Education Department delays will keep many Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) claims waiting a year or longer. You must keep paying until buyback approval, and approval is not automatic. PSLF cancels remaining Direct Loan balances after 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full-time for government or nonprofit employers, according to Federal Student Aid's program page.
The American Federation of Teachers and nine borrowers filed a proposed class action on Oct. 30, 2026, alleging gross mismanagement and delays in PSLF decisions, according to the AFT press release. The suit asks the court to force processing and cancellation for affected borrowers.
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Table of Contents
- What the lawsuit says went wrong
- Which borrowers could be covered?
- Do you still have to pay while you wait?
- What should you track now?
What the lawsuit says went wrong
The case centers on PSLF Buyback. Buyback lets borrowers with 120 months of qualifying public-service work make retroactive payments for time spent in ineligible deferment or forbearance. Pending buyback requests rose from 49,318 in April 2025 to 89,720 in March 2026, with about 88,000 still pending on April 30, 2026, according to LexBlog's summary of the complaint.
The complaint also alleges count errors. Beginning in August 2026, the Department removed some previously credited months as coding errors. It also failed to post recent qualifying payments. That pushed some borrowers farther from the 120-payment mark.
Which borrowers could be covered?
The suit seeks three classes. One group covers delayed-buyback applicants. A second covers borrowers stripped of prior credits.
A third covers borrowers missing recent credits. That structure matters for teachers, nurses, and other public servants pursuing forgiveness. If your count dropped suddenly, you may fit a different group than someone waiting on buyback. The court has not certified these groups yet, so they are proposed categories, not final payouts.
Do you still have to pay while you wait?
Yes. There is no published processing time for buyback. Borrowers must keep paying until buyback approval, and they must monitor counts because approval is not automatic, according to The College Investor's buyback guide.
Waiting does not pause the bill. A borrower at 118 certified months who needs two buyback months still owes regular payments. A borrower who stops paying risks delinquency while the application sits.
What should you track now?
Keep copies outside the loan portal. Portals can update counts without showing what changed. A dated file of payments, work periods, and Department messages will make it easier to spot a drop and act on it.
- Keep making required loan payments until you receive written approval.
- Save your buyback request date, confirmation, and any case number.
- Save monthly payment counts, employment certifications, and employer dates.
- Note any month removed as a coding error or missing from recent history.