Economic Hardship Deferment

An economic hardship deferment is a means of postponing payments on your student loans during a period of financial difficulty. You may qualify for an economic hardship deferment if you can show evidence of any of these conditions:

	You’ve been granted an economic hardship deferment in another federal student loan program (i.e., Federal Direct Loan, Perkins Loan).
	You receive public assistance (e.g., AFDC, Food Stamps, General Assistance).
	Your monthly income, after deducting payments on student loans, is no more than minimum wage, or puts you below the “poverty line” for your state.

The economic hardship deferment is available for up to 36 months (three years).

If you think you may qualify for the economic hardship deferment, click here to view and print an economic hardship request form. Please read the form carefully to see if you qualify. Because the form is complex and hard to follow (We had trouble when we first read through it!), if you think you may qualify, we urge you to please call us for help in completing the form.

If you have loans that are serviced by more than one servicer, please print a form for each servicer and print the name or your servicer on each form. Mail your completed form(s) to us at:

Student Loan Counseling Service, Inc.
P.O. Box 1078
Waterloo, IA 50704-1078

If you do not qualify for the economic hardship deferment, or have already received it for 36 months, please either check out the other options on this Results page, or click on the Return to Questionnaire button at the bottom of this page, and make another selection.

Print Deferment
Form

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Questionnaire