. Which means that the present administration may create new guidelines to alter this system or eradicate it.
Since debtors are making lump sum funds, this at present would not look like beneath menace. However with the layoffs on the Division of Schooling, the guide strategy of PSLF buyback could also be going through critical delays.
In case you are eligible for PSLF buyback, it is best to submit your reconsideration request as quickly as potential to be sure to’re within the queue.
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Editor: Colin Graves
The publish PSLF Buyback Delays: Timeline & Updates appeared first on The Faculty Investor.
