How to Apply for the Loan Repayment Assistance Program
LSC's Loan Repayment Assistance Program loans are provided for up to three years. New and returning applicants must submit a full application each year.
LRAP Applications
Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) loans are provided for up to three years. Attorneys selected for the program may receive forgivable loans for up to three (3) years depending on eligibility and available funding. An attorney's participation in the first year of the LRAP is based on eligibility demonstrated in the initial application and selection. To participate for a second and third year, the attorney must submit a new application each year, demonstrating continued employment with the same LSC grantee and other eligibility requirements.
2023 LRAP applications will open in GrantEase on Friday, August 19, 2022, and the application deadline is Friday, September 30th, 2022, at 11:59 pm ET.
Eligibility Requirements
- Applicant must be an attorney who is employed full-time or has a job offer from an LSC grantee organization with a start date of October 1, 2022, or earlier, as a licensed attorney as that term is defined by the LSC grantee.
- Applicants must remain employedfull-timeandin good standingwith the LSC granteeorganization for the entirety of the LRAP loan term for which they are applying (the current cycle isfrom October 1, 2022,toSeptember 30, 2023).
- Applicants must have a reasonable expectation of employment at the LSC grantee organization for three years beginning with October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2025. Applicants who are in Fellowship or special grant funded attorney positions may apply provided they have a reasonable expectation of continued employment for the full three years.
- Applicants cannot have been employed as an attorney by the employing LSC grantee for more than five years (60 months cumulative).
- Applicants must have a total outstanding debt of at least $75,000 in eligible law school loans.
- An applicant’s total annual income may not exceed: $62,500 for the 48 States, D.C., territories, and other service areas; $78,125 for Alaska; and, $71,875 for Hawaii.
- An applicant’s net worth may not exceed $35,000.
- An applicant may not have: (1) previously received LRAP loans covering 36 months or more (cumulatively); or (2) defaulted on a previous LRAP loan; or (3) included a previously received LRAP loan in any bankruptcy filing as a dischargeable debt.
Submitting Law School Loan Documentation
To complete the application, ALL applicants must upload current law school loan documentation to the Attachments Tab > Attachments Section of the application record in GrantEase.
Satisfactory law school documentation consists of a statement from the lender showing the loan payoff amount (total principal plus accrued interest) as of the statement date. The applying attorney's name, as well as the lender's name, must appear on the statement from the lender. For each law school-related loan, documentation must consist of the following information (at a minimum):
- applying attorney's name on the document,
- lender name,
- loan number, and
- current loan balance.
If the applicant consolidated law school loans with undergraduate and/or graduate school loans, the applicant is required to identify which portion of the consolidated loan is for law school and submit this explanation in a cover letter along with the loan documents.
Applicants can convert or scan all documents to PDF, combine them into one file, and follow the instructions on the application form. Applicants should use their first and last name, and "Loan Documents" as the file name. For example, Lucy Lawyer - Loan Documents.
The LRAP application is not complete until the applicant has uploaded their current loan documentation AND clicked Submit Application.
Prior to accessing the application, new applicants must register in GrantEase and create their individual user account. Applicants may access below a pre-recorded training on how to register a new individual account, and written steps are provided in the GrantEase User Manual 2 (see page 109). New applicants will need their organization's unique 6-digit LSC-issued recipient identification number to complete the registration request. NOTE: It may take 3-5 days for new applicants to complete their GrantEase individual user registration. Please plan accordingly.
Returning applicants for the 2023 grant cycle should have received a GrantEase notification to complete setting up their individual account registration on or around August 9, 2022. If you did not receive this email, please check your spam and trash folders before reaching out for assistance at LRAP@lsc.gov.
Returning applicants will need to submit a full application and demonstrate continued employment with the same LSC grantee and other eligibility requirements. If eligible, an attorney may participate in the second and third year even if the attorney's salary and/or net worth now exceed the LRAP's initial eligibility requirements. There is no guarantee that an eligible attorney will receive funds for a second and third year.