[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 34, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 34CFR685.200]

[Page 828-830]
 
                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION
 
             CHAPTER VI--OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION,
                         DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 
PART 685--WILLIAM D. FORD FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
                     Subpart B--Borrower Provisions
 
Sec. 685.200  Borrower eligibility.


    (a) Student borrower. (1) A student is eligible to receive a Direct 
Subsidized Loan, a Direct Unsubsidized Loan, or a combination of these 
loans, if the student meets the following requirements:
    (i) The student is enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, on at least 
a half-time basis in a school that participates in the Direct Loan 
Program.
    (ii) The student meets the requirements for an eligible student 
under 34 CFR part 668.
    (iii) In the case of an undergraduate student who seeks a Direct 
Subsidized Loan or a Direct Unsubsidized Loan at a school that 
participates in the Federal Pell Grant Program, the student has received 
a determination of Federal Pell Grant eligibility for the period of 
enrollment for which the loan is sought.
    (iv) In the case of a borrower whose previous loan was cancelled due 
to total and permanent disability, the student--
    (A) In the case of a borrower whose prior loan under title IV of the 
Act was discharged after a final determination of total and permanent 
disability, the borrower--
    (1) Obtains a certification from a physician that the borrower is 
able to engage in substantial gainful activity; and
    (2) Signs a statement acknowledging that the Direct Loan the 
borrower receives cannot be discharged in the future on the basis of any 
impairment present when the borrower applied for a total and permanent 
disability discharge or when the new loan is made, unless that 
impairment substantially deteriorates.
    (B) In the case of a borrower whose prior loan under title IV of the 
Act was discharged on or after July 1, 2001 and before July 1, 2002 
after a final determination of total and permanent disability, the 
borrower--
    (1) Complies with the requirements of paragraph (a)(1)(iv)(A) of 
this section; and
    (2) If the borrower receives another loan within three years from 
the date that the borrower became totally and permanently disabled, as 
certified by the physician, reaffirms the previously discharged loan. 
For the purposes of this paragraph, reaffirmation means the 
acknowledgement of the loan by the borrower in a legally binding manner. 
The acknowledgement may include, but is not limited to, the borrower 
signing a new promissory note that includes the same terms and 
conditions as the original note signed by the borrower, making a payment 
on the loan, or signing a repayment agreement.
    (v) In the case of a student who seeks a loan but does not have a 
certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education or 
the recognized equivalent of such a certificate, the student meets the 
requirements under 34 CFR 668.32(e)(2), (3) or (4).
    (2)(i) A Direct Subsidized Loan borrower must demonstrate financial 
need

[[Page 829]]

in accordance with title IV, part F of the Act.
    (ii) The Secretary considers a member of a religious order, group, 
community, society, agency, or other organization who is pursuing a 
course of study at an institution of higher education to have no 
financial need if that organization--
    (A) Has as its primary objective the promotion of ideals and beliefs 
regarding a Supreme Being;
    (B) Requires its members to forego monetary or other support 
substantially beyond the support it provides; and
    (C)(1) Directs the member to pursue the course of study; or
    (2) Provides subsistence support to its members.
    (b) Parent borrower. (1) A parent is eligible to receive a Direct 
PLUS Loan if the parent meets the following requirements:
    (i) The parent is borrowing to pay for the educational costs of a 
dependent undergraduate student who meets the requirements for an 
eligible student under 34 CFR part 668.
    (ii) The parent provides his or her and the student's social 
security number.
    (iii) The parent meets the requirements pertaining to citizenship 
and residency that apply to the student under 34 CFR 668.33.
    (iv) The parent meets the requirements concerning defaults and 
overpayments that apply to the student in 34 CFR 668.32(g).
    (v) The parent complies with the requirements for submission of a 
Statement of Educational Purpose that apply to the student under 34 CFR 
part 668, except for the completion of a Statement of Selective Service 
Registration Status.
    (vi) The parent meets the requirements that apply to a student under 
paragraph (a)(1)(iv) of this section.
    (vii)(A) The parent--
    (1) Does not have an adverse credit history;
    (2) Has an adverse credit history but has obtained an endorser who 
does not have an adverse credit history; or
    (3) Has an adverse credit history but documents to the satisfaction 
of the Secretary that extenuating circumstances exist.
    (B) For purposes of paragraph (b)(1)(vii)(A) of this section, an 
adverse credit history means that as of the date of the credit report, 
the applicant--
    (1) Is 90 or more days delinquent on any debt; or
    (2) Has been the subject of a default determination, bankruptcy 
discharge, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or 
write-off of a debt under title IV of the Act during the five years 
preceding the date of the credit report.
    (C) For the purposes of (b)(1)(vii)(A) of this section, the 
Secretary does not consider the absence of a credit history as an 
adverse credit history and does not deny a Direct PLUS loan on that 
basis.
    (2) For purposes of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, a ``parent'' 
includes the individuals described in the definition of ``parent'' in 34 
CFR 668.2 and the spouse of a parent who remarried, if that spouse's 
income and assets would have been taken into account when calculating a 
dependent student's expected family contribution.
    (c) Defaulted FFEL Program and Direct Loan borrowers. Except as 
noted in Sec. 685.220(d)(1)(ii)(F), in the case of a student or parent 
borrower who is currently in default on an FFEL Program or a Direct Loan 
Program Loan, the borrower shall make satisfactory repayment 
arrangements, as described in paragraph (2) of the definition of that 
term under Sec. 685.102(b), on the defaulted loan.
    (d) Use of loan proceeds to replace expected family contribution. 
The amount of a Direct Unsubsidized Loan, a Direct PLUS Loan, a State-
sponsored loan, or another non-Federal loan obtained for a loan period 
may be used to replace the expected family contribution for that loan 
period.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.)

[59 FR 61690, Dec. 1, 1994, as amended at 60 FR 61816, Dec. 1, 1995; 61 
FR 29900, June 12, 1996; 65 FR 65629, 65693, Nov. 1, 2000; 66 FR 34765, 
June 29, 2001]

    Effective Date Note: At 65 FR 65693, Nov. 1, 2000, Sec. 685.200 was 
amended by adding paragraph (a)(1)(iv)(C), effective July 1, 2002. For

[[Page 830]]

the convenience of the user, the added text is set forth as follows:

Sec. 685.200  Borrower eligibility.

    (a)(1) * * *
    (iv) * * *
    (C) In the case of a borrower whose prior loan under title IV of the 
Act was conditionally discharged based on an initial determination that 
the borrower was totally and permanently disabled--
    (1) The suspension of collection activity on the prior loan has been 
lifted;
    (2) The borrower complies with the requirement in paragraph 
(a)(1)(iv)(A)(1) of this section;
    (3) The borrower signs a statement acknowledging that neither the 
prior loan nor the Direct Loan that the borrower receives may be 
discharged in the future on the basis of any impairment present when the 
borrower applied for a total and permanent disability discharge or when 
the new loan is made, unless that impairment substantially deteriorates; 
and
    (4) The borrower signs a statement acknowledging that the suspension 
of collection activity on the prior loan will be lifted.

                                * * * * *