NSLDS Updates OBBBA Loan Limits for 2026-27 Award Year

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Posted Date April 24, 2026 Author Federal Student Aid Electronic Announcement ID LOANS-26-05 Subject One Big Beautiful Bill Act NSLDS Eligibility Processing Updates

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) establishes new aggregate loan limits, introduces loan limit exceptions, and includes other changes to the federal student loan programs that must be implemented on July 1, 2026.

This Electronic Announcement outlines the updates that we will make to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS ®) to support these changes. These OBBBA -related changes will be available in NSLDS beginning April 26, 2026, in anticipation of the start of the 2026–27 award year.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is currently engaged in rulemaking on numerous OBBBA provisions. While final regulations are forthcoming, we are providing the technical guidance below to support institutions, states, and vendors in preparing their systems to implement these changes in April. If the forthcoming regulations result in changes to these technical updates, we will provide additional guidance at that time.

For information about the April 26, 2026, updates to the FAFSA Processing System, refer to the March 9, 2026, Electronic Announcement. For information about the updates to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System, refer to the April 23, 2026, Electronic Announcement.

NSLDS Academic Levels Updates

Beginning with the 2026–27 award year, NSLDS will begin using the following academic level codes, which will help determine the new graduate and professional aggregate loan limits:

• 8 – Graduate Never Professional
• 9 – Graduate Was Professional
• 10 – Professional Never Graduate
• 11 – Professional Was Graduate
• 12 – Graduate Concurrent Enrollment
• 13 – Professional Concurrent Enrollment

NSLDS will continue to display academic levels A–G for pre- OBBBA graduate/professional borrowers and include academic levels A–G in system outputs for loans prior to the 2026–27 award year. Academic levels 8–13 will apply to new loans beginning with the 2026–27 award year.

NSLDS will also use the “Loan Limit Exception” flag reported by the COD System to determine whether a borrower qualifies for the pre- OBBBA aggregate loan limits or is subject to the new aggregate loan limits.

The Loan Limit Exception flag will not be reported to NSLDS during the initial days following the April 26, 2026, system implementation. As a result, all outputs will display a null value for this field until NSLDS receives a file from the COD System that confirms borrowers’ eligibility for an exception. NSLDS expects to receive this file and update the flag by Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

Note: For borrowers flagged as exceptions and who are eligible for the pre- OBBBA aggregate loan limits, the new aggregate loan limits will apply when the exception period ends. Schools should keep this in mind when awarding aid during the exception period.

Aggregate Loan Limit Updates

We are making updates throughout NSLDS to implement the revised aggregate loan limits included in the OBBBA.

Graduate and Professional Aggregate Loan Limits

Borrowers who do not qualify for an exception will be subject to the revised limits.

Borrowers who qualify for an exception will remain eligible for the current aggregate limits while the exception is in effect. After the exception period ends or the borrower is no longer eligible for the exception, the revised limits will apply.

Graduate and professional borrowers who do not qualify for an exception will no longer be eligible to receive Direct PLUS Loans for graduate and professional borrowers as of July 1, 2026. However, NSLDS will continue to display previously awarded PLUS loans for graduate and professional students and include them in applicable system outputs.

Undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized loans will not be included in the calculation of the new graduate or professional aggregate limits. However, borrowers who qualify for an exception will continue to have their undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized loans included in the calculation of the pre- OBBBA graduate/professional aggregate limit of $138,500 (or $224,000 for borrowers who attend eligible health profession programs).

Note: Borrowers who are eligible for the increased unsubsidized limits while enrolled in certain health profession programs and are eligible for the interim loan limit exception will continue to be eligible for the increased amounts while eligible for the limited exception. After the student is no longer eligible for the limited exception or the limited exception period has been exhausted, these borrowers are no longer eligible for the increased aggregate limit and will instead fall under the new $100,000 or $200,000 limits, as applicable.

Parent PLUS Aggregate Loan Limit

Beginning with the 2026–27 award year, the Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit will be $65,000 and apply per dependent student, not per parent borrower.

Once the parent borrower(s) has reached the $65,000 Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit for an undergraduate dependent student, they will not be eligible to borrow additional PLUS loans for that student, even if any loans have been repaid, forgiven, or discharged.

A dependent student whose parent borrower(s) has reached the Parent PLUS aggregate limit will not be eligible to receive additional unsubsidized loans beyond the dependent annual limit.

Note: Dependent students will still be eligible to receive additional unsubsidized loan amounts when a Direct PLUS Loan for parent borrowers is denied due to adverse credit.

For dependent students (and subsequently the parent borrower(s) who qualify for an exception), the Parent PLUS aggregate limit will not apply during the exception period. However, NSLDS will continue to calculate, display, and include the limit in system outputs and reflect the limit in other impacted areas of NSLDS.

Lifetime Maximum Aggregate Loan Limit

Beginning with the 2026–27 award year, student borrowers will have a new lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit of $257,500. This limit includes loans received as an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student and includes both Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans.

The limit does not include PLUS loans for parent borrowers, consolidation loans (underlying loans are included), or Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program/health profession program loans.

Note: PLUS loans for graduate or professional students (both Direct and FFEL) will be included in the lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit.

Once a borrower reaches the $257,500 lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit, the borrower will no longer be eligible to receive additional Title IV loans, even if the borrower’s loans have been repaid, forgiven, or discharged.

For borrowers who qualify for an exception, the lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit will not apply during the exception period. However, NSLDS will continue to calculate, display, and include the limit in system outputs and reflect the limit in other impacted areas of NSLDS.

Reminder: After the exception period ends, any borrower (student or parent) who continues to borrow will be subject to the new aggregate loan limits.

NSLDS Professional Access Updates

As part of the system update scheduled for April 26, 2026, we will implement the following enhancements to the NSLDS Professional Access website:

• We will add **** “Close or Equal to” and “Exceeds” warning icons for the new graduate, professional, Parent PLUS, and lifetime maximum aggregate loan limits.
• We will display “Close or Equal to” or “Exceeds” informational icons for borrowers who qualify for an exception and are close to or have exceeded the new aggregate loan limits. The informational icons are designed to help schools award aid to borrowers who qualify for an exception and are currently eligible for the pre- OBBBA aggregate loan limits.

Reminder: Once the exception period ends, the new aggregate loan limits will apply. Schools should keep this in mind when awarding aid to these borrowers during the exception period.
- We will update the “Aggregate Calculations Table” on the Financial Aid Dashboard to include the following columns:

• Undergraduate
• Pre- OBBBA Graduate/Professional
• Total (undergraduate + pre- OBBBA graduate/professional)
• Graduate

• Professional

  • We will add an additional table to the Financial Aid Dashboard to display Parent PLUS loan information:

• This table will include the student borrower’s role (student or dependent) and name, Parent PLUS totals, Parent PLUS limit indicators, and other relevant details.

• When viewing a parent’s record, this table will display each undergraduate dependent student associated with a PLUS loan borrowed by the parent borrower(s), along with each student’s individual total.

• When viewing a student’s record for whom a parent has borrowed a PLUS loan, the table will display only that student and the total amount borrowed on their behalf.

  • The “Total Outstanding Balances” section on the Financial Aid Dashboard will now include the lifetime maximum aggregate total.
  • The loan limit exception flag will display in multiple areas on the Financial Aid Dashboard.

NSLDS Professional Access will continue to display all columns, totals, and related information regardless of the borrower’s loan limit exception status.

Refer to online help text for additional assistance with these updates.

NSLDS TSM/FAH Updates

Beginning April 26, 2026, we will make several important updates to the NSLDS Transfer Student Monitoring (TSM)/Financial Aid History (FAH) processes. Refer to the updated NSLDS Transfer Student Monitoring & Financial Aid History User Guide and Record Layouts for detailed information about updates to the TSM and FAH file layouts and a new TSM Alert for transfer students.

Note: NSLDS will not implement the TSM/FAH file layout updates before April 26, 2026.

NSLDS Post-Screening Reason Codes Updates

We will make several important updates to existing NSLDS post-screening reason codes and add new post-screening reason codes to support the changes under OBBBA.

We will update the following post-screening reason codes to incorporate the new graduate and professional aggregate loan limits, in addition to the existing undergraduate and pre- OBBBA graduate/professional aggregate loan limits:

• 10 – Student has exceeded combined aggregate loan limit
• 12 – Exceeding combined loan limit resolved

The following new post-screening reason codes will identify borrowers who are close to or have exceeded the lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit or the Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit:

• 28 – Student is close to their lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
• 29 – Student has exceeded their lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
• 30 – Lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit resolved (only applicable if a loan or a disbursement has been canceled and the total falls below the “Close to” and “Exceeds” limits)
• 31 – Student recipient is close to their Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit
• 32 – Student recipient has exceeded their Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit
• 33 – Student recipient Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit resolved (only applicable if a loan or a disbursement has been canceled and the total falls below the “Close to” and “Exceeds” limits)

Note: NSLDS will only generate the new post-screening reasons codes 28–33 when the borrower is not considered an exception.

A new post-screening reason code for loan limit exception status changes will also be available to notify schools when a borrower’s exception status has changed:

• 34 – Loan limit exception status change

Additionally, new informational post-screening reason codes will be available for borrowers who qualify for an exception and who are not subject to the new aggregate loan limits during the exception period. These borrowers, including student borrowers and dependent borrowers who are the beneficiary of a PLUS Loan for parent borrowers, will receive the following informational post-screening reason codes:

• 35 – Student has exceeded the new combined graduate or professional aggregate loan limits
• 36 – Student is close to their lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
• 37 – Student has exceeded their lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
• 38 – Student recipient is close to their Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit
• 39 – Student recipient has exceeded their Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit

These informational post-screening reason codes are designed to help schools award aid for borrowers who qualify for an exception and are currently eligible for the pre- OBBBA aggregate loan limits. Once the borrower is no longer considered an exception, NSLDS will stop generating the informational post-screening reason codes; instead, NSLDS will use the applicable existing or new post-screening reason codes.

Reminder: Once the exception period ends, the new aggregate loan limits will apply for these borrowers. Schools should keep this in mind when awarding aid to students during the exception period.

Contact Information

If you have questions, contact the NSLDS Customer Support Center at 1-800-999-8219 or nslds@ed.gov.