What to do when a College Ave account holder dies
Contact College Ave — 7-step process, 2 required documents, and college ave states that it reviews death/disability forgiveness documentation and updates the loan accordingly within 24 to 48 business hours after the document is submitted through the document upload center, and contacts the submitter directly if it has additional questions.
College Ave Customer Service (serviced by University Accounting Service)
Payments: College Ave Student Loans, c/o University Accounting Service, P.O. Box 5863, Carol Stream, IL 60197-5863. California-borrower qualified written requests: College Ave, Attn: QWR Compliance, 233 N. King St., Suite 400, Wilmington, DE 19801.
College Ave Customer Service (serviced by University Accounting Service)
Payments: College Ave Student Loans, c/o University Accounting Service, P.O. Box 5863, Carol Stream, IL 60197-5863. California-borrower qualified written requests: College Ave, Attn: QWR Compliance, 233 N. King St., Suite 400, Wilmington, DE 19801.
When an account holder at College Ave dies, the executor contacts the Death and Disability Forgiveness (Document Upload Center) (1-844-422-7502) to report the death and request the balance as of the date of death. The balance is a claim against the estate: it is paid from estate assets, in the order the state sets, before anything reaches the heirs.
The claim process begins with a phone call to 1-844-422-7502. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate available when making initial contact.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with College Ave:
Filing a claim
- Select "Death or disability verification for loan forgiveness" in the dropdown menu
- Fill out all fields and select which document is being uploaded (a copy of the death certificate for a death claim)
- Upload the document and click submit
Required Documents
- Copy of the death certificate for the deceased borrower
- The College Ave / University Accounting Service loan account number
What to know at this institution
A private student loan is a debt, not an asset — it carries no payable-on-death or beneficiary designation. College Ave's published policy (article last updated July 10, 2026) is that "only the permanent disability or death of the primary borrower qualifies for loan forgiveness"; if the person who died was a cosigner, "the loan is not forgiven, but the cosigner may be released from the loan obligation, making the borrower solely responsible for repayment." The death-forgiveness request is made online: at the Document Upload Center the submitter selects "Death or disability verification for loan forgiveness" and uploads a copy of the death certificate; College Ave updates the loan within 24 to 48 business hours. Because the process runs through the online upload portal (with a phone fallback at 1-844-422-7502) and College Ave does not publish a mailed deceased-borrower claim form or request a mailed letter, letterOfInstruction is not-accepted. Loans are serviced by University Accounting Service (UAS); payments are directed to College Ave Student Loans, c/o University Accounting Service, P.O. Box 5863, Carol Stream, IL 60197-5863, but College Ave does not publish a dedicated deceased-borrower mailing address.
Processing timelines at College Ave: College Ave states that it reviews death/disability forgiveness documentation and updates the loan accordingly within 24 to 48 business hours after the document is submitted through the Document Upload Center, and contacts the submitter directly if it has additional questions. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
To process a claim, College Ave needs Copy of the death certificate for the deceased borrower and The College Ave / University Accounting Service loan account number. Death certificates and court documents must be certified copies—photocopies are not accepted.
Frequently asked questions
College Ave's published policy is that the permanent disability or death of the primary borrower qualifies the loan for forgiveness. To request it, a copy of the death certificate is uploaded through College Ave's secure Document Upload Center at collegeave.com/upload, selecting "Death or disability verification for loan forgiveness." College Ave reviews the documentation and updates the loan within 24 to 48 business hours. Unlike federal student loans, private loans do not discharge automatically, so the claim must be submitted with the death certificate.
No. College Ave states that if the person who died is a cosigner, the loan is not forgiven; the primary borrower remains solely responsible for repayment. Forgiveness applies only to the permanent disability or death of the primary borrower. A cosigner's death therefore does not clear the balance, though the primary borrower may separately qualify to have a surviving cosigner released once the loan meets College Ave's cosigner-release conditions.
Go to College Ave's secure Document Upload Center at collegeave.com/upload, select "Death or disability verification for loan forgiveness" in the dropdown, complete the fields, upload a copy of the death certificate for the deceased primary borrower, and submit. College Ave reviews and updates the loan within 24 to 48 business hours and contacts the submitter directly with any questions. A borrower without a Social Security number who cannot use the online upload is directed to call 1-844-422-7502 to arrange submission.
No. A private student loan is a debt, not an asset, so there is no payable-on-death, transfer-on-death, or beneficiary designation. When the borrower dies, the loan is either forgiven under College Ave's primary-borrower death policy or, where it is not forgiven, becomes a claim to be resolved through the estate. It cannot be retitled to a trust.
College Ave loans are serviced by University Accounting Service (UAS) through the borrower portal at collegeaveservicing.com. Mailed payments go to College Ave Student Loans, c/o University Accounting Service, P.O. Box 5863, Carol Stream, IL 60197-5863. Death and disability forgiveness documents are submitted online through the Document Upload Center at collegeave.com/upload rather than by mail.
Call College Ave customer service at 1-844-422-7502, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET; a text line is available at 726-227-2275. The death certificate itself is uploaded through the secure Document Upload Center at collegeave.com/upload under "Death or disability verification for loan forgiveness." Have the loan account number available so the documentation can be matched to the account.
Refinancing federal student loans into a private College Ave loan replaces the federal death-discharge protection with College Ave's private policy. Under College Ave's published terms the permanent disability or death of the primary borrower still qualifies the refinance loan for forgiveness, requested by uploading the death certificate through the Document Upload Center. Because the loan is no longer federal, the federal automatic discharge no longer applies, so the College Ave claim process is what governs.
College Ave asks for a copy of the death certificate for the deceased borrower, uploaded through the secure Document Upload Center under "Death or disability verification for loan forgiveness." Keep the loan account number handy so the documentation is matched to the correct account. If College Ave needs anything further, it contacts the submitter directly during its 24 to 48 business-hour review.
College Ave's Death and Disability Forgiveness (Document Upload Center) can be reached by phone at 1-844-422-7502 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from College Ave primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
College Ave Customer Service (serviced by University Accounting Service)
Payments: College Ave Student Loans, c/o University Accounting Service, P.O. Box 5863, Carol Stream, IL 60197-5863. California-borrower qualified written requests: College Ave, Attn: QWR Compliance, 233 N. King St., Suite 400, Wilmington, DE 19801.
College Ave Customer Service (serviced by University Accounting Service)
Payments: College Ave Student Loans, c/o University Accounting Service, P.O. Box 5863, Carol Stream, IL 60197-5863. California-borrower qualified written requests: College Ave, Attn: QWR Compliance, 233 N. King St., Suite 400, Wilmington, DE 19801.
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