ED Provides Information on Recent Borrower Defense to Repayment Claims
By NASFAA Policy & Federal Relations Staff
The Department of Education (ED) has provided more details on recent Borrower Defense to Repayment (BDR) claim notices in a recent Electronic Announcement (EA), and reminded schools of the notification and adjudication process for BDR claims.
NASFAA recently reached out to ED after members reported receiving an increase in the number of BDR claims over the past several weeks. At that time, ED officials indicated an EA would be published soon with more information about these BDR claims.
Now that the EA is published, it confirms that ED has started adjudicating claims that fall outside of the Sweet settlement, and recent notices sent to schools include claims that fall under one of two borrower defense regulations: the borrower defense regulation published in 1994 [34 C.F.R. 685.206(c)] or the borrower defense regulation published in 2016 [34 C.F.R. 685.222]. ED also stated they will announce when they start sending notices for claims that fall under the borrower defense regulation published in 2019 [34 C.F.R. 685.206(e)].
When NASFAA asked ED officials about the number of notices going out, no specific numbers were provided; however, the EA says, “For institutions that have started receiving applications already, ED has issued approximately 70% of the notifications.” The announcement also states that more than 90% of institutions receiving these notices have fewer than 100 claims, and ED attempts to provide institutions with all pending claims at one time, then will periodically send recently submitted claims as needed.
In the announcement, ED reminds schools that under the 1994 and 2016 regulations, institutions are notified of all claims prior to any substantive review by the department, and it is optional for schools to respond to these claims. The EA also provides a list of questions and answers, including information about school response deadlines, possible extensions, and the recoupment process for approved claims.
Finally, the EA provides contact information for technical assistance via COD School Relations and claim-specific assistance via the Borrower Defense Customer Support line.
Publication Date: 4/3/2026
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