Navient to MOHELA: What the Student Loan Transfer Means for You
Updated on November 4, 2025
Navient doesn’t service federal student loans anymore. In 2022, most of its accounts moved to new companies — Aidvantage for federal Direct Loans and MOHELA for older FFEL and some private loans. If you once paid Navient but now see MOHELA listed, that’s normal. What matters now is what kind of loan you have — because that determines your path to forgiveness, repayment, or settlement.
Navient moved its FFEL to MOHELA between late 2021 and mid-2022. It wasn’t a buyout or merger — it was a servicing transfer approved by the Department of Education after Navient exited the federal loan business.
From that point:
Aidvantage took over Navient’s Direct Loans (federal loans owned by the government).
MOHELA began servicing older FFEL loans and a small batch of private loans Navient once managed for banks and investors.
Navient still exists. It now focuses on private loans and defaulted federal accounts that were pulled back for collection.
For borrowers, the change mainly affected who manages your account, not your interest rate, repayment plan, or forgiveness progress. The simplest way to confirm where your loans landed is to log in to StudentAid.gov and download your Loan Breakdown report — it lists every servicer tied to your loans.
MOHELA and Navient aren’t the same company — and they serve very different roles.
Navient is a private company that now manages private and defaulted loans.
MOHELA, short for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, is a federal loan servicer that manages repayment, billing, and forgiveness programs for the Department of Education.
If your loan moved from Navient to MOHELA, that doesn’t mean MOHELA bought or merged with Navient — it simply means MOHELA now handles your payments and records. Your loan terms, balance, and interest rate stayed the same.
The transfer didn’t change your loan — it changed who you deal with. Your balance, interest rate, repayment plan, and forgiveness progress all stayed the same. What’s different is the servicer handling your payments and paperwork.
If you had a federal loan, MOHELA now manages your account and tracks your PSLF and IDR forgiveness credit. You’ll need to set up a new login and re-enroll in auto-pay to keep your interest discount.
If you still see Navient listed anywhere, that usually means your loan is private or in default.
If you still see Navient listed as your servicer, it usually means your loan defaulted or was never part of the federal portfolio to begin with. When that happens, the loan often gets pulled back from MOHELA and managed directly by Navient or one of its collection partners, like Allied Interstate or Pioneer Credit Recovery.
This doesn’t mean your loan is active with the Department of Education anymore — it means you’re dealing with a private or charged-off account. Those loans can often be settled for less than the full balance, depending on your finances and how aggressive the collector is.
Related:
How the Transfer Affects Forgiveness and PSLF
If your loans moved from Navient to MOHELA, you likely have FFEL loans — and those don’t qualify for PSLF. They also didn’t get the one-time account adjustment that boosted forgiveness credit for Direct Loans. Your only federal path with FFEL loans is Income-Based Repayment (IBR) forgiveness after 20–25 years of payments.
To qualify for PSLF or newer IDR plans like SAVE, you’ll need to consolidate your FFEL loans into the Direct Loan program at StudentAid.gov. Once consolidated, MOHELA becomes your servicer for PSLF and forgiveness tracking.
If your loans are private and still with Navient, there’s no federal forgiveness available. But Navient does offer it’s own private student loan forgiveness program.
Related:
FAQs
When did MOHELA take over Navient loans?
Between late 2021 and mid-2022. Navient left the federal loan-servicing business, and the Department of Education approved transfers to Aidvantage and MOHELA. Since then, MOHELA has handled older FFEL loans and some private loans Navient used to manage.
Did MOHELA buy Navient?
No. MOHELA didn’t buy or merge with Navient. It simply took over servicing duties for certain loans when Navient stopped managing federal student loans. MOHELA vs Navient isn’t a merger — it’s a shift in responsibility.
How do I log in now if I used Navient before?
Go to StudentAid.gov and check your servicer. If it lists MOHELA or Aidvantage, create an online account with that company to manage payments and forms. If Navient still appears, your loans are likely private or in default.
Does the transfer affect forgiveness or PSLF?
Yes. If your loans are FFEL, you must consolidate to Direct Loans to qualify for PSLF or SAVE. FFEL loans only qualify for IBR forgiveness. Direct Loans already serviced by MOHELA keep their PSLF and IDR credit after the transfer.
Why is Navient still contacting me?
If Navient contacts you, your loan is probably private or in default. When federal loans default, they’re often pulled back from MOHELA to Navient or its collectors. Navient now focuses on private loan servicing and collections, not federal loan management.
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