After graduation
Federal student loans go into repayment when a borrower graduates or leaves school. However, most federal student loan borrowers are given a grace period.
Borrowers with Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized or Federal Family Education Loans are given a six-month grace period before they are expected to start making payments.
Borrowers with Perkins Loans are given a nine-month grace period.
After the grace period, borrowers are expected to make regular payments in accordance with their selected repayment plan.
15 days after payment is due
Persis Yu, director of NCLC s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project says that most federal student loans give borrowers a roughly 15-day grace window after their regular due date to make a payment. This means if you are less than 15 days late making a federal student loan payment, there will likely be few consequences.