Yes, student loans can be discharged in bankruptcy. Really. For many years, people were told that student loans couldn’t be wiped out in bankruptcy. That was once mostly true — but it’s not true anymore. Since 2022, thousands of borrowers have had federal student loans discharged.
What changed
In late 2022, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education rolled out clearer guidance for handling student loans in bankruptcy. Instead of a vague, nearly impossible standard, borrowers now fill out an attestation form about their income, expenses, and efforts to repay, and the government uses consistent criteria to decide whether to support a discharge.
How it generally works
- You file for bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or Chapter 13).
- You file a separate step called an adversary proceeding and submit the attestation form.
- The court looks at whether repaying would cause an undue hardship — based on your present situation, whether it’s likely to continue, and whether you’ve made a good-faith effort.
The bottom line
Discharge isn’t automatic, and the process still takes work — usually with a bankruptcy attorney — but the door is genuinely open in a way it wasn’t for decades. If your loans are truly unpayable, this is worth exploring.
This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a qualified bankruptcy attorney about your specific situation.