§ 5-20-204. Cosigner Disclosures

1. Before extending a private education loan that requires a cosigner, a private education lender shall disclose to the cosigner:
   1. How the private education loan obligation will appear on the cosigner’s credit;
   2. How the cosigner will be notified if the private education loan becomes delinquent, including how the cosigner can cure the delinquency in order to avoid negative credit furnishing and loss of cosigner release eligibility; and
   3. Eligibility for release of the cosigner’s obligation on the private education loan, including the number of on-time payments and any other criteria required to approve the release of the cosigner from the loan obligation.
2. For any private education loan that obligates a cosigner, a lender shall provide the private education loan borrower and the cosigner an annual written notice containing information about cosigner release, including the administrative, objective criteria the lender requires to approve the release of the cosigner from the loan obligation and the process for applying for cosigner release. If the private education loan borrower has met the applicable payment requirement to be eligible for cosigner release, the lender shall send the private education loan borrower and the cosigner a written notification by mail, and by electronic mail if a private education loan borrower or cosigner has elected to receive electronic communications from the lender, informing the private education loan borrower and cosigner that the payments requirement to be eligible for cosigner release has been met. The notification must also include information about any additional criteria to qualify for cosigner release and the procedure to apply for cosigner release.
3. A lender shall provide written notice to a private education loan borrower who applies for cosigner release but whose application is incomplete. The written notice must include a description of the information needed to consider the application complete and the date by which the applicant must furnish the missing information in order to complete the application.
4. Within thirty days after a private education loan borrower submits a completed application for cosigner release, the lender shall send the private education loan borrower and cosigner a written notice that informs the private education loan borrower and cosigner whether the lender has approved or denied the cosigner release application. If the lender denies a request for cosigner release, the private education loan borrower may request copies of any documents or information used in the determination, including the credit score threshold used by the lender, the private education loan borrower’s consumer report, the private education loan borrower’s credit score, and any other documents or information specific to the private education loan borrower. The lender shall also provide any adverse action notices required under applicable federal law if the denial is based in whole or in part on any information contained in a consumer report.
5. In response to a written or oral request by the private education loan borrower for cosigner release, a lender shall provide to the private education loan borrower the information described in subsection (2) of this section.

Source: L. 2021: Entire part added, (SB 21-057), ch. 378, p. 2520, § 5, effective June 29.