FAFSA Parent PLUS Loan Endorser confusion - showing on wrong credit report

This is actually normal. While you are the endorser (essentially a co-signer), the Primary Borrower (her father) is the one who is primarily responsible for the loan. The loan will always appear on his credit report first as he's the primary borrower. The endorser obligation typically only shows on YOUR credit if the primary borrower defaults and the loan gets transferred to you for responsibility. So right now everything is working as it should - it's on his credit because he's making the payments (I assume).

when i cosigned for my nephews parent plus i was told the EXACT same thing!!! that it would be on my credit report right away but it took like 8 months to show up. have you checked all 3 credit bureaus??? sometimes it shows on transunion but not the others i think it depends which one the loan servicer reports to

Financial aid advisor here - there's some confusion in the previous replies. As an endorser for a Parent PLUS loan, you are essentially guaranteeing the loan if the primary borrower (the father) fails to repay. However, the reporting practices to credit bureaus can vary by loan servicer. Some servicers report the loan to both the primary borrower and endorser's credit immediately, while others only report to the endorser if the loan enters delinquency or default. I recommend: 1. Contact the loan servicer directly (not just the school) to confirm your endorser status is properly recorded 2. Ask specifically about their credit reporting policies for endorsers 3. Get documentation of your endorser obligation in writing This way you'll have clarity on when/if it will appear on your credit report and confirmation your endorser status is properly recorded in their system.

I had the EXACT same issue last year with my son's Parent PLUS loan where I was the endorser for his mom's loan. Spent HOURS trying to call Federal Student Aid and was on hold forever, kept getting disconnected. Eventually used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they have this service that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved me tons of time and frustration. They have a video demo here if you're interested: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Anyway, once I got through, they explained that as an endorser, it usually only shows on your credit if 1) the loan servicer reports to all bureaus for both parties (not all do) or 2) the primary borrower misses payments. They confirmed everything was set up correctly in my case. Might be worth checking!

Everybody on here is giving you different answers lol. My daughter has a PLUS loan I took out and my wife endorsed. It showed up on BOTH our credit reports within 2 months. Maybe check with the loan servicer if they actually processed your endorsement correctly? Could be a paperwork error.

I'm dealing with a similar situation and found out something important you should know. When you're an endorser, you're still legally responsible for the loan if the primary borrower doesn't pay, EVEN IF it's not showing on your credit report yet. So don't assume you're off the hook just because it's not on your report. I learned this the hard way when my ex stopped paying and suddenly I got collection calls even though it had never appeared on my credit before then! Check your loan paperwork carefully.

Just to follow up on my earlier comment - the Parent PLUS endorser situation is different from co-signing a private student loan. With private loans, both signers usually see it on their credit report immediately. With federal PLUS loans, the reporting practices can vary. The important thing is that your legal obligation as an endorser exists regardless of what's on your credit report currently. If you signed the Master Promissory Note as an endorser, you're on the hook if the primary borrower defaults, whether it shows on your credit now or not.

my cousins endorser situation showed up RIGHT AWAY but my nephews took forever!!! i think its diffrent for each loan company!!

I'm new to this whole Parent PLUS endorser thing - my sister asked me to endorse her loan for my niece's college and I'm trying to understand what I'm getting into. From reading all these responses, it sounds like the credit reporting varies a lot between servicers? Should I ask specific questions when I talk to the financial aid office about what to expect? I don't want to be caught off guard like some of you were with conflicting information from different people!

As someone who just went through the Parent PLUS endorser process last semester, I can confirm that the credit reporting timeline really does vary by servicer. In my case, I endorsed my brother's loan for his daughter and it showed up on my Equifax report within 3 months, but still nothing on Experian or TransUnion after 6 months. What helped me was creating a spreadsheet to track: 1) the loan servicer name, 2) my endorser confirmation number, 3) when I signed, and 4) which credit bureaus I've checked. I also set calendar reminders to check my credit reports every few months just to stay on top of it. One thing I learned is that even if it's not on your credit report yet, you can still call the servicer and they should be able to confirm your endorser status in their system. They gave me a reference number I can use for future calls. Definitely recommend getting that documentation while everything is fresh!

I went through something similar as an endorser for my daughter's Parent PLUS loan about 2 years ago. What I found out is that the loan servicers have different policies - some report endorsers immediately, others only report if there's a default. In my case, it took about 4 months to show up on my credit report, and even then it only appeared on 2 out of 3 bureaus initially. The key thing I learned is that your legal obligation as an endorser exists from the moment you sign, regardless of credit reporting. I'd strongly recommend calling your loan servicer (not just the school's financial aid office) and asking them directly about their credit reporting timeline for endorsers. Also ask for written confirmation of your endorser status and a reference number for your records. One more tip - if you do need to call Federal Student Aid, try calling early in the morning (like 8 AM Eastern) when wait times are usually shorter. I spent way too many hours on hold before figuring that out!

I went through this exact same situation with my son's Parent PLUS loan where I was the endorser for my ex-wife. The confusion about credit reporting is SO common! What I discovered after calling around is that different loan servicers (Nelnet, Great Lakes, FedLoan, etc.) have completely different policies on when they report endorser information to credit bureaus. Some report immediately, others only after the first payment is made, and some only if there's a delinquency. Here's what I wish someone had told me upfront: regardless of what shows on your credit report, you're legally bound as an endorser from day one. I'd recommend calling your specific loan servicer (you can find this info on the National Student Loan Data System at nslds.ed.gov) and asking them directly about their credit reporting timeline for endorsers. Also ask for your endorser reference number and get confirmation in writing or email. The financial aid officers at schools often don't know the specific policies of each servicer, which is why you're getting conflicting information. Go straight to the source - it'll save you a lot of confusion!

I'm seeing a lot of great advice here about calling servicers directly! Just want to add that when you do call, it's helpful to have your daughter's SSN and your own SSN ready - they'll need both to look up the endorser information. Also, if the first representative you talk to seems unsure about endorser credit reporting policies, don't hesitate to ask to speak with a supervisor. I had to escalate twice before I got someone who really understood the endorser process and could give me definitive answers about their reporting timeline. The frontline reps sometimes aren't as familiar with endorser-specific questions since most calls are about regular borrower issues.

Just wanted to share my recent experience as a newcomer to this endorser situation - I endorsed my stepdaughter's Parent PLUS loan about 3 months ago and had similar confusion about when it would show on my credit report. After reading all these helpful responses, I called the loan servicer (Nelnet in my case) and found out they have a 90-day reporting delay for endorsers specifically. The representative explained that they wait to see if the primary borrower establishes a good payment pattern before adding endorsers to credit reports, but our legal obligation starts immediately regardless. She also mentioned that if I wanted to build credit history from the loan, I could request to be added to credit reporting earlier, which I didn't know was an option! Definitely recommend calling your specific servicer - each one really does have different policies and timelines. The NSLDS website mentioned earlier was super helpful for finding my servicer info too.

I'm new to this community and just stumbled across this thread while researching Parent PLUS endorser requirements for my nephew's college loan. This discussion has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea there was so much variation between loan servicers regarding credit reporting timelines for endorsers. From what I'm reading, it sounds like the key takeaways are: 1) Legal obligation starts immediately regardless of credit reporting, 2) Each servicer has different policies on when/if they report endorsers to credit bureaus, 3) Always call the servicer directly rather than relying on financial aid office info, and 4) Get everything documented with reference numbers. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread and follow all the advice here when I have my endorser conversation with my sister. The tip about using NSLDS to find your servicer and calling early in the morning to avoid hold times is gold! Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world information that's so hard to find elsewhere.