16 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws aimed at student loan servicers, the companies that collect payments and manage accounts for federal and private student loans. Most require servicers to get a state license, create a state student loan ombudsman to help borrowers with complaints, or set rules for how servicers must treat borrowers, sometimes called a borrower bill of rights.
The earliest were Connecticut in 2015 and California in 2016. Most of the rest passed between 2017 and 2021. Several states have since amended their laws, most recently Minnesota in 2026.
More bills are pending in the 2025–26 sessions in Arizona, New York and North Carolina. Bills in Delaware, New Mexico and Wisconsin did not pass.
What this list covers
We searched bill records in Open States for servicer licensing, ombudsman and borrower bill of rights legislation, then checked each bill by hand against the state legislature’s own website or the published statute. A title search alone misses some laws, including Colorado’s, so we also looked up states known to regulate servicers. We include a state only where we could confirm that the bill was signed or became law.
The laws differ a lot. Some, like Nevada’s, only create an ombudsman office. Others require servicers to hold a state license and set rules for how they deal with borrowers. Federal law limits how far states can regulate the servicing of federal student loans, and courts have reached different conclusions on that question, so the reach of a state law can depend on the type of loan. This page lists the laws; it does not summarize every provision. Check a state’s own law or its financial regulator for details.
Enacted laws
| State | Law | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | AB 2251 (2016, ch. 824); AB 376 (2020, ch. 154) | 2016 | AB 2251 created the Student Loan Servicing Act licensing requirement. AB 376 added a borrower bill of rights. |
| Colorado | SB19-002 | 2019 | Signed May 13, 2019. |
| Connecticut | Public Act 15-162 (HB 6915) | 2015 | Signed July 2, 2015. Created a student loan ombudsman and servicer licensing, effective July 1, 2016. Amended by SB 890, signed July 7, 2021. |
| District of Columbia | D.C. Law 21-214 | 2017 | Effective February 18, 2017. Ombudsman and servicer licensing. |
| Illinois | SB 1351 (Public Act 100-0540) | 2017 | Amended by SB 1537 (Public Act 104-0383) in 2025. |
| Maine | LD 995 | 2019 | Signed June 20, 2019. |
| Maryland | HB 594 (2019, ch. 546) | 2019 | Addresses unfair, abusive and deceptive servicer practices. |
| Massachusetts | Acts of 2020, ch. 358 (H 5250) | 2021 | Enacted January 6, 2021. Created servicer licensing under G.L. c. 93L, effective July 1, 2021. |
| Minnesota | 2021 1st Special Session, ch. 4, art. 6 | 2021 | Signed June 26, 2021. Chapter 58B, effective August 1, 2021. Amended in 2024 (ch. 114) and 2026 (ch. 124, HF 4188). |
| Nevada | AB 383 (2019, ch. 402) | 2019 | Created a student loan ombudsman. |
| New Jersey | S1149 (P.L. 2019, c. 200) | 2019 | Ombudsman and servicer regulation. |
| New York | S1508/A2008 (2019, ch. 58, Part L) | 2019 | Signed April 12, 2019. Servicer licensing under Banking Law Article 14-A. An exemption was added by A8067 (2025, ch. 589). |
| Oklahoma | SB 261 | 2021 | Approved April 27, 2021. Amended by HB 1443, approved April 28, 2023. |
| Oregon | SB 485 | 2021 | Effective July 27, 2021. |
| Rhode Island | H 5936 / S 737 | 2019 | Signed July 15, 2019. |
| Virginia | HB 10 (ch. 1198) / SB 77 (ch. 1250) | 2020 | |
| Washington | SB 6029 (2018, ch. 62) | 2018 | Signed March 15, 2018. |
Year is when the main law was enacted. Bill numbers and chapter numbers are as given by each legislature.
Other recent bills
| State | Bill | Session | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | HB 2290 | 2026 | Pending |
| Arizona | HB 2302 | 2026 | Pending |
| California | AB 866 | 2025–26 | Held in committee |
| New York | S3772 / A1146 | 2025–26 | Pending |
| North Carolina | SB 426 | 2025–26 | Pending |
| Delaware | SS 1 for SB 132 | 2023–24 | Died in Senate Finance Committee, April 11, 2024 |
| New Mexico | HB 224 | 2025 | Postponed indefinitely |
| Wisconsin | SB 1041 / AB 1074 | 2025–26 | Failed |
Status as of October 25, 2026. Pending bills can change quickly; check the legislature’s site for the latest action.
Source
State legislature websites and published session laws, and Open States (openstates.org) bill data, checked October 2026. Open States data is in the public domain. This list is our compilation; we have checked each entry but it may not be complete. Our table is available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "State Student Loan Servicer Laws," My Credit Guide, October 25, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/student-loan-servicer-laws/.