- Student-loan borrowers can now apply for debt relief during a beta testing period.
- Applications will not be processed until the site is officially live later this month.
The time has finally arrived for millions of student-loan borrowers to apply for President Joe Biden's long-awaited debt relief — in beta form.
On Friday evening, the Education Department made the application for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation available on its studentaid.gov website, drawing many borrowers to the site to fill out a simple form requiring just their names, contact information, and Social Security numbers. But, as the department noted, the application has not yet officially launched — borrowers can apply during a beta testing period that will allow the department to test the site and determined any needed fixes before making it formally live.
"Soon, we'll be opening the online application with our official launch," the department wrote in an update to borrowers. "But we would like you to help us test the site by applying now during our beta test. If you submit an application during this period, it will be processed when the site officially launches. You won't need to resubmit. If you have already applied and received a confirmation email, you do not need to apply again."
During this beta period, the application site will be available on and off, and "if you try and it's not available, try again later," the department said. Once it officially launches — expected to be later in October — it will remain open through December 2023.
As the department noted, any applications that have already been submitted will not be processed until the site formally launches, and it's unclear when exactly that date will be. Biden's debt relief is currently facing legal challenges from a number of conservative groups seeking to block the plan, and borrowers are awaiting a decision from a federal judge who heard arguments last week from six GOP-led states that claimed the debt relief will hurt their states' tax revenues, among other things.
Biden's administration continues to maintain it has the authority to enact broad debt cancellation and is moving forward with the implementation process, which it said will be smooth and easy for borrowers to access. Still, concerns linger regarding implementation and how the student-loan companies tasked with carrying out this relief will be able to handle the traffic, along with transitioning borrowers back into repayment in January following an over two year pause on payments.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar told Insider it's imperative that "there is clear communication with borrowers ahead of repayment so folks don't have to deal with the anxiety of not knowing if and how much repayment will be."
"Another concern is with the loan servicers – we must ensure that they aren't engaging in deceptive or illegal behavior, and holding them fully accountable if they do," she added. "Our goal must be to get people all the relief they are eligible for."