Borrower Defense Program

The borrower defense program is for borrowers who have Federal Student Loans and can demonstrate that they enrolled in a school or continued to attend a school based on misleading information from the school or other misconduct covered by the regulation, and suffered a detriment that is of a nature and degree warranting a full discharge of their applicable Federal Student Loans.

MES will verify that your application is filled out accurately and completely and submit it to the Department of Education on your behalf. We’ll monitor your status throughout the review process (average of 6 months) and assist with any further information requests that may be made.

On August 7, 2023, a federal court issued an injunction delaying the regulations governing borrower defense and closed school loan discharges until at least November. While the injunction is in effect, borrowers may still apply for borrower defense forgiveness. The Department of Education will not use the latest rules until the injunction has been lifted by the courts. Depending on the jurisdiction, certain borrower defense cases will proceed to forgiveness under the previous regulations. Either way, now is the best time to apply, get your application in as early as possible and be in the front of the line.

If your application is successful, your Federal Student Loans will be discharged. Once your eligible loans have been discharged, you may receive a refund for the qualified payments you previously made for that school.