How do you find out which company services your student loans?
Summary
For federal loans, log in to StudentAid.gov, go to My Aid, and select "View loan servicer details." Private loans have no single place to look, so you trace each one through its billing statements, the original promissory note or disbursement notice, or your credit report. The servicer is the company that bills you and takes payments, and it is often not the lender that made the loan.
Where to look, by loan type
| Your loan | Where the servicer shows up |
|---|---|
| Direct Loans and FFEL loans owned by ED | StudentAid.gov dashboard, My Aid, "View loan servicer details" |
| FFEL loans not owned by ED | StudentAid.gov dashboard, "My Loan Servicers" section |
| Perkins Loans not owned by ED | The school that made the loan, which may service it itself |
| Private student loans | Billing statements, promissory note, disbursement notice, credit report, school financial aid office |
The Department of Education assigns a servicer after a federal loan is first disbursed. The servicers on StudentAid.gov's list for ED-owned loans are Edfinancial, MOHELA, Aidvantage, Nelnet, ECSI, the Default Resolution Group, and CRI.
One exception trips people up. For a loan for the current or upcoming school year, the school's financial aid office is the contact. Only the school can tell you the loan's status, the deadline for canceling it, and how much will be disbursed and when.
When ED moves your loans
ED sometimes transfers loans to a different servicer. The loans are still owned by ED and their terms do not change. You should get a notice from your current servicer, then a welcome letter from the new one with its contact details. The two servicers are supposed to work together so payments made during the handoff land in the new account. After the welcome letter arrives, send payments to the new servicer and update any bank or bill-pay setup. The new servicer's website may only show history from the date it took over.
Private loans: servicer, lender, and noteholder
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says there is not a single website with information on all of your private student loans. The lender or servicer for each loan should tell you how, when, and to whom to pay, usually through a monthly statement. If you have lost track, the original loan paperwork should name the servicer, and a free report from annualcreditreport.com can turn up loans you forgot about. Private lenders may report loans to the credit bureaus even while you are in school or in deferment.
Three roles can belong to three different companies. The servicer sends the bill. The lender originated the loan. The noteholder owns it. For a private loan, the CFPB says, the noteholder is the direct lender, and your servicer will often be a different company from the lender that originated the loan.
The payoff number
Interest on a student loan builds daily, so the balance on last month's statement is not what it takes to close the loan. The CFPB points borrowers to a payoff quote from the servicer, an estimate of the amount needed to pay the loan in full, usually good for several days. There is generally no penalty for paying early.
Federal servicers help with repayment plans and consolidation at no charge. StudentAid.gov tells borrowers to walk away from any company asking for "enrollment," "subscription," or "maintenance" fees to sign them up. The article on scams and servicer errors covers what to do when something has already gone wrong.
Sources
- Federal Student Aid, studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers
- CFPB, consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-find-out-information-about-my-student-lo…
- CFPB, consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-student-loan-servicer-en-583
- CFPB, consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/student-loans/answers/key-terms
- CFPB, consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-i-pay-off-my-student-loan-in-full-at-any-time…
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from the sources' published pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.