How To Get My Loans Out Of Forbearance | Restart Repayment

Ask your servicer to end the pause on a set date, then choose a repayment plan so your first bill is predictable.

Forbearance can buy time, yet it can also raise your total cost. Many loans keep accruing interest while payments are paused, and the first bill after the pause can arrive before you’ve set up a plan that fits. The fix is a simple sequence: confirm which loans are paused, request a clear end date, line up the next repayment plan, then verify the first statement before you pay.

Know What Forbearance Is Doing To Your Account

Forbearance is a temporary stop or reduction in required payments. On many loans, interest continues to accrue during the pause. Depending on the loan type, unpaid interest may later be added to the balance, which can raise the amount you repay over time. That’s why it helps to exit forbearance with a plan, not just with a payment.

Two checks that prevent confusion

• Loan list: Write down each loan, the servicer or lender, and whether it’s federal or private.
• Reason code: Ask why the forbearance was placed (your request, processing, transfer, or other administrative action).

How To Get My Loans Out Of Forbearance With A Clean Timeline

This order keeps your first post-forbearance bill from turning into a surprise.

Step 1: Find the right servicer contact path

If you aren’t sure who bills your federal loans, use the official Federal Student Aid contact options to route yourself to the correct servicer channel. For private loans, use the lender’s billing portal or the number on your statement.

Step 2: Request the end of forbearance on a specific date

Send the request through your servicer portal if you can, since it creates a written record. Ask them to end forbearance on a date you choose. A date two to three weeks out often gives enough time for plan changes to post and for a new statement to generate.

What to put in the message

• Your name and account number.
• Which loans to change (all, or specific loan groups).
• The exact date you want repayment to resume.
• A request for the new due date and payment amount after the change posts.

Step 3: Pick the plan you want after the pause

When forbearance ends, loans often return to the last repayment plan on file. If that plan no longer works, apply for a new plan before the first bill is generated. StudentAid.gov explains temporary relief and tradeoffs on its Get Temporary Relief: Deferment and Forbearance page, and it links to repayment options that can lower your monthly bill on an ongoing basis.

Choose A Repayment Setup You Can Keep Paying

Leaving forbearance sticks when the monthly payment matches your cash flow. Start by deciding whether you need a lower payment, a faster payoff, or a forgiveness track for federal loans.

Federal loans: common restart paths

• Income-driven repayment (IDR): Payment tied to income and household size, with periodic income updates.
• Standard repayment: Fixed payment over a set term.
• Extended or graduated repayment: Lower early payments, with higher total interest in many cases.

Private loans: ask for a written schedule

Private-lender rules come from your loan contract. Before you restart, ask for a written payment schedule that shows the monthly amount, due date, interest rate, and whether any unpaid interest or fees were added to the balance during the pause. If the new payment is not workable, ask what payment-change options exist right now.

Understand Interest And Balance Changes Before You Pay

Don’t guess why your balance moved. Ask your servicer for a balance breakdown, then ask this direct question: “Will any unpaid interest be added to my principal balance, and on what date?” Write down the answer.

Three numbers to request

• Principal balance
• Accrued interest as of the day you ask
• Daily interest amount

If you used a federal general forbearance, the official General Forbearance Request form (PDF) explains terms, borrower acknowledgements, and limits tied to that form type. Knowing that language makes servicer conversations clearer.

If you paid anything during the pause, verify where it went

Some borrowers send small payments during forbearance to slow interest growth. If you did, ask the servicer to show how each payment was applied: interest, principal, or fees. For federal loans, you can usually choose to keep paying even while the required payment is paused. Ask whether you can set a one-time payment to be applied to accrued interest first, since that can keep the balance from jumping when repayment restarts.

Watch for a due date that lands too soon

After a status change, some systems generate a due date that is only a few days away. If that happens, ask the servicer to move the due date out to a normal billing cycle and to send a fresh statement. You’re trying to pay on time, so the bill should give you a fair window to act.

Table 1: Exit Options By Situation

Situation	Next Move	Confirmation To Get
Federal Direct loans in borrower-requested forbearance	Request a firm end date, then submit a plan change if needed	First due date and first payment amount in writing
Federal loans in a processing or transfer forbearance	Ask what task triggered it, then request removal after the task is complete	Status changes to “repayment” and a new statement is issued
Monthly payment no longer fits	Apply for a lower-payment plan before the end date	Plan start date and bill amount tied to the new plan
Working toward federal forgiveness	Exit forbearance and make qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying plan	Which months count and your current qualifying-payment count
FFEL or Perkins loans held outside ED	Confirm the loan holder, then follow that holder’s end-forbearance steps	How interest is handled during the pause and after it ends
Private student loan forbearance ending soon	Get the new payment schedule and ask about payment-change options	Any fees, plus whether unpaid interest was added to the balance
Autopay was paused	Re-enable autopay only after the first correct statement posts	Draft date and draft amount match the statement
Delinquent or default status	Ask what returns the account to good standing and what stops late reporting	A clear list of steps and dates from the servicer

Make The First Payment Land Smoothly

Once the end date is set, your job is to verify what will happen next. Aim to get these three items in a secure message: forbearance end date, first due date, first payment amount. After you receive that message, you can pay with confidence.

A simple 3-week schedule

1. Week 1: Send the end-date request and submit any plan change.
2. Week 2: Check your portal for the active plan and the new statement.
3. Week 3: Turn on autopay after the statement amount matches your plan.

Fix The Two Problems That Cause Most Restarts To Fail

Problem 1: The bill amount is wrong

Don’t pay the wrong amount just to “get it over with.” Ask for a corrected statement tied to the plan you chose. Save the message that confirms the corrected payment amount and due date.

Problem 2: The plan change is stuck in “pending”

Ask what document is missing and the date the request entered processing. If you uploaded documents, ask the servicer to confirm they can see them in your file. Keep all replies inside the portal so you can refer back to them.

Escalation When Errors Don’t Clear

If you have repeated billing errors or the servicer won’t apply the changes you requested, escalate with a clean packet: screenshots, statements, and the dates you asked for each change.

For federal student aid disputes that remain unresolved after normal servicing channels, the Department of Education offers an Ombudsman intake process. Start here: Prepare a case for the FSA Ombudsman.

For clear, plain-language borrower education on how student loan forbearance works, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s overview is a useful reference when drafting messages to a servicer: What is student loan forbearance?

Table 2: Restart Checklist To Keep In Your Notes

Checkpoint	What You Save	You’re Done When
Loan list complete	Loan, servicer, status, and loan type	No loan is untracked
End date requested	Portal message or call log with the end date	Servicer confirms the end date on the account
Plan chosen	Plan name and submission confirmation	Plan shows as active in the portal
First bill verified	Statement showing amount and due date	The bill matches your plan
Autopay set (optional)	Screenshot of autopay settings and draft date	Draft date and amount match the statement
Balance understood	Principal vs accrued interest breakdown	You can explain the balance change in one sentence
Receipts stored	Folder with messages, PDFs, and screenshots	You can prove what you requested and when

Call And Message Scripts

Use these to keep your wording crisp and to prompt a written reply.

End forbearance

“Please end the forbearance on my loan(s) and return them to repayment on [date]. Please confirm my first due date and payment amount after the change posts.”

Balance breakdown

“Please provide my principal balance, accrued interest, daily interest amount, and whether any unpaid interest will be added to my balance, plus the date that would happen.”

What To Do Today

Send the end-date request through your servicer portal, then pick your repayment plan. Once you receive a statement that matches the plan, make your first payment and set autopay if you want it. That’s it.