If you have an active Earnest Private Student Loan, serviced by MOHELA, please visit MOHELA for information and to manage your loan.
If you have an Earnest Student Loan Refinance, you may be eligible for up to 36 months of in-school deferment when you return to school at a Title IV–accredited, not-for-profit program for an undergraduate or graduate degree, or if you are enrolled in an internship, fellowship, residency, or clerkship program. To qualify for an in-school deferment, you must be enrolled at least half-time and be the primary borrower returning to school (not the cosigner). To qualify for an internship, fellowship, residency, or clerkship deferment, you must provide certification from an authorized official that the primary borrower (not the cosigner) has been accepted into an internship, fellowship, residency, or clerkship program, and supporting details. Please note that deferment is not currently available for the Peace Corps or similar programs.
To begin, please call our team at (888) 601-2801, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT, excluding holidays, to complete the application over the phone.
If you are unable to call us, you’ll need to complete and submit a deferment request form, available at the bottom of this article. There are two versions: one for in-school deferment and another for internships, fellowships, residencies, or clerkships. Be sure to download and fill out the correct form. Once completed, upload the form to your Earnest profile by following these steps:
- Sign in to your Earnest account.
- Click “Documents” from the left-side navigation menu.
- Select “Upload.”
- Drop your file into the box and click "Save Changes" at the bottom. Please note that the maximum file capacity is 50 MB.
Since we are not automatically notified when documents are uploaded, please click the “Get In Touch” button at the bottom of this article to send us a quick email to let us know you've uploaded the document.
For NaviRefi clients: Please email your document(s) to NaviRefi_Documents@earnest.com.
When emailing us a document, please password-protect it to increase its security. You can do this via Adobe Acrobat, Preview, or other programs. Once you have password-protected the document and emailed it to us, give us a call at (888) 601-2801, Monday through Friday, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT, excluding holidays, to provide the password to a member of our team. If you have any questions about how to password-protect your document, please feel free to call the Client Happiness team during business hours.
Important Details to Keep in Mind
- All deferment requests must be received at least five (5) business days before the date you want your deferment to begin.
- Requests submitted on or before the fifth business day prior to a payment due date will be applied to your current payment.
- Requests submitted starting on the fourth business day before your due date will be filed right away, but the change may or may not apply to your current payment. Please be prepared for the possibility that your Auto Pay will still be withdrawn or your manual payment will remain due.
If you do not hear back from our team within five (5) business days of uploading your form, please reach out immediately by clicking the Get In Touch button at the bottom of this article.