Escalate Anything

CRI

Federal student loan servicers.

ACredibility A · last verified 2026-10-12 · 92% official or government sources
What does this mean?

Grade A (high: almost everything comes from official pages read directly). 92% of 12 sources are the organization's own pages or government sites.

WebsiteSign in to your accountOpen in the interactive directoryJSON

Get help with (2)

Contacts (4)

Phone

Online forms

Online tools and accounts

Email

Escalation path

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

  1. Customer service

    PhoneCustomer service +1-833-355-4311

  2. Written complaint

    EmailCustomer service email (also for alternative-format requests such as Braille or large print) CSServices@CRI.studentaid.gov

    CRI's correspondence address was not confirmed.

  3. Federal regulator

    RegulatorU.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid +1-800-433-3243

  4. Federal regulator

    RegulatorConsumer Financial Protection Bureau +1-855-411-2372

  5. State agency

    Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).

Known blockers

  • CRI's site (cri.studentaid.gov) loads its content with scripts; plain HTTP fetches return empty pages, so hours and mailing addresses were not confirmed.
  • The phone number differs between CRI's own pages (833-355-4311) and a reported StudentAid.gov listing (888-355-4311).
  • The borrower account needs the borrower's login.

Scam warnings

Official domains

  • cri.studentaid.gov

Real links and emails from CRI end in one of these.

CRI will never ask you for

  • Federal Student Aid says the U.S. Department of Education and its partners, including loan servicers, will never ask for your StudentAid.gov account username or password (your FSA ID login).

    Source: studentaid.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Federal Student Aid says you do not need to pay anyone to help you repay your federal student loans or reach loan forgiveness. Loan servicers help you switch to a new repayment plan at no cost, and its loan forgiveness programs are always free.

    Source: studentaid.gov, verified 2026-10-12

Known scams

  • Federal Student Aid warns that scammers often ask for an up-front or monthly fee while promising immediate and total student loan cancellation. Most federal forgiveness programs require years of qualifying payments or employment in certain fields.

    Source: studentaid.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Federal Student Aid says aggressive forgiveness messages, such as ones that tell you to act immediately before a program is discontinued or that your loan is flagged for forgiveness and you must call now, do not come from the Department of Education or its partners.

    Source: studentaid.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Federal Student Aid warns that scammers may ask for your StudentAid.gov username and password and may use official-looking names, seals and logos. If you shared your login, change your password, check your account contact details and file a complaint with Federal Student Aid.

    Source: studentaid.gov, verified 2026-10-12

For the whole industry, read Federal student loan servicers — how complaints work.

Verification notes

CRI is a federal student loan servicer for the U.S. Department of Education at cri.studentaid.gov (NMLS ID 1215163 on its contact page). The expansion "Central Research, Inc." and any parent company were not confirmed on a source. No 2025-2026 change to CRI's federal servicing role was confirmed. CRI's site loads its content with scripts, so the values here come from official-domain search snippets.

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