Eligibility requirements for a student loan refinance

By Corey Buhay | Published on March 19, 2026

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TL;DR

• In many cases, you’ll need a steady income, a solid credit score, and a completed degree to qualify for a refinance.
• Some lenders will allow you to refinance without a degree or U.S. citizenship as long as you have good credit and/or a cosigner.
• Building up your credit score and chipping away at other debts can improve your odds of qualifying for good refinance rates.

Student loan refinancing is a powerful tool for debt management. Essentially, it lets you swap out your current loans for a brand-new loan, potentially with a lower interest rate. Refinancing can help you simplify your student loan bill, secure lower monthly payments, and adjust your repayment term.

But while popular, refinancing is not available to everyone. To qualify for an Earnest student loan refinance, you’ll have to meet some basic eligibility requirements.

Am I eligible for a student loan refinance?

Student loan refinancing is available from a number of different financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, and online lenders. Each has its own specific eligibility requirements, but most refinance lenders have some criteria in common. Your lender will likely require you to:

• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Be at least the age of majority in your state (usually 18)
• Refinance a minimum required loan amount
• Have graduated from a U.S.-based Title IV-accredited college or university
• Be the primary borrower on the loans you want to refinance
• Have stable employment and good financial standing.

In the past, “good financial standing” referred exclusively to your credit score. These days, many private lenders (including Earnest) now look at more variables to get a more holistic picture of a borrower’s creditworthiness. As a result, more borrowers may be able to access lower interest rates and better loan terms than before.

Here’s a closer look at the financial variables refinance lenders use to evaluate their borrowers in 2026.

Whether you have enough income

Lenders want to know that you can afford the payments on your refinanced student loans. Usually, the higher your income, the better interest rate you’ll qualify for. You must also:

• Be employed in the U.S.
• Get paid in U.S. dollars.
• Have pay stubs or other proof of consistent income.

How high your rent or mortgage payments are

Lenders may also use your rent or mortgage history to evaluate your ability to make consistent, on-time payments. Ensure your payments are current before you apply for refinancing.

Whether you’ve filed for bankruptcy

Your lender will also check whether you have a bankruptcy in your recent credit history. If the lender does find evidence of bankruptcy, default, or accounts in collections, that could negatively impact your ability to qualify for a refinance loan.

The types of loans you hope to refinance

Lenders will look at your existing student loan debt before they approve you for a refinance loan. They’ll check that you’re on track with student loan repayment and that your current student loan accounts are all in good standing.

You typically cannot refinance student debt together with consumer debt (like credit card debt or personal loans). However, you can refinance any combination of the following types of student loans—including private and federal loans.

• Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized loans
• Federal Direct PLUS loans (including Parent PLUS loans)
• Direct Consolidation loans
• Stafford, Perkins, FFEL and other federal loans
• Institutional student loans
• Private student loans

Whether you have enough savings

If you have some savings in reserve, lenders will feel more confident that you’ll be able to make your payments even if unexpected financial hardship arises. Most lenders prefer you to have enough savings to cover at least two months of normal expenses, including housing.

Whether you have a high enough credit score to refinance

Lenders will also look at your credit score, though each one has a different preferred minimum. Generally you must have at least fair to good credit to qualify for refinancing. If you have excellent credit, you’re more likely to qualify for a lender’s lowest rates. The lower your rate, the more money you’ll save over the life of your loan, and the easier it will be to pay off your loans faster. Here’s how those ranges break down for the FICO scoring model, one of the most common models lenders use.

• Poor: 300 to 579
• Fair: 580 to 669
• Good: 670 to 739:
• Very Good: 740 to 799
• Excellent: 800 to 850

FAQs

What credit score do I need to refinance?

It depends. Different lenders have different minimum credit score ranges. However, most prefer to see a score that’s at least in the mid-600s.

Can I refinance with bad credit?

Yes, it’s possible to refinance even with less-than-stellar credit. You can often still qualify as long as you refinance with a cosigner who does have good credit.

Is it worth refinancing with bad credit?

It depends. Borrowers with subpar credit typically won’t qualify for a lender’s lowest rates. However, your interest rate is only one factor in determining if refinancing is right for you. Refinancing can help you lower your monthly payment, simplify your monthly bills, or switch your debt to a new lender with more flexible repayment terms. If any of those benefits helps you feel more in control of your finances, it could still be worth it to refinance even if you can’t get a lower rate.

Can international students refinance?

Yes, international students can refinance their loans in the U.S., though they may have to navigate a few more hurdles than domestic students. To refinance your loans as a non-citizen, you’ll need to be one of the following:

• A permanent resident with a 10-year non-conditional or 2-year conditional Permanent Resident Card
• A Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient
• An asylee
• An H-1B visa holder with a U.S. citizen cosigner

Will refinancing affect my credit?

Yes—but typically only a little bit. To check your score, your lender will perform what’s called a “hard credit check,” a type of credit pull that can temporarily drop your score. However, this more rigorous credit check gives the lender a better idea of what refinance rates they can offer you. Keep in mind that the hard credit check only happens after you submit your formal loan application—most lenders allow you to get pre-qualified without any impact to your credit score.

Do I have to refinance all my loans at once?

No. You can choose to refinance just one of your loans, just your high-interest loans, just your private loans, or all of your student loans together. It’s your choice what you decide to refinance and what you decide to leave untouched.

Do I need to show proof of my bank account balances?

Yes. Many lenders look at recent bank statements to evaluate your cash flow. They want to see that you spend less than you earn and that your bank account balances are increasing over time.

Can I refinance my student loans if I have other types of debt?

It depends. You’re more likely to qualify for refinancing if you don’t have large amounts of non-student, non-mortgage debt. So, if you owe a significant amount of money on your credit cards or have outstanding personal loans, it may be best to try to pay down these debts before you apply for refinancing. If you have relatively small balances, however, you may still qualify.

Will lenders check my credit card payments?

Yes. Lenders will use your credit report to check that your credit card payments are current and that you’re not regularly charged late, overdraft, or insufficient-funds fees. This is another way of evaluating your ability to make on-time payments.

Can I refinance with a cosigner?

Yes, most lenders will allow you to refinance with a cosigner if you don’t have a robust enough credit history to qualify on your own. If your cosigner has a good credit score and steady income, you can piggyback off their strong financial history to potentially secure lower rates.

Can I refinance my student loans if I didn’t graduate?

Yes. You can refinance your student loans even if you haven’t finished your degree. However, if you don’t have a completed degree, you’ll generally have to meet these requirements: Current students

• You must be fairly close to graduation (the exact time span varies by lender).
• You must have a fair to good credit score.
• Your college or university must be an accredited U.S. institution.

Borrowers with incomplete degrees

• If you are not currently enrolled, your last date of attendance must be a minimum number of years ago. The exact number varies by lender.
• You must have good to excellent credit.
• The school you took out loans for must be an accredited not-for-profit college or university located within the U.S.

How can I boost my odds of getting approved for a student loan refinance?

If you check the refinance rates available to you and aren’t happy with what you see, try not to stress. You can refinance at any time during the life of your loans. So take a step back, re-evaluate, and formulate an action plan to improve your financial situation.

1. Stabilize your income

Lenders assess your income as part of the eligibility criteria. Stability and sufficient income are essential in ensuring your ability to repay the refinanced loan. Here’s how you can strengthen your income profile:

• Increase your income: Consider ways to boost your earnings, like seeking a raise, taking on a part-time job, starting a side gig, or exploring new career opportunities that offer higher compensation.
• Show consistent employment: Lenders prefer borrowers with a stable employment history. Frequent job changes may raise concerns for potential lenders. If this is an issue for you, try to stay with your current employer for another year or two before you re-apply for refinancing.
• Demonstrate steady cash flow: In addition to salary, lenders may consider other sources of income, like rental properties or investments, as long as they are consistent and reliable. If you’ve just started some kind of side hustle, try to keep it going for a while before submitting your next refinance application.

2. Reduce debt-to-income ratio

Lenders assess your ability to handle additional debt by examining your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. This is a measure of how much you’re taking in monthly compared to how much you’re spending on debt. A lower DTI indicates a better financial situation. Ways to improve your DTI include:

• Increase your income: Getting a raise or taking on a side gig can improve cash flow and help reduce your DTI.
• Pay off existing debts: Pay down credit card balances, personal loans, or any other outstanding debts.
• Avoid taking on new debt: Minimize new credit card applications or loans that might tempt you to increase your debt load.
• Consider debt consolidation: Personal loans can help you consolidate your high-interest debt, like credit card debt, and secure more favorable interest rates, terms, and monthly payments. Consolidation won’t directly affect your DTI, but it can help you take control of your debt and pay it down more effectively—which can indirectly help you reduce your DTI over time.

3. Build a longer credit history

Longer credit histories provide more evidence of your financial responsibility, which can improve your eligibility. To build a longer credit history:

• Keep old credit accounts open: Length of credit history accounts for 15% of your credit score. Try to avoid closing your oldest credit cards or other revolving credit accounts. This can make your effective credit history appear longer.
• Add new accounts instantaneously: If you’re new to credit cards but have been paying other bills for a long time, you may be able to improve your credit score by adding those bills to your credit report. You’ll need to sign up for a program like Experian Boost, which can add subscription services, utilities, or other longstanding bills to your credit profile.
• Become an authorized user: If you have a relative, partner, or guardian with a long credit history and perfect record of making payments, you may be able to increase your score by having them add you to that account as an authorized user.

4. Improve your credit score

Your credit score plays a crucial role in determining your eligibility for a student loan refinance. To improve your score:

• Pay bills on time: Late or missed payments can harm your credit. Set up automatic payments or recurring calendar reminders to ensure you’re consistently paying on time.
• Reduce credit utilization: Credit utilization refers to the amount of credit you use versus the amount available to you. Aim to keep this below 30%. So, if you have a $10,000 total credit limit, make sure you’re using up no more than $3,000 in credit at any given time.
• Review your credit report: Check for errors and discrepancies that might be negatively impacting your credit. Dispute any inaccuracies as soon as possible.

What should I do if I don’t qualify for a student loan refinance?

Eligibility requirements aside, student loan refinancing isn’t for everyone. Here are some alternatives you might want to consider if you’re having trouble making your student loan payments.

Student loan consolidation

If you have federal loans from the U.S. Department of Education, you can apply for a student loan consolidation. Student loan consolidation lets you bundle multiple federal loans into a single new loan, leaving you with one single monthly payment. This can make it much easier to keep track of your total loan amount and make your payments on time.

The federal government only offers a single blanket interest rate to all borrowers, so you cannot secure a lower rate through consolidation. Instead, your new interest rate will be the weighted average of the interest rates of your current loans. This number is rounded up to the next eighth of a percent, so it’s possible you may end up paying slightly more interest this way. Also keep in mind that federal consolidation loans only come with fixed rates; you cannot get a variable-rate loan this way.

The biggest benefit of consolidation is that it keeps your federal loans within the federal system. That means you’ll still have access to borrower protections, including income-driven repayment options. You also won’t lose access to student loan forgiveness programs.

Federal repayment assistance

If your federal monthly payments are too high, there may be other ways for you to get financial relief without refinancing:

• Income-Driven Repayment: These federal repayment plans cap your monthly payments at a certain percentage of your income. After a certain number of years of consistent monthly payments, your remaining debt will be forgiven.
• Forbearance: You can apply for federal student loan forbearance if you’re facing significant financial hardship. If you qualify, you won’t be required to make any payments during your forbearance period. However, interest will continue to accrue.
• Deferment: You may be able to take advantage of a deferment period if you are actively enrolled in school or if you’re in a grace period—such as after graduation. Interest will still accrue during this period unless you have a subsidized loan.

Student loan forgiveness

Some federal student loan borrowers may qualify for student loan forgiveness programs. These include:

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): This is available to federal borrowers who work for nonprofits, the government, or the public sector. If you make 10 years of consecutive monthly payments while working for a qualified employer, you could have the remainder of your debt forgiven.
• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Teachers qualify for a few different loan forgiveness programs. If you have Direct, Federal Stafford, or Federal Perkins loans, you may qualify for either partial or complete loan cancellation.
• Income-Driven Repayment Plan Forgiveness: If you make consistent, qualified monthly payments under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, you could have the remainder of your student loan balance forgiven after 20 to 25 years.
• Death or Hardship Forgiveness: There are other types of forgiveness available for borrowers facing extreme circumstances. The federal government generally offers loan cancellation or discharge for borrowers who suffer bankruptcy, death, or permanent disability while their loans are in repayment. If your school misled you or closed while you were enrolled, you may also qualify for forgiveness.

How Earnest can help

Every lender has different eligibility requirements for student loan refinancing. Most require a decent credit score, stable income, and proof of responsible spending behavior. However, some lenders may be willing to work with you even if you don’t have a perfect record.

That’s a good thing, too. Because even if you don’t qualify for a lender’s lowest rates, refinancing can help you simplify your loan repayment process, switch your loan servicer, or potentially lower your monthly payment.

If you’re ready to give it a shot, consider a flexible, low-cost refinance loan from Earnest. We never charge origination fees or prepayment penalties, and we let you choose the repayment period that works best for you. Try Earnest’s rate calculator today to see an estimate of how much you could save if you refinanced today. It takes minutes, and it won’t affect your credit score.

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About the Author

Corey Buhay is a writer and editor based in Boulder, Colorado. She’s passionate about literature, the outdoors, and doing her taxes by hand. She has been writing about student loans and personal finance for Earnest since 2019. You’ll find her work in Outside Magazine, Backpacker Magazine, Smithsonian, and The Denver Post.