How to Track Your PSLF Progress: A Complete Guide for Physicians

Quick Answer

Most PSLF denials happen because borrowers don't track qualifying payments correctly.

Do your PSLF payments count?! Over 30% of PSLF eligible payments don’t count. Are missing payments keeping you from getting PSLF over 10 years?

Quick Answer: 4 Steps to Track Your PSLF Progress

Submit the PSLF Form annually (or when you change employers) at studentaid.gov — this is how MOHELA counts your qualifying payments.
Log in to MOHELA.com — PSLF loans must be serviced by MOHELA; check your payment count under the PSLF tracker dashboard.
Verify employer eligibility — use the PSLF Employer Search at studentaid.gov or the MedDebt PSLF Employer Checker to confirm each job qualifies.
Reconcile your payment count annually — if the count looks wrong, call MOHELA and request a manual review; errors are common and fixable before year 10.

If you have spent over 10 years repaying your student loans you will want to make sure you are getting the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) that you are entitled to. This means tracking your progress as you go to make sure you have completed the necessary payments and are on the correct payment plan. In the guide below we will walk you step by step through how to track your PSLF progress and ensure you are on the right path to having your loans forgiven.

Three Big Reasons PSLF Can Go Wrong

Knowing these problems helps you avoid them:

Working for the Wrong Employer

Loans that are made by the private practice of a doctor or a for-profit hospital do not qualify for PSLF. That being said, it is common for many doctors to change jobs from time to time. This can mean that some of your payments are not going to count towards your PSLF goal. It is best to check with your employer as soon as possible to make sure that they qualify for PSLF.

Being on the Wrong Payment Plan

Repayment plans that are NOT qualified repayment plans for the purpose of PSLF are the standard 10-year repayment, extended repayment or graduated repayment. In the past, some loan companies have placed borrowers on the wrong payment plan without their knowledge. If this happens to you, then all payments made under that incorrect plan will NOT be eligible for PSLF forgiveness.

Mistakes by Your Loan Company

Tracking PSLF payments have historically been a problem. The PSLF Help Tool on StudentAid.gov is the official way that the Department of Education tracks your PSLF payments. Your loan servicer may report payments differently. You should cross check your tracking every year.

Step 1: Check If Your Employer Qualifies

Even many of the doctors who should be paying attention to whether their employer qualifies often fail to do so until they are almost out of time to take advantage of PSLF.

Who qualifies:

Government jobs (federal, state, local, or tribal)
501(c)(3) non-profits
Non-profits that offer specific public services
AmeriCorps or Peace Corps

These are almost always okay for doctors:

VA hospitals and clinics
City and county hospitals
University medical centers
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
Critical access hospitals
Critical access hospitals
Most public hospital systems

These never qualify:

Private practices (no matter who owns them)
Hospitals and health systems run for profit
Medical groups owned by private equity firms
Research groups that are purely commercial

How to check:

Go to the PSLF Help Tool on StudentAid.gov. Put in your employer's EIN (this is on your W-2). The tool will automatically tell you if they're a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Don't just trust what HR or your boss tells you – use the official tool to check.

Step 2: Turn in Your Employment Certification Form Every Year

The Employment Certification Form, now called the PSLF Form, is how they keep track of your qualifying payments. Don't wait until your last year to send it in.

Why sending it in yearly is important:

It creates an up-to-date record of your job for each employer.
You catch problems with your employer's eligibility early, before years go by.
You get a running total of your payments, so you always know how many you have.

How to send it in:

Go to StudentAid.gov and find the PSLF Help Tool.
Fill out the part about your employer.
Get an official from your job to sign it (like someone from HR or your department head).
Send it in online using the tool.

When to do it: Send a form for each employer you've had, for each year. If you've worked at the same place for three years and haven't sent one in yet, do it now. You can send forms for past years.

What you get back:

In a few weeks, your loan company (right now, MOHELA handles PSLF) will update how many payments you have. You'll get a letter that shows:

Your total qualifying payments so far
How many months you have left until you hit 120
Any months that didn't count, and why

Keep every letter you get back. These are your proof if there's ever a disagreement about your payment count.

Step 3: Make Sure You Have the Right Loan Type and Payment Plan

PSLF is only for federal Direct Loans, and you have to be on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. If you don't meet both of these, you'll have a gap in your payments.

How to check your loan types on StudentAid.gov:

Log in, then click "My Aid."
For each loan, check what kind it is.
"Direct Subsidized Loan" is good, "Direct Unsubsidized Loan" is good.
"FFEL Stafford Loan" is not good (you need to combine it with other loans to qualify).
"Perkins Loan" is not good (you also need to combine it).

If you have FFEL or Perkins loans:

You'll need to combine them into a Direct Consolidation Loan using StudentAid.gov. Big note: doing this usually resets your PSLF payment count for that loan back to zero. But, payments you made before combining them might still count thanks to something called the IDR Account Adjustment. You'll need to check the latest rules, as this part changes.

Check your payment plan:

Log in to StudentAid.gov or your loan company's website. Make sure you're on a SAVE, PAYE, or IBR plan. If you see "Standard Repayment," "Extended Repayment," or "Graduated Repayment," call your loan company right away. Payments made under those plans might not count.

Step 4: Keep Up With Your Income Updates

For IDR plans, you have to update your income every year. If you forget, your loan company might switch you to a different plan, and payments you make then won't count for PSLF.

Here's how to remember:

Your update date is exactly one year from when you first signed up for IDR.
Set a reminder on your calendar for 60 days before that date. You'll need time to get your papers together and send them in.
If you update your income through StudentAid.gov, you can connect your IRS account. This lets them check your income automatically, so you don't have to find documents.

What you need to send in:

Your most recent federal tax return (Form 1040) or use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
If your income has changed a lot, you can send other proof, like a pay stub.

What happens if you miss updating your income:

Your loan balance might go up to what you'd pay on a standard plan.
Payments made on a standard plan don't count for PSLF.
Any interest you haven't paid gets added to your main loan amount.

If you miss just one update, you could lose months of payments that would have counted. Don't let that happen – mark it on your calendar.

Step 5: Keep an Eye on Your Payment Count Each Month

That they got and processed your payment.
That it counted as a qualifying payment.
That your total count went up by one.

Here's roughly how many payments you should have at certain points:

After a 3-year residency (if all payments counted): 36 payments.
After a 5-year residency plus a 2-year fellowship (if all payments counted): 84 payments.
How many payments you have left when you start as an attending: 36 payments (if you did a 3-year residency).
How many payments you have left when you start as an attending: anywhere from 0 to 36 (for longer training programs).

If something doesn't look right:

If your payment count is lower than you thought, call MOHELA right away. Here are some usual reasons why:

A month didn't count (you were on the wrong payment plan, your employer wasn't approved yet, or the payment went to the wrong loan).
One of your loans wasn't part of your IDR plan.
A time when your payments were paused (deferment) was counted differently.

Ask for a written explanation for any missing months. If you disagree, you can appeal it through the PSLF reconsideration process on StudentAid.gov.

Step 6: Hold Onto Your Papers

People sometimes don't get PSLF because they can't prove where they've worked. Keep these things:

Signed ECF forms for every job, for every year (save them as PDFs).
Letters from your employer confirming they are a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
Letters confirming your current income-driven repayment plan.
Your payment history – download it from MOHELA every month.
The yearly letters from your loan company showing your payment count.

Put all these in one folder, maybe online storage. Since it's a 10-year program, you'll need records from way back.

What if Your Loan Company Changed?

Federal student loan companies have been changing a lot. If your loans moved to a new company (like from FedLoan to MOHELA), your PSLF history should have gone with them, but you need to double-check.

What to do after your loan company switches:

Log in to the new company's website and make sure your qualifying payment count matches what you have recorded.
If the numbers don't add up, send in a PSLF reconsideration request on StudentAid.gov.
Provide your past ECF forms as proof.

Many people had payment count problems when loan companies switched in 2022 and 2023. If your loans moved then and you haven't checked your count lately, do it now.

How to Apply for Forgiveness After 10 Years

Once you've made 120 qualifying payments, apply for forgiveness on StudentAid.gov. You don't have to wait around; you can apply as soon as you hit that 120th payment.

What to expect:

Send in your forgiveness application using the PSLF Help Tool.
MOHELA will review it, which usually takes 2 to 3 months.
If they approve it, your remaining loan balance is wiped out and marked as tax-free.
You'll get a letter confirming your forgiveness.

About taxes: Under today's rules, the federal government doesn't tax PSLF forgiveness (the IRS has said this). But state taxes can be different; some states do tax the forgiven amount.

Your 10-Year PSLF Checklist

Check this list every year:

Is your current employer confirmed as qualifying through StudentAid.gov?
Have you sent in your ECF for your current job (or updated it if you got a new job)?
Are your loans Direct Loans (not FFEL or Perkins? If so, combine them)?
Is your payment plan definitely an IDR plan (SAVE, PAYE, or IBR)?
Have you updated your income in the last 12 months?
Does your payment count at MOHELA match what you expect?
Is your documents folder updated with all new ECF forms?

Going through this list every year only takes about 30 minutes, but it can protect over $100,000 in loan forgiveness.

You can use the MedDebt Calculator to see how your training time and attending salary might affect how much you save with PSLF, and how much you could lose if payments don't count.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Every borrower's situation is unique. Before making any loan repayment or refinancing decision, consider consulting a certified student loan advisor or fee-only financial planner.

To stay on track with your certification requirements, be sure to review our PSLF annual recertification guide for physicians each year to avoid missing critical deadlines.

Disclosure: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan program details change — always verify current rules on studentaid.gov. MedDebt may earn a referral commission if you refinance through links on this site.

How to Track Your PSLF Progress: A Complete Guide for Physicians

Quick Answer: 4 Steps to Track Your PSLF Progress

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