If you have managed to get your student loan discharged through bankruptcy by proving that your loan would cause you “undue hardship”, you will need to gather documents that pertained to your case to prove it.
In some cases, the U.S. Department of Education may still be sending you notices about your student loan or requesting a payment, and you will need to send them a letter showing that this loan has already been discharged by the courts and you are no longer responsible for it.
Here are the steps you need to take in order to inform the Department of Education that your student loan has been discharged:
Gather Appropriate Documents
The Department of Education will need to create a case for your claim and review all documents pertaining to your bankruptcy discharge.
You can seek the help of a bankruptcy attorney to confirm that you are no longer under any obligation to pay the student loan debt.
The Department of Education will need to see proof that you have been relieved of the student loan during a bankruptcy discharge. You can submit proof by including:
- Documents outlining your court ruling, and indicating that your repayment plan was discharged because of undue hardship
- Copy of the notice of the first meeting with your creditors
- List of all creditors that were included in your bankruptcy proceeding
- The Final Discharge Order
You will also need to include a cover letter and a copy of your Social Security card in your package.
All of this information will be reviewed in detail to determine that you were, in fact, discharged from the student loan debt and that you no longer owe the government money from this loan.
Prepare a Cover Letter
You will need to write a formal cover letter stating when your bankruptcy petition was discharged, and what the total amount of the loan was discharged.
You can also explain that you are still receiving notices about your student loan after the discharge was completed, and that you had previously been making payments regularly towards the balance.
Send All Paperwork to the Department of Education
You will need to send your cover letter, supporting documents and your contact information directly to the Department of Education’s National Payment Center.
Make a copy of everything and then send the package via certified mail to the following address:
National Payment Center
U.S. Department of Education Unit
Educational Credit Management Corporation
P.O. Box 8809
Richmond, VA 23225
