Cosigner Release Calculator
Track your progress toward release — and weigh it against refinancing, given that a 2015 CFPB review found ~90% of release applications on private student loans were rejected.
You can apply for release now
Apply — but don't plan around it.
A 2015 CFPB review of the industry found that roughly 90% of cosigner-release applications on private student loans were rejected. Meeting the payment count is necessary, not sufficient: lenders also test the borrower's income and credit, and the CFPB noted applicants often got no clear explanation for a refusal. Release is worth applying for. It is not an exit you can count on.
Here is the age of that number, so you can judge it yourself: the CFPB collected the data October 2014 – March 2015 and published it in June 2015. Nobody has measured the industry again since — the CFPB's later ombudsman reports, including the most recent, don't re-count release approvals, and every current article citing "90%" is citing this same study. So treat it as a warning about relying on release, not as a prediction of your own odds: your lender may approve at a very different rate.
Your two exits, compared
| Path | Monthly | Interest left | Gets you off the loan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stay and apply for releaseyou can apply today | $495.94 | $13,151.20 | Only if approved — historically about 1 in 10 |
| Borrower refinances alone6.5% over 96 months | $461.28 | $9,823.60$3,327.60 less | Yes — the old loan is closed |
Refinancing here does both jobs: it saves $3,327.60 in interest and removes you from the loan outright — no application to be rejected. It depends on the borrower qualifying alone, which is the same test release would apply to them anyway.
Where the loan stands
- Original amount
- $40,000.00
- Payments made (24)
- $11,902.63
- Months left
- 96
= B = P(1+r)^m − M((1+r)^m − 1)/r, r = 8.5%/12, m = 24
You are liable for all of it until you're released, refinanced out, or it's repaid
How to use
- Enter the loan you cosigned and how many payments have been made.
- Enter your lender's release requirement and the borrower's consecutive on-time payment count — a single missed payment usually resets it to zero.
- Compare the two exits: applying for release (which is refused about nine times out of ten) and refinancing in the borrower's name (which removes you outright).
How it works
You cosigned, and you were told the way out is simple: make on-time payments for a couple of years, then apply to be released. So you wait, and you count.
Here is what nobody puts on that page. A 2015 CFPB review of the industry found that roughly 90% of cosigner-release applications on private student loans were rejected — and that applicants often couldn't find out why. The payment count gets you the right to apply. It doesn't get you out.
We'll be straight about the limits of that number, because most pages quoting it aren't. The CFPB collected the data between October 2014 and March 2015 and published it in June 2015. It covers private student loans specifically. And no one has re-measured the industry since — the Bureau's later ombudsman reports don't re-count release approvals, so every "90%" you read today, including ours, traces back to that one study. Your lender may approve far more or far fewer. It is a reason not to rely on release — not a forecast of your own application.
So this calculator does two things. It tracks your progress toward the requirement honestly, including the case where the loan finishes before you'd even qualify. And it puts that next to the exit that doesn't depend on anyone approving you: the borrower refinancing in their own name, which closes the old loan and removes you with it. We show what that costs — more interest or less — because the honest answer is "it depends," and you should see the number rather than be told.
Thinking about cosigning in the first place? Our cosigner risk calculator shows the exposure before you sign.
Sources
- CFPB — 90% of private student loan borrowers who applied for co-signer release were rejected (published June 2015; data October 2014 – March 2015)
- CFPB — Private Education Loan Ombudsman report, January 2026 (the Bureau's most recent; it does not re-measure release approvals)
- CFPB — If I co-signed a private student loan, can I be released from it?
- CFPB — What does it mean to co-sign a loan?
- Investopedia — Amortization (payment and balance formulas)
Data last verified: 2026-07-14
Frequently asked questions
What is cosigner release?
A provision in some loan agreements that lets the cosigner be removed after the borrower has made a set number of consecutive on-time payments and can qualify on their own. It's an application, not an automatic right — and not every loan offers it at all. Check the agreement for whether it exists before you count on it.
How many on-time payments do lenders require?
It varies enormously — commonly somewhere between 12 and 48 consecutive on-time payments — which is why this calculator asks you for your lender's number rather than assuming one. And the payment count is only the entry ticket: lenders also test the borrower's income and credit at the point of application.
Why are so many release applications rejected?
A CFPB review of the industry — data collected October 2014 to March 2015, published June 2015 — found roughly 90% of cosigner-release applications on private student loans were rejected. It also found borrowers had little visibility into what would actually qualify them, and were frequently given no clear explanation when turned down. That remains the most recent authoritative measurement: the CFPB's later ombudsman reports don't re-count release approvals, and current articles quoting "90%" are all quoting this same study. Individual lenders may approve at very different rates today. The lesson holds either way: meeting the payment requirement is necessary, not sufficient — apply, but don't build your plans around being approved.
Is refinancing better than waiting for release?
It's more reliable. Refinancing replaces the loan with a new one in the borrower's name alone, which closes the old loan and removes you outright — no application for the lender to refuse. It may cost more or less in total interest depending on the rate, and this calculator shows you which. The catch is the same one release has: the borrower has to qualify on their own.
Does refinancing hurt the borrower?
It can help or hurt depending on the terms. A lower rate saves money; a longer term lowers the monthly payment but usually increases total interest. Federal student loans are a special case — refinancing them into a private loan permanently gives up federal protections like income-driven repayment and forgiveness programmes, which is rarely worth it purely to release a cosigner.
What if my lender has no release programme at all?
Then there are two exits: the loan is repaid, or the borrower refinances it in their own name. That's it. It's worth finding this out early rather than making on-time payments for three years toward a release that was never on offer.
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This tool is an educational estimate, not financial advice. Release requirements, approval criteria and the availability of a release programme at all vary by lender and by loan; your loan agreement controls. Refinancing a federal student loan into a private one permanently forfeits federal protections.