When to Submit Your Student Loan IDR Recertification (Updated for 2025)

Federal student loan borrowers in repayment under income-driven repayment (IDR) plans have had a rollercoaster of a month.But now they may finally have some clarity after the Department of Education published updated guidance.  While multiple legal challenges continue, here's a breakdown of where things stand with IDR income recertification for federal student loan borrowers.What led to the recertification confusion Last month, the Trump administration upended the IDR system by removing the online and paper IDR applications and suspending processing for all IDR plans, which are repayment programs designed to be affordable and based on a borrower’s income and family size.  Note: IDR is an umbrella term for these programs and include specific, popular plans like Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which replaced the older Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) plan.The Department of Education’s dramatic move in March was in response to a new court order issued in February over the future of the SAVE plan, a Biden-era IDR program designed to be more affordable than the other plans.

A federal appeals court maintained a block on the SAVE plan that’s been in place since August, and broadened the existing injunction to encompass other aspects of the SAVE plan regulations.  The department had argued that removing the IDR application was necessary so that officials could update the form to comply with the court’s new order about the SAVE plan.But by doing so, the department effectively blocked all four IDR plans, including for new enrollees and borrowers who were trying to flee the SAVE plan in light of the ongoing legal troubles.  The processing pause also impacted borrowers on ICR, IBR and PAYE who were trying — but unable — to recertify their income, an annual requirement for all IDR programs.Some borrowers experienced dramatic increases in their monthly payments when their IDR period lapsed, they were unable to recertify and their payments were automatically recalculated based on their loan balance and interest rate, rather than their income.  After a national labor union filed a legal challenge against the Department of Education last month, arguing that the Trump administration’s total shutdown of the IDR system was unlawful, the department restored access to the online IDR application.But processing remains paused, and the union that filed the lawsuit is now asking a court to force the department to resume processing.  In the meantime, the department has announced that it is directing loan servicers to postpone IDR recertification dates, and in some cases, recalculate borrowers’ monthly payments if they have increased due to a failure to recertify.  Student loan borrowers who were told to recertify on or before February 20, 2025 Most borrowers who were instructed by their student loan servicer to recertify their income on or before February 20, 2025, should get their recertification dates pushed out by at least one year.

“If you submitted your recertification request on or before Feb.20, 2025, and your servicer did not complete processing of your request, then your recertification date will be extended by one year,” says updated Department of Education guidance.“You do not need to submit a recertification request at this time.” Borrowers who submitted their recertification request prior to February 20, 2025, and had their request successfully processed (resulting in a recalculation of their monthly IDR payments based on their new income data), do not need to take any action, says the department.Student loan borrowers whose IDR recertification date is on or after February 21, 2025  Borrowers who are required to recertify their income for their IDR plan on or after February 21, 2025, should have their recertification dates pushed out to sometime next year.

“If you were due to submit a recertification request on or after Feb.21, 2025, then your recertification date has been extended by one year,” says the department’s guidance.  “You do not need to submit a recertification request at this time.” It may take a few weeks for borrowers to actually see their recertification date get moved.But the soonest anyone should need to recertify their income is February 2026.“Recertification of IDR plans will not be required until at least February 2026,” says a statement on the website for MOHELA, one of the Department of Education’s contracted loan servicers.

“Income Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans are in the process of being extended.Please allow a few weeks for this extension to occur.We will notify borrowers when this is complete.” Borrowers whose IDR income recertification date is on or after February 1, 2026, should see no change to their deadline.“If you have a recertification date on or after Feb.

1, 2026, then your recertification date has not been extended,” says the department.“You are still required to recertify by your existing recertification deadline.” Borrowers who saw their student loan payments increase due to failure to recertify Some borrowers experienced an increase in their monthly payments because they could not recertify their income by their deadline after the Department of Education removed the IDR application (borrowers must submit an IDR application as part of the annual income recertification process).Typically, when that happens, payments revert to something akin to the 10-year Standard payment amount, which can be prohibitively expensive for some borrowers.For people in this situation, whether or not you have to take action depends on when you were required to recertify.

Borrowers who were due to recertify on or before February 20, 2025, were not able to do so, so their loan servicer “temporarily recalculated your payment,” explains the department.“This new payment amount is not based on your income and family size.You are still enrolled in an IDR plan.You must submit a recertification request as soon as possible to potentially lower your payment.”  Borrowers can do so by using the online IDR portal at StudentAid.gov.

Of course, processing remains paused, so as a practical matter, these borrowers may need to contact their loan servicer and request a temporary forbearance if they are unable to afford the higher payments in the interim.Borrowers who were required to recertify their income on or after February 21, 2025, and experienced an increase in their monthly payment amount because they were unable to submit the IDR application should have their payment amounts readjusted, says the department.“In some instances, borrowers who should have had their recertification date extended were moved to a monthly payment amount that is not based on their income and family size,” says the department.“Loan servicers are actively working to move those affected borrowers back to the monthly payment amount based on their income and family size.” A note on IDR application processing While the IDR applications are back, processing remains paused.

This is particularly important for borrowers who are applying for an IDR plan for the first time or are trying to switch to a different IDR plan.“Although the IDR application is now available, loan servicers are still updating their systems in accordance with the court’s actions,” says department guidance.“Servicers will begin processing applications in the near future.” Meanwhile, a legal challenge over the department’s actions continues.A key hearing is scheduled for next week on whether the Department of Education should be forced to resume processing applications for ICR, IBR and PAYE submitted by student loan borrowers.