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MOHELA is a company that services federal student loans by collecting and tracking payments. Also called the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, it's a nonprofit servicer that manages both federal and private student loans.
MOHELA is the sole servicer for borrowers enrolling in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and the TEACH Grant Program. However, the Education Department will start taking over administration of these programs from MOHELA beginning May 1, 2024. There will be a PSLF and Teach Grant processing pause from May 1 through July, while the transfer is underway.
» MORE: How to prepare for the 3-month PSLF processing pause
As one the largest servicers, MOHELA has faced several allegations of poor customer service and account mismanagement amid the return to student loan repayment.
In October 2023, the Education Department directed MOHELA to place some borrowers into an administrative forbearance after the servicer failed to send out timely billing statements. During this forbearance, borrowers did not owe payments.
» MORE: What is administrative forbearance for student loans?
And in February 2024, two nonprofit borrower advocacy groups — the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and the American Federation of Teachers — published an investigation asserting that MOHELA had a "call deflection" strategy to encourage borrowers to manage student loan issues on their own rather than call in, and that MOHELA was wrongfully denying PSLF applications for financial gain.
"We know from the internal documents that there are over two dozen topics which could only be dealt with with a customer service representative. Nonetheless, borrowers are being shuttled to [MOHELA's] website, which is often down or has incomplete information" says Persis Yu, the SBPC's deputy executive director and managing counsel
MOHELA's call deflection strategy was designed to minimize unnecessary calls to help people who have issues that can't be done online get to a live agent faster, says Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance. And MOHELA simply implements and communicates PSLF decisions, which are made by the Education Department, Buchanan says.
» MORE: MOHELA Senate hearing: what borrowers should know
What MOHELA does for student loan borrowers
If MOHELA is your federal student loan servicer, here’s what it can help you do.
Register for online access to your account. Once you have access you can contact MOHELA, access your monthly billing statements and pay bills.
Enroll in autopay. MOHELA can deduct your payments automatically from your bank account. Signing up for autopay will reduce your interest by 0.25 percentage point.
Sign up for income-driven repayment. You can request income-driven repayment, which limits your student loan payments to a percentage of your income, by completing a paper form with MOHELA. (You can apply online on studentaid.gov and then recertify your income each year online as well.)
Process deferment and forbearance requests. MOHELA can help you temporarily stop making payments or reduce your payment amount if you qualify. This helps you stay in good standing to avoid default. But during any periods of deferment or forbearance, interest can continue to build.
Process monthly payments and extra payments. MOHELA will track and collect your payments. If you want to make additional payments, you can instruct MOHELA (online, by phone or by mail) to apply extra payments to your current balance. Otherwise, it may apply the additional amount to next month’s payment instead.
Process applications for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Until May 1, 2024, MOHELA will be the only federal loan servicer that handles PSLF applications, including processing employment certification forms. After May 1, the Education Department will directly manage PSLF forms and payment counts.
» MORE: Student loan servicers: Who are they and what do they do?
Your loan servicer is assigned by the U.S. Department of Education when your loan is disbursed to your college for the first time. The name of the company sending you a federal loan bill every month is your servicer. If your loan payments haven’t begun or you’re not sure which company is your servicer, log in to My Federal Student Aid to find out. You can also get in touch with any of the loan servicer contact centers by calling 1-800-4-FED-AID.
Servicers are there to help you, but they may offer choices that are best for the company, not the borrower. It’s most important to know your student loan repayment options so you can know the right questions to ask.
» MORE: Calling your servicer? It pays to prepare
Am I stuck with MOHELA until my loans are paid off?
It's possible that your loans will change servicers. Loans are sometimes transferred from one servicer to another by the Department of Education. If the government transfers your loans to another servicer, both your current and new servicer will notify you.
To prepare for a smooth transition, do the following:
Download and save your payment history from your online account or request a copy from your servicer.
Update your contact information with your most recent address, phone number and email address.
After a transfer, you’ll manage payments with the new servicer. Most servicers deliver the same options and programs, but MOHELA is the only servicer that manages PSLF applications and loan repayment. If you enroll in the PSLF program, your federal student loans will be moved to MOHELA.
Otherwise, you are likely to remain with MOHELA unless you act to switch student loan servicers. Use this tool to find out what might work for you.
How to reach MOHELA customer service
MOHELA phone numbers:
For Direct Loans and FFELP loan servicing: 1-888-866-4352.
For PSLF: 855-265-4038.
MOHELA hours of operation: Monday 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. CT; Tuesday - Wednesday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. CT.; Thursday - Friday 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. CT.
MOHELA address for loan payments: All payment addresses depend on your location. Login to your MOHELA account or call for the correct address.
MOHELA address for general correspondence:
MOHELA 633 Spirit DriveChesterfield, MO 63005-1243
MOHELA website: mohela.com.
MOHELA social channels: MOHELA Facebook & MOHELA Twitter.
How to complain about MOHELA
If you’re having difficulty with MOHELA that you have been unable to resolve, start by filing a complaint directly with the MOHELA's customer service department.
If your issue goes unresolved, you can also make complaints about MOHELA to:
Make sure to keep records of conversations you have, including the day, time and customer service representative you spoke with. Keep copies of any letters, bills or emails about your account.
» MORE: How to complain about your student loan bill
How to settle a dispute with MOHELA
If a complaint doesn’t help, you can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. This method should be used only as a last resort, says the federal student aid office. When you’re ready to reach out, here’s how to get in touch:
Phone: 1-877-557-2575.
By mail: U.S. Department of Education
FSA Ombudsman Group
P.O. Box 1854
Monticello, KY 42633
You can also reach out to a student loan nonprofit such as The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, which provides free dispute resolution.
The federal student loan servicers
Learn more about each of the federal loan servicers, including what they can do and how to contact.
Aidvantage (took over Navient portfolio) |
Edfinancial Services (took over GSMR portfolio) |
Great Lakes |
MOHELA |
Nelnet |
OSLA |
American Education Services manages only FFEL Program debt. |
Default Resolution Group services only federal student loans in default. |
Heartland ECSI is a servicer for borrowers with federal Perkins loans. |
FedLoan Servicing is no longer active. |
