When a college student takes out a private student loan, it’s common for them to secure a co-signer because they lack a sufficient credit history to qualify. A co-signer, often a borrower’s relative, shares responsibility with the primary borrower for paying off a private student loan. By contrast, most federal student loans don’t allow co-signers.

Some, but not all, providers of private student loans let a borrower do this. Removal of a co-signer can happen only after the borrower has made a predetermined number of on-time payments on a pr๊ivate student loan and has met other requirements.

Learn how to get a student loan co-sign🅺er release.

How to Release a Co-Signer From Your Stud🅰ent Loan

The co-signer release process, including requirements you must meet for approval of a release, will vary from one lender to another lender. Keep in mind that only the borrower can initiate the release process.

Your first step is to contact your lender or loan servicer to find out whether or not it offers co-signer releases. Here’s what ไthe rest of the process looks like ♒for releasing a co-signer.:

1. Make sure you’re up-to-date on loan payments.
2. Determine whether your payment history satisfies lender requirements. This means you either made a certain number of consecutive on-time loan payments of principal and interest over a certain period, such as 12, 24, or 48 months, or you prepaid the equivalent amount of principal and interest payments.
3. Verify whether any of your federal student loans were in a hardship, forbearance, or income-based repayment program for, say, the past 24 months.
4. Fill out a release application. If your payment history is solid, you can start the application process. You should be able to find a release application on the website of your lender or loan servicer.
5. Offer proof of graduation or completion of a certificate program. A co-signer release normally can’t be done if the borrower remains in school.
6. Supply proof of income. This may include providing your pay stubs, W-2 forms, or most recent tax return. Having sufficient income assures a lender that you’ve got enough money to make the loan payments on your own.
7. Complete a credit check. The lender will want to see that your credit history is free of blemishes like a default on a student loan, a bankruptcy, or a 90-day delinquency within the past 12 months. The lender likely will require a minimum FICO credit score, too.

Potential Risks of Releasing a Co-Signer

Releasing a co-signer from a private student loan does ℱcome with potential risks for🤡 the remaining borrower. Among them are:

• The remaining borrower can’t keep up with loan payments. A co-signer release takes away a financial backup if the remaining borrower runs into financial trouble and struggles to make loan payments.
• The remaining borrower may see their credit score go down. Without the ability to lean on a co-signer, the borrower may end up making late payments or missing payments altogether. This activity could leave a negative mark on the borrower’s credit report and trigger a drop in their credit score.
• The remaining borrower may be unable to qualify for other lending products. Let’s say the borrower is coping with financial problems that interfere with their ability to make loan payments. Without a co-signer to serve as a lifeline, these credit woes may make it difficult, if not impossible, to be approved for a credit card, car loan, mortgage, or other lending product.
• The remaining borrower might be tempted to take on high-interest debt. If the borrower finds that the student loan payments are now stretching their budget too thin, they may turn to ultra-high-interest lending products, such as payday loans and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:car title loans, to fill the monetary void. In this situation, the co-signer may have been able to rescue the student borrower.

Alternatives to Releasing a Co-Signer

In some cases, you may be unabl♕e to release a co-signer from a private student loan, either because your lender doesn’t offer this option or because it rejects your application. Fortunately, alternatives to releasing a co-signer are available. They include:

• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Refinancing the loan: If you’re able to refinance, the co-signer is removed and you become solely responsible for paying off the loan. However, you’ll need to meet a lender’s income and credit requirements in order to refinance the loan.
• Consolidating loans: Securing one student loan that consolidates several student loans may enable you to remove a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:co-signer. As with refinancing, a lender will consider your income and credit before approving an application for a loan consolidation.

Compare the Best Privꦚate S⛄tudent Refinance Lenders

Frequently Asked Questions

*Fixed rates range from 4.49% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates will never exceed 13.95% (the maximum rate for these loans). SoFi rate ranges are current as of 11/30/24 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term. Autopay Discount: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will be removed during periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. SoFi Plus Discount: To be eligible to receive an additional (0.125%) interest rate reduction on your Student Loan Refinancing (your "Loan") for enrolling in SoFi Plus, you must enroll in SoFi Plus within 30 days of Loan funding, either by receiving a Direct Deposit to your SoFi Checking and Savings account, or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. Once eligible, you will receive this discount during periods in which you have received Direct Deposit to your SoFi Checking and Savings Account, or during periods in which SoFi successfully receives payment of the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. This discount lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your regular monthly payment. This discount will be removed during periods in which SoFi determines you have turned off Direct Deposit to your Checking and Savings account or in which you have not paid the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate this interest rate reduction offer for unenrolled participants at any time without notice. You are not required to enroll in Direct Deposit or to pay the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee to be eligible for Loan approval. Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FOREFEIT YOUR EILIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligiblity. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

Earnest Student Loan Refinance Interest Rate Disclosure Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 4.24% APR to 10.74% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 6.13% APR to 10.74% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan refinance loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. The maximum rate for your loan is 8.95% if your loan term is 10 years or less. For loan terms of more than 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95%. Please note, we are not able to offer variable rate loans in AK, IL, MN, NH, OH, TN, and TX. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and contain our .25% auto pay discount from a checking or savings account.