How to Get Navient Student Loan Forgiveness in 2026

What Is Navient Student Loan Forgiveness?

Navient does not offer its own forgiveness program. Borrowers with federal loans that were serviced by Navivent (Direct Loans, FFELP, or Perkins) must pursue forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education's existing programs. Private loans from Navient, branded as Navient Private Student Loans, are generally not eligible for any federal forgiveness program.

The three main forgiveness paths for federal loans are:

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), For borrowers working full-time for a qualifying government or nonprofit employer after 120 qualifying monthly payments.
• Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Forgiveness, Forgiveness of remaining balance after 20 or 25 years of qualifying payments.
• Closed-School Discharge, Full loan cancellation if your school closed while you were enrolled (or shortly after).

The transfer to Aidvantage has no effect on your eligibility for these programs. However, borrowers should verify that their payment counts were transferred correctly, see the step-by-step section below.

For a deeper look at eligibility requirements, see our guide on student loan forgiveness after 20 years.

Why Payment Counts Matter

Your forgiveness eligibility depends on the number of qualifying monthly payments you have made. During the 2021 transfer from Navient to Aidvantage, some borrowers experienced incorrect counts due to missing records, incorrect loan status codes, or misapplied forbearance. The following steps will help you verify and fix your counts.

1. Log in to StudentAid.gov, Your official payment history is stored here, not at your servicer. Use the "My Aid" section to view loan details.
2. Request a payment count from your current servicer, If your loans are now with Aidvantage, log in to aidvantage.com and request a repayment history summary.
3. Compare both records, Check that every month you made a qualifying payment is reflected. Note: months in default, forbearance, or deferment generally do not count.
4. Dispute discrepancies using the PSLF Help Tool, If you work in public service, use studentaid.gov/pslf to request a review. If payments are missing, submit documentation (bank statements, pay stubs) via the tool.
5. File a complaint if unresolved, Contact the CFPB (consumerfinance.gov) or the FSA Ombudsman group at 1-800-433-3243.

After the servicer transfer, borrowers should also verify that their IDR plan enrollment was correctly renewed. Missing a recertification deadline can pause counting toward forgiveness.

Why Navient Stopped Servicing Federal Loans

Navient ended its federal student loan servicing contract with the Department of Education in 2021. Effective October 2021, approximately 6 million accounts were transferred to Aidvantage, a division of Maximus. The transfer was mandated by the Department of Education after years of complaints about Navient's servicing and a 2022 settlement requiring the company to pay $1.85 billion for alleged deceptive practices.

Key points for borrowers:

• Your loans still exist, The debt is the same; only the servicer changed.
• Your payment history transferred, Qualifying payments made while Navient was your servicer count toward forgiveness.
• Your interest rate and repayment term remain the same, No changes to loan terms.
• Your account on StudentAid.gov was updated, The official data source is the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).

For those who had private loans through Navient, those loans remain with Navient (now operating as a private lender). Federal forgiveness programs do not apply to private loans. However, borrowers can explore options like refinancing or negotiating a settlement, neither of which is forgiveness, but both can reduce the balance.

Borrowers who work in public safety should also see Can Firefighters Get Student Loan Forgiveness.

Several pitfalls can derail forgiveness for borrowers who had loans with Navient. The most common errors relate to incorrect payment records, missing recertification deadlines, and assuming private loans qualify for federal programs.

Expert Tips

• Download your complete payment history from StudentAid.gov before any future servicer transfer.
• Recertify your income on time each year, missing the deadline can reset IDR payment counts.
• Use the PSLF Help Tool every year to confirm your employer still qualifies.
• Consider consolidating FFELP loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to access IDR forgiveness and PSLF.
• Check if your loans were held by the FFELP program, those do not qualify for PSLF unless consolidated.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming forbearance counts toward forgiveness, it does not, except under specific limited waivers.
• Paying a third-party company to LEARN MORE forgiveness, you can do it yourself for free at StudentAid.gov.
• Ignoring the transfer to Aidvantage, update your contact info and billing preferences at the new servicer.
• Missing the recertification window, set a calendar reminder 90 days before your IDR recert date.

Pros and Cons

• 👍 Navivent-era payments count toward forgiveness, no reset after the transfer.
• 👍 Aidvantage is a servicer with fewer complaints than Navient (CFPB data).
• 👎 Transfer caused some borrower records to lose correct payment counts.
• 👎 Private Navient loans have no federal forgiveness options.

Bottom Line

Navient borrowers have not lost their path to forgiveness. The key is verifying that your payment history from the Navient years is accurately reflected at your new servicer and on StudentAid.gov. The servicer transfer itself does not reset progress. However, borrowers with private Navient loans should not expect forgiveness, those are commercial loans with no federal program access. Always check directly with the Department of Education before paying for help.