The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the creation of a new data repository named Treasury .033. The system is designed to absorb records from the Education Department concerning every individual who has ever received a federal student loan, a federal grant, or appeared on a FAFSA filing. The notice was published in the Federal Register in October, as required by the Privacy Act for any fresh system of records.
While the Treasury already assumed responsibility for collecting defaulted student loans in March, the .033 database extends far beyond that narrow portfolio. It will store information for borrowers who are current on their payments, for Pell Grant recipients who never took a loan, and for parents or spouses listed on a FAFSA. In total, the system could house data on up to 7.8 million borrowers who were in default as of December 31, 2025, representing roughly $179 billion in outstanding debt.
How the Treasury .033 system is built and what it will contain
The Education Department will feed three of its databases into Treasury .033, including the National Student Loan Data System. The Treasury notice enumerates 24 categories of records, ranging from basic identifiers—Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers—to detailed loan histories such as balances, payment schedules, deferments, forbearances, and any forgiveness actions (Public Service Loan Forgiveness, disability discharge, etc.). It also captures FAFSA-related data like the Student Aid Index, dependency status, household composition, citizenship, veteran status, and the identities of parents or spouses.
In addition to financial figures, the system will archive communications between borrowers and the Education Department: complaint logs, call summaries, chat transcripts, and email exchanges. The Treasury office that will manage .033 is the Office of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary together with the Office of Economic Policy, not the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that runs the Treasury Offset Program for tax-refund seizures.
Policy rationale and the controversy it sparked
The Treasury justifies the expansion by citing oversight, research, modeling, forecasting, and policy development. The notice even lists “transfer and ownership of the portfolio” as a permitted use, a phrasing that goes beyond the original inter-agency agreement, which limited data sharing to what was needed to assess and collect defaulted loans.
On November 6, two advocacy groups—Student Defense and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)—submitted a 15-page comment demanding that Treasury narrow the system’s scope and make the underlying agreements public. Their seven requests include: identifying the Education Department rule that authorizes each data transfer, removing “ownership” and “transfer” purposes unless a specific agreement is cited, limiting the database to de-identified data for research, clarifying whether federal tax information will be incorporated, publishing the privacy impact assessment, extending the comment period by 30 days, and providing written responses before any routine use becomes effective.
The groups argue that the inclusion of Social Security numbers and other personally identifying information creates a heightened risk if a breach occurs. They note that the Education Department’s own analytics platform deliberately hides such identifiers from users, sharing only aggregated, de-identified outputs. Treasury’s notice does not commit to the same safeguards.
What the expansion means for borrowers, both in default and in good standing
Borrowers who have fallen behind on payments remain the most visible group because Treasury now oversees the Treasury Offset Program, which can seize tax refunds to satisfy defaulted debts. However, the .033 system will also cover borrowers who are current on their loans, as well as individuals who never borrowed but received Pell Grants. This broader reach means that the Treasury will possess a comprehensive picture of a person’s financial aid journey from the first FAFSA to the final repayment or forgiveness event.
For those in default, a lingering question is which agency will certify the debt and handle disputes once the Treasury’s Default Resolution Group is placed under its supervision. Federal law grants borrowers at least 60 days to contest a debt before a tax-refund offset can be executed, yet the Treasury notice does not clarify whether Treasury staff will assume that adjudicatory role.
Borrowers cannot opt out of the .033 system; the Privacy Act permits agencies to share records without consent when a routine use is documented. Nonetheless, individuals can request a copy of their records under 31 CFR 1.26, verify that their contact information on StudentAid.gov is up to date, and be vigilant for any correspondence from Treasury or its contractors, especially if their loans are in default.
Legislators have already introduced bills that would move the entire federal student-aid apparatus—including loans, Pell Grants, and the FAFSA—permanently to Treasury. Until such legislation passes, Treasury .033 remains a separate repository that previews the data landscape the department could eventually control.
