34 C.F.R. § 685.210 : Education — REGULATIONS OF THE OFFICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION — OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION — WILLIAM D. FORD FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM — BORROWER PROVISIONS — Choice of repayment plan

(a) Initial selection of a repayment plan.
(1) Before a Direct Loan enters into repayment, the Secretary provides the borrower a description of the available repayment plans and requests the borrower to select one. A borrower may select a repayment plan before the loan enters repayment by notifying the Secretary of the borrower's selection in writing.
(2) If a borrower does not select a repayment plan, the Secretary designates the standard repayment plan described in §685.208(b) or (c) for the borrower, as applicable.
(b) Changing repayment plans.
(1) A borrower may change repayment plans at any time after the loan has entered repayment by notifying the Secretary. However, a borrower who is repaying a defaulted loan under an income-contingent repayment plan or the income-based repayment plan in accordance with §685.211(d)(3)(ii), or who is repaying a Direct Consolidation Loan under the income-contingent repayment plan or the income-based repayment plan in accordance with §685.220(d)(1)(ii)(A)(3) may not change to another repayment plan unless-
(i) The borrower was required to and did make a payment under the income-contingent repayment plan or income-based repayment plan in each of the prior three months; or
(ii) The borrower was not required to make payments but made three reasonable and affordable payments in each of the prior three months; and
(iii) The borrower makes and the Secretary approves a request to change plans.
(2)
(i) A borrower may not change to a repayment plan that has a maximum repayment period of less than the number of years the loan has already been in repayment, except that a borrower may change to either the income-contingent or income-based repayment plan at any time.
(ii) If a borrower changes plans, the repayment period is the period provided under the borrower's new repayment plan, calculated from the date the loan initially entered repayment. However, if a borrower changes to the income-contingent repayment plan under §685.209(a), the income-contingent repayment plan under §685.209(b), or the income-based repayment plan under §685.221, the repayment period is calculated as described in §685.209(a)(6)(iii), §685.209(b)(3)(iii), or §685.221(f)(3), respectively.

34 C.F.R. §685.210

Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087 a et seq.

59 FR 61690, 12/1/1994, as amended at 65 FR 65629, 11/1/2000; 68 FR 75430, 12/31/2003; 73 FR 63256, 10/23/2008; 77 FR 66142, 11/1/2012; 78 FR 65833, 11/1/2013