How to Tell if Your Student Loans are Federal

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Between 30 and 40 percent of undergraduate students take out federal student loans each year to help pay for school. Many others turn to private loans or a mix of both. If you’re unsure whether your student loans are federal or private, there are a few ways to check.

Understanding what type of student loans you have matters more than ever, especially with upcoming changes to federal loan programs that will significantly impact borrowers starting in 2026.

3 Ways to figure out what type of loan you have

Try logging into the Federal Student Aid website using your FSA ID to see a list of all federal student loans in your name. On your account dashboard, you can find “My Loan Servicers” or check the National Student Loan Program System. If you’re making payments to a lender that isn’t listed, your loan is likely private.

Current federal student loan servicers

If you’re unsure if your loan is federal or private, log into your lender’s account — or the place you make your monthly payments. The current federal student loan servicers are:

There’s also a chance you originally had federal student loans through a servicer that no longer works with the federal government. In that case, your loan was moved to a different servicer on this list. Many loans switch hands throughout their lifetimes, so it’s not uncommon to have a different servicer now than when you graduated.

Verify with your school

Your school’s financial aid office can help you figure out what types of loans you have. They keep records of all the financial aid you received, including federal and private loans. If you’re still enrolled, stop by the financial aid office with your student ID. If you’ve graduated, call them with your Social Security number, and they should be able to pull up your records and tell you which loans are federal or private.

Check your billing statement

Look at your monthly loan statement or login to your servicer’s website. If you see one of the federal servicers listed above (like Nelnet or MOHELA), that’s a good sign you have federal loans. Private loan statements will show bank names like Wells Fargo, Discover, or Sallie Mae.

How to tell if your loan is federal

If you’re still unsure how to tell if your loan is federal, you can check whether it’s labeled “direct” or check your credit report.

“Direct” is in the name of the loan

• All federal loans will have “Direct” in their names, like “Direct Subsidized Loan,” “Direct PLUS Loan” or “Direct Consolidation Loan,” for example.
• For PLUS Loans, you might see specific titles, like “Parent PLUS Loans.” Older student loan names include Perkins, FFEL, and Stafford.

Your credit report states the loan

• When you check your credit report, it’ll list the lender of your student loans. It might say the Department of Education or the lender who manages your loan, which can be any of the ones we listed above.
• If you have a lender that manages both federal and private student loans – like Nelnet – you may have to call to see which type of loans you have.

Federal vs. private student loans: What’s the difference?

Federal student loans

With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), major changes are coming to federal student loans starting July 1, 2026. New borrowers will only have two repayment options: the revised standard repayment plan and the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).

Current income-driven repayment plans like Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and income-contingent repayment (ICR) will be eliminated by July 1, 2028, leaving only income-based repayment (IBR) as an option for existing borrowers.

The new RAP plan requires 30 years of payments for loan forgiveness, compared to 20 to 25 years under current plans. Other changes include stricter deferment rules (economic hardship and unemployment no longer qualify) and shorter forbearance limits (reduced from 12 months to 9 months). Graduate PLUS loans will also be eliminated, and new federal loan limits have been put in place.

What to know about your evolving federal student loan repayment options

If you want to know more about upcoming student loan repayment options, principal loan writer Andrew Pentis breaks it down for you.

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Private student loans

With the new caps on federal loan amounts and the elimination of graduate PLUS loans, more students may need to turn to private loans to cover funding gaps. This could make private loans more important in the overall student loan landscape, especially for graduate students and those attending expensive schools.

Private student loans come from private institutions, like banks, credit unions and online lenders. You can take out private student loans any time during school, but the vast majority of lenders require a credit check. If you don’t have a strong enough credit score you may need to ask someone close with good credit to be a cosigner. Once you graduate, both you and your cosigner become responsible for your loans.

Interest rates tend to be higher for private loans compared to federal loans if you have little to no credit history, but private lenders offer variable and fixed interest rates. Repayment terms for private loans are shorter – ranging from five to 15 years – which means you’ll have larger monthly payments. While shorter terms may mean higher monthly payments, they also mean you’ll pay less total interest over the life of the loan compared to stretching payments over a longer period.

Federal student loan changes making you eye private lenders? Here are 7 with federal loan-like perks

Wondering if private student loans may be better for your situation than federal student loans? Senior loans writer Lauren Nowacki breaks it down for you.

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Federal vs. private student loans

Bottom line

Knowing what type of loans you have is more important than ever, given the major changes coming to federal loan programs. If you have federal loans, understand that your repayment options will be more limited starting in 2026, and plan accordingly. If you’re considering taking out new loans, weigh the trade-offs between federal protections (which are being reduced) and private loan flexibility carefully.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act affect my current federal loans?
  

  If you’re currently on an income-driven repayment plan, you can stay on it until July 1, 2028. After that, you’ll need to switch to IBR (the only surviving plan) or get moved automatically to the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). RAP requires 30 years of payments for forgiveness instead of the current 20 to 25 years, so switching to IBR before the deadline makes sense for most borrowers.

• What are the new federal loan limits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act?
  

  The act places new caps on federal borrowing, though specific amounts vary by dependency status and year in school. More significantly, graduate PLUS loans will be eliminated entirely, meaning graduate students will have much lower borrowing limits through federal programs. This will likely push more students toward private loans to cover funding gaps.

• Do federal student loans affect my credit score now?
  

  Yes, federal student loans get reported to credit bureaus monthly, just like private loans. This means missed payments will hurt your credit score, but staying current helps build positive credit history. This is a relatively recent change that makes federal and private loans more similar in terms of credit impact.

• Should I choose private loans over federal loans given all these changes?
  

  Federal loans still offer protections that private loans don’t, even with the upcoming changes. These include income-driven repayment options, potential loan forgiveness, and more flexible deferment rules. However, private loans may become more attractive for borrowers who don’t need these protections and can qualify for competitive rates, especially with the new federal borrowing limits.