How Do I Find My Student Loan Lender?

Q: How do I know if any of my loans are owned by the government?

Federal student loans disbursed under the Direct Loan Program are owned by the U.S. Department of Education. You know your student loans are owned by the federal government if your loans came from the U.S. Department of Education’s Direct Loan Program. You may also contact your student loan servicer and ask whether the federal government owns your student loans. You can obtain a copy of your credit report to review all active student loan accounts in your name. Nonfederal private student loans are not owned by the federal government.

Q: Where do I find my federal student loans?

You can find information about your federal student loans by accessing your Federal Student Aid online dashboard with your FSA ID login credentials. You may also find information about your federal student loans by viewing your loan servicing account information online. Your credit report is another source that may include information about your federal student loans.

Q: How can I find my private student loans?

You can find information about your private student loans by contacting your private lender or loan servicer. Private lenders may operate websites that allow you to access your private student loan account information online. You may also find information about your private student loans listed in your credit report.

Sulaiman Abdur-RahmanUpdated August 9, 2022

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Editor’s note: Lantern by SoFi seeks to provide content that is objective, independent and accurate. Writers are separate from our business operation and do not receive direct compensation from advertisers or partners. Read more about our Editorial Guidelines and How We Make Money.

Student loans are provided by the federal government or private lenders. You can find your student loan lender by contacting your loan servicing company or reviewing your credit report.A student loan servicer is a company that performs administrative tasks on federal or private student loans. A student loan lender, meanwhile, is a financial institution or government body that offers student loans for higher education purposes.Below we provide examples of student loan lenders and information on how you can find your lender.

What Is a Student Loan Lender?

As mentioned above, a student loan lender is a financial institution or government body that offers student loans for higher education purposes. The biggest lender of student loans in the United States is the U.S. Department of Education, which offers federal education loans to students and parents.After the U.S. Department of Education disburses federal student loans, a loan servicing company performs administrative tasks associated with those loans. These loan servicing companies have a federal contract to address customer service inquiries and collect student loan payments.Other student loan lenders include financial institutions or nonfederal agencies that offer private student loans. The difference between private and federal student loans is that federal student loans are provided exclusively by the U.S. Department of Education, whereas banks, credit unions, online lenders, and select state-based or state-affiliated organizations may offer private student loans.Student loan borrowers are generally expected to repay their education loan debts over time. The amount you owe in student loans may include principal and interest charges.The average federal student loan debt across the United States is more than $37,000 per borrower, according to Education Data Initiative research.

How Do I Find My Student Loan Lender?

As mentioned earlier, you can find your student loan lender by contacting your loan servicing company or reviewing your credit report.Your credit report may contain lender details and balance information for all active student loans you took out. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives borrowers the right to obtain their free credit report every 12 months upon request.A student loan servicing company performs administrative tasks on federal or private student loans. Your student loan servicer in many cases may be a different entity than the owner of your student loans.

Federal Student Loan Lenders

The U.S. Department of Education is the lender and owner of the following federal student loans disbursed from its Direct Loan Program:

Direct Subsidized Loans
Direct Unsubsidized Loans
Direct PLUS Loans
Direct Consolidation Loans

Colleges previously had the authority to offer student loans under the Federal Perkins Loan Program, but the authority for schools to make new Perkins Loans ended on September 30, 2017.Private lenders previously offered student loans guaranteed by the federal government through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL), but that federal program ended in 2010.

Private Student Loan Lenders

Financial institutions and other nonfederal funding sources can operate as private student loan lenders. Banks, credit unions, online lenders, and select state-based or state-affiliated organizations may offer private student loans.

Examples of Student Loan Lenders

A number of entities and organizations operate as student loan lenders, including banks, credit unions, and government bodies. A state-based agency, such as the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency or PHEAA, can also serve as a lender for student loans.

Lenders for Federal Student Loans

As mentioned earlier, the U.S. Department of Education is the lender and owner of all federal student loans disbursed from its Direct Loan Program. Schools no longer offer Federal Perkins Loans, and private lenders for student loans no longer offer Federal Family Education Loans.The following organizations operate as official servicers of federal student loans as of July 2022:

Aidvantage (Maximus Education LLC)
EdFinancial Services
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA)
Nelnet
Oklahoma Student Loan Authority (OSLA)

PHEAA exited the federal student loan servicing business in 2022.

Lenders for Private Student Loans

Here are some examples of lenders or platforms for private student loans:

Earnest Operations LLC
LendKey Technologies Inc.
Splash Financial

Can I Refinance My Student Loans?

You may qualify for student loan refinancing if a lender finds you creditworthy. Qualified borrowers may refinance federal student loans, and borrowers may also refinance their private student loans.Refinancing federal student loans can allow borrowers to replace their existing federal loans with the terms and conditions of a private loan agreement. This means federal student loan borrowers may switch from a federal repayment plan to a private student loan refinancing payment plan.How student loan refinancing works is that borrowers submit an application with a private lender requesting a new loan agreement for refinancing student loan debt.Private lenders can set their own underwriting standards, but some may require applicants to have steady income and good credit. For subprime borrowers, it might be difficult to refinance student loans with bad credit.Reviewing the pros and cons of refinancing student loans can help you decide whether refinancing is right for you. One of the advantages of refinancing student loans is it may provide you with a lower interest rate. One of the big disadvantages of refinancing student loans with a private lender, however, is you’ll be forfeiting federal benefits.Refinancing federal student loans will remove your access to federal income-driven repayment plans and loan forgiveness programs, such as military student loan forgiveness for members of the U.S. armed forces.If you’re carrying student loan repayment obligations, you might ask, “Can I pay off my student loans early?” Borrowers can make extra payments to minimize their interest charges and pay off student loans early. Some borrowers, however, may never finish repaying a student loan during their lifetime.You may ask, how long does it take to pay off student loans? It can take borrowers between 10 to 30 years to pay off federal student loans and five to 25 years to pay off private student loans.What happens to student loans when you die is the debt might be discharged, although some private lenders may demand repayment from your estate.After a three-year payment pause, the Covid-19 forbearance is set to end on Aug. 30, 2023. As a result, interest accrual on federal student loans will resume on Sept. 1, and payments will be due starting in October 2023.

Refinance Student Loans with Lantern:

If you’re burdened with education loan debt and would like to refinance student loans, Lantern by SoFi can help. Refinancing might be right for you if you can lock in a lower interest rate. Explore your options today and consider applying with a lender of your choice.Find and compare student loan refinance options with Lantern.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if any of my loans are owned by the government?

Where do I find my federal student loans?

How can I find my private student loans?

Photo credit: iStock/jroballo

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About the Author

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman writes about personal loans, auto loans, student loans, and other personal finance topics for Lantern. He’s the recipient of more than 10 journalism awards and served as a New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists board member. An alumnus of the Philadelphia-based Temple University, Abdur-Rahman is a strong advocate of the First Amendment and freedom of speech.

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