Can You Refinance a Defaulted Student Loan?

In most cases, you cannot refinance a student loan while it’s in default. Federal loans are categorically ineligible, and private loans are almost always rejected. Refinancing only becomes realistic after the default itself is resolved—and the few exceptions are narrow, technical, and uncommon.

When a loan is in default, refinance lenders do not evaluate your application. They reject it at the eligibility screen.

A refinance requires the new lender to pay off the existing loan in full. Once a loan is in default, that payoff is no longer acceptable. The account may be accelerated, in collections, disputed, or subject to legal enforcement. Lenders will not assume that risk.

Because of that, your application never reaches pricing. Your income, credit score, and explanations are not weighed. The loan itself is ineligible.

This is not a judgment about effort or intent. It’s a hard rule. Until the loan is no longer reported as in default, lenders will not consider refinancing.

Federal student loans in default cannot be refinanced. There is no private refinancing path that replaces a defaulted federal loan while it remains in default.

Some borrowers confuse refinancing with other federal processes that change how a loan is handled. Refinancing is different. It replaces the loan with a private one, and that exit is not available until the default is resolved within the federal system.

Private loans do not have the same statutory barrier. But in practice, most refinance lenders still decline applications from borrowers in default or in collections.

Refinancing only works after a loan is no longer reported as in default. If the default is still active, refinancing is not an option.

The most common scenario involves a private loan where the default has already been resolved. That can happen through settlement, repayment, or another agreement that returns the account to good standing. Once the loan is no longer classified as in default, it may later qualify for refinancing. In that case, the lender is refinancing a current loan—not a defaulted one.

There is one specialized program that is sometimes described as refinancing defaulted private loans. It is not a traditional refinance, does not operate like standard lenders, and is not broadly available. It functions as a structured payoff arrangement rather than a market-based refinance.  

Related: Yrefy for Defaulted Private Student Loans

Less commonly, refinancing can succeed when a default was technical or short-lived, such as a servicing or reporting error that is corrected before review. Financial strength—income, assets, or a co-signer—only matters after the loan is eligible. It does not override an active default.

These are exceptions, not workarounds. If the loan is still reported as in default at the time of review, refinancing usually fails.

Refinancing does not fix a default. It only becomes possible after the default itself is resolved.

For federal loans, default is resolved inside the federal system through specific programs that change the loan’s legal status and stop collections. Until that status changes, private refinancing is blocked.

For private loans, default is resolved through repayment, settlement, or legal resolution with the lender or collector. Once the account is no longer reported as in default, refinancing becomes a separate eligibility question—not a default solution.

Related: How to Get Student Loans Out of Default Fast