How To Find Your Student Loan Account Number
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Summary:
You can find your student loan account number on a billing statement or other correspondence from your loan servicer. If you don’t have or can’t find these statements, you can also contact your loan servicer directly and ask for your account number. However, if you don’t know who your servicer is, your school’s financial aid office should have your loan information available.
While the federal government or private companies lend you money for school, a separate company handles the administrative tasks of servicing the loan. A student loan account number is assigned to you by that loan servicer, who is your best resource for all loan issues. You will want to keep that account information with your other important documents so you can easily access your online account and manage your debt.
Having access to your student loan account number is very important. You need it to keep track of your federal student loans or to change your repayment plan. You also may need it if you want to apply for other federal loans, private loans, or even a credit card.
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How to find your student loan account number
There are a few different ways you can check your account number, even if you don’t know the party servicing your loan.
- Billing statement. The first place to look for your student loan account number is on your billing statements or any other paperwork your student loan servicer has sent you by email or in a snail mail letter. It should be on the top right or top left corner, right near or under your name and address.
- Contact servicer directly. If you can’t locate any correspondence with your loan servicer, you may need to contact them directly or visit their site. If you don’t remember the name of your loan servicer, log onto your studentaid.gov online account, and the name and contact number will be listed there.
- Call the FSA. You can also call the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office by phone at 1-800-433-3243. The FSA won’t know your student loan account number, but they will know who services your student loan debt.
Your account number should also be listed on your credit report, which you can request for free once every year. If all else fails, call your school’s financial aid office and they should be able to point you in the right direction.
Does this differ between federal and private student loans?
While your private student loans won’t have a student loan account number, any identifying account information should still be listed in an email or other correspondence. Other servicers don’t provide an account number and simply ask you for personal information, such as your birth day or social security number.
However, if you have more than one loan servicer, you will have more than one account number. Be sure to contact each and every loan servicer you have for your student loans, as each will have a different account number.
| Loan Servicer | Web Address | Phone Number |
|---|---|---|
| FedLoan Servicing | myfedloan.org | 1-800-699-2908 |
| Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. | mygreatlakes.org | 1-800-236-4300 |
| HESC/Edfinancial | edfinancial.com | 1-855-337-6884 |
| MOHELA | mohela.com | 1-888-866-4352 |
| Aidvantage | aidvantage.com | 1-800-722-1300 |
| Nelnet | nelnet.com | 1-888-486-4722 |
| OSLA Servicing | public.osla.org | 1-866-264-9762 |
| ECSI | efpls.ed.gov | 1-866-313-3797 |
| Default Resolution Group | myeddebt.ed.gov | 1-800-621-3155 |
Why do you need your student loan account number?
If you’ve been making regular student loan payments, or are still in school and haven’t started a student loan repayment plan yet, you may not think it’s that important to know your account number. However, that number is needed for a variety of other reasons.
Take a look at some examples of when your student loan account numbers will be necessary.
- Looking up student loan information, such as loan balance or payment amounts.
- Viewing or changing your student loan repayment options.
- To verify your identity when accessing certain loan services, such as mobile banking.
- Applying for new federal or private student loans.
- Applying for a credit card.
- If you want to refinance your loan.
- When filing your tax returns, if you want to receive a tax credit for your student loans.
- Applying for public service loan forgiveness.
Pro Tip
When in doubt, talk to your school’s financial aid office. If they can’t answer your questions directly, they’ll know where to find the answers you need.
What are your other repayment options?
Using your student loan account number, you can easily view your remaining loan balances and how much interest you’ve accumulated. But maybe this shows you that your balance is a lot higher than expected.
Fortunately, if you have trouble with your monthly payment, there are multiple repayment options available to you. This includes loan forgiveness, loan consolidation, and refinancing your loan. To get the most appropriate payment schedule for your budget, make sure you compare plans and rates with multiple lenders.
However, keep in mind that refinancing or consolidating your student loans may leave you ineligible for loan forgiveness or federal programs.
Pro Tip
If you want to lower your monthly payment without refinancing, try opting for an income-driven repayment plan.
Where can you find information about all your federal student loans?
As previously stated, your Federal Student Aid account will have a list of your loan servicers and contact information. You can also log into your online account at studentaid.gov if you want to get an overall picture of your student loan debt. To do this, you will need your FSA ID and password.
If you can’t find that number either, you can call the office of Federal Student Aid or your school’s financial aid office. Once you’ve gotten into your account, here’s other loan information you will have access to:
- How many federal student loans you have.
- The types of loans (subsidized, unsubsidized, or PLUS).
- The original balances of each loan.
- Your current total loan balance.
- Interest rates of your loans.
- If any of your loans are in default.
Key Takeaways
- Keep track of your student loan account number — it’s the key to managing your debt.
- You can find your account number from correspondence with your loan servicer, online, or through your school’s financial aid office.
- Your loan servicer can help you find the best repayment plan option.
- The federal government lends you the money, but a private company services it for you.
- If you consolidate or refinance your loans, you may lose eligibility for public service loan forgiveness and other government programs and protections.
Finding the right repayment plan
Having ready access to your student account number is of vital importance when managing your federal student loan debts. Using this number, you can contact your loan servicer with questions about your federal loans and alternative repayment plans.
In addition to consolidating your loans (if you have more than one), you can also look into forgiveness programs, refinancing, or income-driven payment plans. However you ultimately decide to approach your loan, remember to compare lenders before agreeing to a repayment option. Not only will this help you learn more about student loan lenders (whether private or federal), but you’ll also know that you received the best plan for you.
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