Can student loans be removed from my credit report? You may be wondering how to get student loans off your credit report if you have defaulted on your loans or been late on payments and your credit score is lower as a result.

Unfortunately, there's no easy answer to the question of how to remove student loans from your credit report. In most cases, it's not possible to do so, except in limited circumstances. Here's what you need to know. 

Can student loans be removed from my credit report?

When trying to determine how to get student loans off your credit report, the key question is whether the information being reported is accurate.

If you took out student loans in your name, they are going to go on your credit report. If the lender is accurately reporting information about them — including about a loan default or late payments — then the information is not going to be removed.

However, if someone else took out loans in your name without your authorization, if loans that aren't yours are being reported on your credit history or if your lender is reporting inaccurate information about your loans, then it is possible to get fraudulent or inaccurate information removed. 

How long do student loans stay on your credit report? 

If your lender reports information about your student loans on your credit report, it will remain on your record for seven years. It can impact your credit during this time. The good news is the more time that passes between the reporting of negative information, the less of an impact it will have on your credit score. 

How to get student loans off your credit report

The answer to the question of how to remove student loans from your credit report will vary based on the reasons for the removal. 

Remember that you cannot remove legitimate negative information about your loans. But here's how to remove student loans from your credit report in cases of fraud or inaccuracy or if your lender has made a mistake with your loans. 

How to remove student loans from your credit report in cases of fraud or inaccuracy 

If inaccurate information is on your credit report, you can dispute the information with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These are the three major credit reporting agencies. Each has an online form you can complete to request the removal of inaccurate loan details. 

The credit bureaus will launch an investigation, and both you and the lenders reporting the information about the student loans may be asked to provide information proving who the loans belong to. If the loans were taken out in your name without your authorization or mistakenly placed on your credit report, they should be removed.   

Removing student loans from your credit report if your loans were wrongly placed in default 

If your loans should have been placed in deferment or forbearance and something went wrong, it is possible that the loans were wrongfully placed in default. If that's the case, the easiest way to figure out how to remove student loans from your credit report is to contact your loan servicer. 

Your loan servicer may be able to correct the mistake if it conducts a review of your account history and discovers that a default was improperly reported. You also have the option to appeal the inaccurate information with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – just as you do with fraudulent loans. 

If you can prove that you didn't default because your loans should have been in forbearance or deferment, then you can get the record of the delinquency removed.

How to avoid defaulting or being late on student loan payments 

Since you can't get information about student loans removed from your credit report unless there was fraud or inaccuracy, it's best to avoid defaulting on your loans or getting behind on payments. If you don't allow problems to develop with your account, you won't mind having the student loans on your credit report, as your history of on-time payments should have a positive impact on your credit history. 

The good news is there are many ways to avoid falling behind on loan payments so you will never have to worry about how to get student loans off your credit report. 

If you have federal student loans, there are options to pause payments through deferment or forbearance — including some circumstances where lenders must allow you to take advantage of these protections. You can contact your loan servicer to see what you qualify for, and you should do so as soon as possible before missing a payment. 

You also have the option to choose income-driven repayment plans with federal loans. These plans cap your monthly payment at a percentage of your income, which means your loans should be affordable for you. In some cases, it is possible for your monthly payment to be set as low as $0 when you choose an income-driven plan. And after a certain number of years of payments, any remaining balance on your loans is forgiven. 

Private loans don't offer quite as many solutions if you are struggling. Many lenders will, however, allow temporary forbearance so you can pause payments. You should contact your loan servicer as soon as you think you may have problems making the minimum payment due since it is best to put your loans into forbearance before you are late. 

It is also possible in many situations to reduce the monthly payment on private student loans by refinancing. You can do so by refinancing to a new loan with a lower interest rate, a longer repayment timeline or both.

Juno can help you to find an affordable private student loan refinance loan that will reduce your monthly payment. We negotiate with partner lenders on behalf of groups of borrowers to help each borrower get the lowest possible rate on their student loan refinance loans. Our services are available to those with undergraduate loans and graduate loans, so join Juno today to see how we can help you.