A student loan servicer is the company that manages your student loan account on a day-to-day basis — collecting payments, processing repayment plan changes and handling deferment or forbearance requests. For federal student loans, the US Department of Education (through Federal Student Aid, or FSA) owns the loans and assigns a servicer. The servicer can change during the life of your loan.
Your servicer:
The servicer does not own your federal loan — they administer it on behalf of the federal government.
The list of federal student loan servicers can change as the Department of Education reviews and awards contracts. As of this writing, federal servicers include MOHELA, Nelnet, Aidvantage and EdFinancial. However, this list may have changed. Always check StudentAid.gov for the most current information about who holds your federal loan. Your servicer is shown when you log in to studentaid.gov.
Federal loan servicers can change — the government may reassign your loan to a different servicer. When this happens, your loan terms remain the same, but your account login and contact details change. You should receive advance notice of any transfer. Update your contact information on StudentAid.gov to ensure you receive all communications.
If you have private student loans, the servicer is chosen by your private lender and may differ from federal servicers. Contact your private lender to identify your servicer. Private loan servicers are regulated differently from federal servicers.
For federal loan servicer complaints, use the FSA Feedback System at studentaid.gov/feedback-center. If the issue relates to your federal loan and the servicer is unresponsive, contact the FSA Ombudsman Group. For private loan complaints, submit a complaint to the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.
FSA and the StudentAid.gov portal are the authoritative sources for information about income-driven repayment and forgiveness programmes. Servicers are obligated to provide accurate information, but always cross-check key decisions against StudentAid.gov.
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This page is general educational information only. It is not financial, legal, tax, credit or debt advice. Rules and regulations can change. Always verify current information with official sources before taking any action.