Advertisement

If you do not know which lender currently holds or services your loans, try the National Student Clearinghouse's free Loan Locator service. The National Student Clearinghouse is the largest non-profit student enrollment and degree verification service. The National Student Clearinghouse also offers other services, including Loan Deferment Processing.

Advertisement

The US Department of Education's National Student Loan Data System (Student Access) can also provide you with information about your student loans.

If you attended a Direct Lending School, the Direct Loan Servicing site may also be helpful.

You can also talk to the financial aid administrator at your school for help identifying which lender holds your loans.

Federal and private student loans may also be listed on your credit reports. Since some lenders do not report private student loans to every credit reporting agency, it is best to check your credit reports at all three major credit reporting agencies. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies once a year. You can obtain these free credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com. Beware of lookalike web sites that charge for access to your credit reports. Call 1-877-FACT-ACT (1-877-322-8228) for more information.

To avoid losing your lender, use FinAid's Student Loan Checklist to record information about all your loans, including the lender's web site, phone number and address.