The company you send your student loan payment to is your servicer, and for a lot of borrowers it is no longer the company that originated the loan. Servicers get swapped when the government reworks its contracts, and a transfer can land in the middle of your repayment without warning. Knowing who holds your loans, and how to tell a real notice from a scam, is the groundwork for everything else.
What a Servicer Actually Does
Your servicer is the middle layer between you and the federal government or your private lender. They send the bill, process the payment, track your balance, and handle requests like recertifying an income-driven plan, applying for deferment, or changing your due date. They do not set your interest rate or your forgiveness rules, but they are the only channel for acting on them. If you need something done with your loan, the servicer is who you ask.
The Federal Servicers in 2026
Federal loans are assigned to one of a small group of servicers contracted by the Department of Education. The active names include Aidvantage, EdFinancial, MOHELA, Nelnet, and CRI (the group that absorbed several smaller regional servicers). Others that handled loans in the past, such as Navient and FedLoan Servicing, have exited the federal book, and their accounts were moved to the current group. The exact roster shifts as contracts end, so the live list on StudentAid.gov is always the one to trust, not a blog post.
How to Find Your Servicer
Do not rely on memory, because the name may have changed since you borrowed. The authoritative steps:
- Log in to StudentAid.gov and open My Aid. Each federal loan shows its servicer and a link to that servicer site.
- Check your most recent billing statement. The servicer name and phone number print at the top.
- For private loans, open the lender portal or the original loan contract. Private servicers are the lenders themselves or a company they named.
If the name on your statement does not match what you expected, that is normal after a transfer. Confirm it through StudentAid.gov before you act on anything.
What a Transfer Means for You
When your loan moves to a new servicer, the debt itself does not change. Your balance, rate, and plan travel with it. What changes is the front door: the website, the mailing address, and the account number you use to pay. The practical risks during a switch are a processing gap that looks like a missed payment, and autopay that does not carry over automatically. Set up the new account and re authorize autopay before the first due date under the new servicer, and keep a screenshot of any payment already in flight so a lag does not ding your credit.
The Scam Problem
Servicers are mimicked more than almost any other financial brand. The pattern is consistent: an unsolicited call or text claims to be from the Department of Education or your servicer, pressures you to pay immediately, and asks for your FSA ID, a wire, or gift cards. None of that is real. Federal Student Aid never calls to demand payment, never asks for your FSA ID, and never charges a fee to enroll in a plan. If you are unsure, close the channel and log in to StudentAid.gov directly. Our default guide covers what actually happens when payments go wrong, and our forbearance vs deferment guide explains the pauses a real servicer can grant.
Keep the Line Open
The one control you have over this system is your contact information. Keep your email, phone, and address current on StudentAid.gov so transfer and recertification notices reach you instead of bouncing. A borrower who knows their servicer, watches for switches, and ignores the impersonators is far less likely to miss a payment, drift into delinquency, or pay a scammer for help that was free all along.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out who my student loan servicer is?
Log in to StudentAid.gov and open My Aid. Your federal loan summary lists the servicer for each loan and links to its website. You can also check any billing statement, which prints the servicer name and contact details at the top. If you have private loans, the servicer is the lender named in your contract or shown in that lender portal.
What happens to my loan when the servicer changes?
Your loan balance, interest rate, and repayment plan move with the debt, so the terms do not change. What changes is where you send the payment and which website you log into. Set up the new account before the first due date under the new servicer, and keep proof of any payment in transit during the switch so a processing gap does not register as a missed payment.
Will the Department of Education ever call me about my loans?
No. Federal Student Aid and your servicer communicate by mail and secure account message, never by unsolicited phone call demanding payment or gift cards. Anyone who calls claiming to be from the Department of Education and asks for immediate payment, your FSA ID, or a fee to lower your payment is running a scam. Hang up and contact your servicer through StudentAid.gov.
Can I choose my student loan servicer?
Not directly. The Department of Education assigns federal borrowers to a servicer, and transfers happen when the government reshuffles its servicing contracts. You cannot pick or request a specific one. The one control you have is to keep your contact information current on StudentAid.gov so transfer notices actually reach you.
Make sure the right payment reaches your servicer
Whatever servicer holds your loans, an income-driven plan is the lever that keeps the bill affordable. See what your income supports.
Open the IDR Calculator