If something is tied to the federal government you know what that means—it’s probably big, cumbersome, complicated, and confusing. The federal student loan system is no exception.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that many people don’t even know who holds their federal student loans. The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education's central database for student aid. Here's how to use it to find out who has your loans.
Where to go
Check out nslds.ed.gov, the U.S. Department of Education’s central database for student aid.
The NSLDS does a lot of things. It receives data from schools, agencies that guarantee loans, the Direct Loan program, and other U.S. Department of Education programs.
NSLDS also provides a centralized, integrated view of federal student loans and grants, tracking them from beginning to end.
There’s a load of pertinent info there. You can find out what type of loan you have, check your current balances or loan status, and more.
What to do
You’ll need identification information to access the database, including your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID number. You should have received your FSA ID when you filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) waaaay back when you first applied for financial aid.
If you don’t have your FSA ID handy, there are password and username recall prompts on the website.
For more information via telephone, call 800-999-8219. You also have the option of calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800-433-3243 or 800-730-8913 (TDD).
If you’re in an area where you cannot make an 800 call, you may call 785-838-2141 instead (this is not a toll-free number).
How to contact lenders directly
You can find loan servicers for federal loans made through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan) and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/servicers#my-servicer
You can contact lenders directly using the following info:
CornerStone, https://cornerstoneloan.org/, 800-663-1662
FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA), https://myfedloan.org/, 800-699-2908
Granite State – GSMR, https://gsmr.org/, 888-556-0022
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc., https://mygreatlakes.org/, 800-236-4300
HESC/Edfinancial, https://edfinancial.com, 855-337-6884
MOHELA, https://www.mohela.com/, 888-866-4352
Navient, https://navient.com/loan-customers/, 800-722-1300
Nelnet, https://www.nelnet.com/welcome, 888-486-4722
OSLA Servicing, https://public2.osla.org/index.aspx, 866-264-9762
You can find more information on all servicers here.
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