Oct 18, 2022 4 min read

A beta version of the Biden administration’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan application went live Friday night, the White House announced over the weekend.

The official student loan forgiveness application will be available later this month, officials said.

During this soft launch period, the application will be available periodically, while the Department of Education works to identify and correct any issues in the application process.

Changes will not be made to the debt relief form itself, but tweaks may be made to the host site or website software.

Applications submitted during the beta period will not be processed until the official form launches, but qualifying Americans who submit their online paperwork now will not have to refile a claim, the DOE said in a bulletin posted Saturday.

The Biden administration announced the Student Loan Debt Relief Plan in August. The plan received backlash from Republican states, six of which have filed lawsuits against the White House’s debt relief plan.

But for millions of Americans saddled in student debt, the relief program – which promises $10,000 or $20,000 in debt relief, income and Pell Grant status depending – and the launch of the beta application were met with enthusiasm.

Over the weekend, messages reading, “Student loan forgiveness application was so easy I thought I got scammed” circulated on social media. The application process was easier than Melanie Blassingame, a Uniontown native and 2015 University of Pittsburgh graduate, dreamed.

“I was expecting kind of FAFSA form difficulty. It was so easy,” said Blassingame, who earned a B.A. in psychology and serves as a mental health specialist. “All the details that I know – my name, my birthday – all the things that I know off the top of my head, I just typed in and it was done.”

The application does not require an FSA – the federal student loan equivalent of a Social Security number – nor does it require individuals to upload financial documents. Borrowers simply check a box verifying under perjury of law that the information provided is correct.

The application process can be completed in fewer than five minutes on computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones.

Blassingame, like an estimated 1.7 million Pennsylvanians eligible for student loan forgiveness, is looking forward to her federal debt being halved. Since beginning her undergrad, the mental health specialist has held at least two jobs, and Blassingame said although she could never have the career she does without a college degree, she wasn’t prepared as a teen for the repercussions of taking on so much debt.

“I think that growing up in a rural area where some people went to college … people were like, there are options. There are scholarships. Jobs will pay for you to have a college degree,” Blassingame said. “I’m in a position of working more than 40 hours a week to make ends meet. I’ve worked so hard to budget and get rid of my debt independently, after being misled that there would be so many options for me not to have student loan debt.

“I’m so happy to have (the application) done.”

Student debt relief will not be offered before Oct. 23, but those who file loan forgiveness applications early may have their debt wiped out in time for the holidays: Claims may be honored as early as November, the DOE said.

Once the formal student loan forgiveness site launches, debt relief will be provided within weeks of the application being processed.

Unlike in some states, Pennsylvania borrowers will not be taxed on their debt relief, Gov. Tom Wolf asserted in August, when Biden announced the relief program.

Borrowers who file loan forgiveness applications on or before Nov. 15 can expect to see their monthly federal loan payments shrink when the pandemic payment freeze thaws in January. Federal student loan payments will resume at the start of 2023, after a years-long pause due to COVID-19.

The DOE encourages qualifying borrowers to file student loan forgiveness payments sooner rather than later. Loan forgiveness applications will be available through Dec. 31, 2023.

For more information, or to submit your student debt relief application, visit https://studentaid.gov/.