Federal Student Aid released new guidance outlining how the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is being updated to support changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). These updates went live April 26, 2026, ahead of the July 1, 2026 implementation of new federal loan limits and eligibility rules.
At a high level, these changes introduce new loan limit structures, add borrower-level exception logic, and require schools and vendors to update systems to handle new data elements and codes.
Below are the main code changes. Please refer to the official announcement (LOANS-26-05: One Big Beautiful Bill Act NSLDS Eligibility Processing Updates) for additional information.
Academic Level Code Changes
New numeric academic level codes (effective 2026–27 loans):
- 8 – Graduate Never Professional
- 9 – Graduate Was Professional
- 10 – Professional Never Graduate
- 11 – Professional Was Graduate
- 12 – Graduate Concurrent Enrollment
- 13 – Professional Concurrent Enrollment
Existing codes A–G will:
- Still display for pre-2026–27 loans
- Continue appearing in historical data and outputs for prior years
NSLDS Post-Screening Reason Code Changes
Updated existing codes:
- 10 – Student has exceeded combined aggregate loan limit
- 12 – Exceeding combined loan limit resolved
New loan-limit reason codes
- 28 – Student is close to lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
- 29 – Student has exceeded lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
- 30 – Lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit resolved
- 31 – Student recipient is close to Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit
- 32 – Student recipient has exceeded Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit
- 33 – Student recipient Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit resolved
New exception-status code
- 34 – Loan limit exception status change
New informational codes for borrowers with exceptions
- 35 – Student has exceeded the new combined graduate/professional aggregate loan limits
- 36 – Student is close to lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
- 37 – Student has exceeded lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit
- 38 – Student recipient is close to Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit
- 39 – Student recipient has exceeded Parent PLUS aggregate loan limit
NSLDS will only generate codes 28–33 when the borrower is not considered an exception. Codes 35–39 are informational and apply to borrowers who qualify for an exception during the exception period.