White House unveils application form for Biden’s student debt relief

The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled new details about how tens of millions of Americans will be able to apply for up to $20,000 of student debt relief in the coming weeks.

Senior administration officials released a preview of the application that most borrowers will have to fill out to receive the loan forgiveness that President Joe Biden first announced in August.

Officials said that the simple form will be hosted on a .gov website when it goes live later this month. The website will be available in a mobile format as well as in Spanish.

The application that officials previewed for reporters contains only a handful of questions that seek basic information about borrowers: name, social security number, date of birth, phone number and email address.

Borrowers are required to check a box that “certifies under penalty of perjury” that they meet the income threshold for the debt relief program. The relief is available to borrowers whose adjusted gross income in 2020 or 2021 was less than $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for couples filing taxes jointly.

A senior administration official said that the application process will contain “strict fraud prevention measures” that are “risk-based.”

The Education Department plans to require certain borrowers whom it determines are more likely to exceed the income threshold to submit additional evidence proving that they are eligible for the program. Those borrowers will have to submit the required documentation, such as their tax returns or proof they didn’t have to file taxes, before receiving the relief, the official said.

Officials declined to detail how the administration would determine which borrowers would be selected for that additional layer of verification. An official said only that it would be based on “known characteristics” of borrowers. They similarly declined to provide any estimate of how many borrowers are expected to face that extra scrutiny.

“We're confident that these measures — combined with clear communication about eligibility requirements to public — will result in a simple, straightforward process that allows eligible borrowers to obtain relief and ensures ineligible borrowers do not,” the official told reporters.

The White House released the new details as the Biden administration is defending the debt relief program against a slew of legal challenges from Republican officials and conservative groups. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Missouri is set to hear arguments on whether to grant a request by GOP attorneys general to halt the program, which they argue is an illegal abuse of executive authority.

Biden administration officials on Tuesday did not offer any new information about precisely when the Education Department would begin accepting applications. But they said they were committed to allowing borrowers to begin applying this month.

“We will make the form available in October,” a senior administration official said.