Coronavirus and Forbearance Info for Students, Borrowers, and Parents

• We at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) office of Federal Student Aid are actively monitoring the new coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak.
• On March 27, 2020, the president signed the CARES Act into law, which, among other things, provides broad relief for federal student loan borrowers. Below we have answered questions about several provisions of the Act. Questions that have been added or updated are identified with “NEW” or “UPDATED” before each question.
• If you’re concerned about your studies or loan repayment, we can help you understand what to do in certain circumstances. We’ll be adding information for students, borrowers, and parents to this page on a regular basis, so please check back frequently.
• Your payments will automatically stop from March 13, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2020.
• To provide relief to student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 national emergency, federal student loan borrowers are automatically being placed in an administrative forbearance, which allows you to temporarily stop making your monthly loan payment. This suspension of payments will last until Sept. 30, 2020, but you can still make payments if you choose.