Student Loan IDR Backlog Drops To Record Low, But PSLF Buyback Issues Remain

The Department of Education’s income-driven repayment application backlog has dropped to its lowest point on record, according to a new court filing submitted March 16 (PDF File).

But that progress is overshadowed by a continued delays on IDR loan forgiveness and a growing queue of public servants waiting for PSLF buyback decisions.

The data comes from the latest status report filed in American Federation of Teachers v. U.S. Department of Education, a federal lawsuit spearheaded by the teacher’s union that requires the Department to provide monthly updates on its loan servicing operations.

IDR Backlog Continues To Shrink

The Department reported 576,609 pending IDR applications as of February 28, 2026. That’s a decline since last month’s report and the lowest figure reported in any filing since the court began requiring these disclosures.

There was a high of 1,985,726 outstanding applications in April 2025.

During February, the Department received 243,258 new IDR applications and decided 329,169, meaning it processed about 85,000 more applications than it took in.

Of those decisions, 296,118 were approved and 33,051 were denied.

The shrinking backlog suggests the Department is finally working through the massive pile of applications that accumulated during the SAVE Plan litigation and related processing delays.

And with the SAVE plan ending and nearly 7 million borrowings going to need to switch plans in the coming months, this is a good sign.

PSLF Buyback Queue Continues To Grow

While the IDR backlog is improving, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback program is continuing to move in the wrong direction. The pending application count rose to 88,170 as of February 28, up from 86,520 in the prior month’s report, an increase of 1,650 applications.

During February, the Department received 4,180 new buyback applications but only decided 2,520. Of those, 2,040 were approved, 410 were denied, and 70 were closed without a decision due to missing information.

That means the Department processed fewer than half of its incoming buyback volume, virtually guaranteeing the backlog will continue to grow.

With roughly 88,000 applications pending and the Department deciding about 2,500 per month, borrowers in the queue face an estimated wait of nearly three years. These are public servants (teachers, firefighters, government workers) who have already met their employment requirements and are waiting on a bureaucratic process to literally pay the U.S. Government money.

On the brighter side, 12,640 “normal’ PSLF discharges did go through during February, showing the regular PSLF itself is still functioning for borrowers whose applications have been fully processed.

No New IDR Discharges Identified In February

The Department also reported zero IDR plan discharges during February 2026, the second straight month with no forgiveness under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Income Contingent Repayment (ICR), or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plans.

The Department runs discharge eligibility checks through the National Student Loan Data Service (NSLDS) every other month. The most recent check occurred in January, and those discharges processed in early March. So while the February data shows zero, borrowers did receive some forgiveness in early March from that January batch.

The next eligibility batch is scheduled for later in March, after this status report’s due date. 

What This Means For Borrowers

For borrowers needing to change repayment plans, the declining IDR backlog is encouraging. A faster processing timeline means borrowers get placed on the right repayment plan sooner, which directly affects their monthly payment amount. 

The zero-forgiveness streak in the February data is misleading because of the way forgiveness is manually calculated.  The early March discharges (from the January batch) and the upcoming March batch should provide more clarity on whether the pipeline is actually moving.

For PSLF buyback applicants, the math is discouraging. With the backlog growing each month, wait times are getting longer. And with the latest court settlement, buyback may also be getting more expensive for borrowers. Borrowers thinking of PSLF buyback really need to assess whether it’s worth it.

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