Federal Student Aid (FSA) has announced important transition information as servicing of federally held Federal Perkins Loan Program loans moves from ECSI Federal Perkins Loan Servicer (ECSI) to GCR Servicing (GCR). The transition is anticipated to be completed by December 1, 2026.
The transition will include a 60-day pause on school submissions and resubmissions of Perkins Loans for assignment to the U.S. Department of Education. Schools with Perkins Loan assignments in process should pay close attention to the upcoming deadlines and shortened processing timelines.
Key Dates for Schools
September 30, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET
Access to the ECSI website will be disabled for all schools.
October 1, 2026
ECSI will no longer accept new submissions or resubmissions of Perkins Loans for assignment. Schools must hold any assignment packets or resubmissions that were not submitted by this date for submission to GCR after the transition is complete.
Any new submissions or resubmissions received by ECSI after October 1 will be rejected.
ECSI will, however, continue processing assignments that were already pending. As a result, schools may continue receiving acceptance reports and other communications from ECSI after October 1.
October 1–November 1, 2026
ECSI will process pending assignments received before the October 1 cutoff using an abridged follow-up process when additional information or documentation is required:
- First contact attempt: Upon initial review, ECSI will email a pending report and attempt to contact the school by phone.
- Second contact attempt: Three calendar days later, ECSI will contact the school again by phone and email if the outstanding information has not been received.
- Rejection: Seven calendar days after the second attempt, unresolved assignments will be rejected. ECSI will email a rejection notification and return the assignment documentation to the school.
Schools should closely monitor communications from ECSI during this period because the shortened timeline provides limited time to resolve outstanding issues.
October 26, 2026
ECSI will make every effort to conduct initial reviews early enough to allow schools to respond through the abridged follow-up process. However, if ECSI is unable to review an assignment before October 26 and the assignment cannot be accepted as submitted, it will be rejected without going through the abridged follow-up process.
December 1, 2026
FSA anticipates completing the transfer of federally held Perkins Loans from ECSI to GCR. This is also the anticipated date that schools may begin submitting Perkins Loans for assignment to GCR.
FSA will update the Perkins Assignment and Liquidation Guide with GCR’s mailing address and contact information, as well as instructions related to the new GCR electronic assignment system. Schools should consult the updated guide before submitting assignments to GCR.
Borrower Impacts
Borrowers with federally held Perkins Loans will also see changes during the transition.
- Around November 1: ECSI will send borrowers a goodbye letter with additional information about the transfer.
- November 15 through approximately mid-December: Loan consolidation requests will be held during the servicing transition.
- Before December 1: Borrowers should continue sending payments to ECSI.
- December 1 through mid-December: GCR will transition borrowers’ loans into its servicing system.
- Around mid-December: GCR will send borrowers a welcome letter containing its contact information, payment instructions, and other important servicing information.
- Borrowers currently using automatic payments will need to re-establish their auto-drafts with GCR.
What Schools Should Do Now
Schools currently assigning Perkins Loans to the Department should review pending assignments and prioritize completing submissions to ECSI before the October 1 cutoff. Schools should also closely monitor email and phone communications from ECSI during October because of the shortened follow-up timelines.
Assignment packets or resubmissions that cannot be submitted by October 1 should be held until GCR begins accepting assignments, which is currently anticipated for December 1.
Schools should also watch for additional FSA Electronic Announcements and review the updated Perkins Assignment and Liquidation Guide once it is released for GCR submission, mailing, and electronic assignment instructions.
Questions
Schools with questions may contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, or by email at CODSupport@ed.gov.
Reference
Federal Perkins Loan Servicer Change – School Transition Information. Electronic Announcement GENERAL-26-58
September 22, 2026.