ED's Updated PSLF Form Request Adds Urgency to Court Challenge
By Megan Walter, Senior Policy Analyst
With July 1 just under a week away, a lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s (ED) new Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) employer eligibility rule has gained urgency in the past week, with the department seeking emergency clearance to revise the PSLF certification form before the July 1 effective date.
In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing ED to revise PSLF eligibility criteria to ensure the definition of "public service" excludes organizations that engage in activities with a "substantial illegal purpose." ED went through a negotiated rulemaking session in summer 2025 with no consensus, giving it free rein to draft the final rule. ED finalized the rule on October 30, 2025, with an effective date of July 1, 2026.
The suit originally filed by the National Council of Nonprofits in November 2025 has returned to the public eye after ED issued a request for emergency clearance to revise the PSLF Certification and Application form. The revised form will require employers to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they have not engaged in any activity constituting a "substantial illegal purpose" on or after July 1, 2026, a provision included in the PSLF final rule.
The National Council of Nonprofits said that this development adds urgency to the litigation because, if the court does not block the rule before July 1, the new form will go into effect simultaneously with the rule, and employers will be making perjury-level attestations beginning with the first PSLF certification form submission after that date.
The case was heard earlier this month, with no decision issued, and no court has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the rule. Thus, the plaintiffs have requested that “the Court grant their pending motions for summary judgment before July 1," so borrowers and employers are not subjected to the new certification requirement.
NASFAA will continue to monitor the case and will provide updates as courts issue rulings or as ED takes additional implementation steps before and after the July 1 effective date.
Publication Date: 6/26/2026
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