Upcoming Dates

03/10
2026
Tribal Q1 Training
03/11
2026
March 2026 Monthly Webinar

See full calendar

Resources

How It Works

Lifeline is a federal program that offers a monthly benefit of up to $9.25 towards phone or internet services for eligible subscribers (up to $34.25 for those living on Tribal lands).

Eligible Consumers

A consumer can qualify for the Lifeline benefit if their income is 135% or less than the federal poverty guidelines, or if they participate in SNAP, Medicaid, or other federal programs. See the full list of qualifying factors.

Eligible Services

Lifeline subscribers can apply their benefit to home or mobile phone service or to high-speed broadband.

The Process

These steps will help service providers navigate the process to join Lifeline as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC).

1

Become an ETC

2

Create a Compliance Plan

3

Obtain a Study Area Code

4

Obtain a 498 ID

Get Started

Announcements

New NLAD De-Enrollment Codes

Feb 19, 2026

USAC is updating the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) de-enrollment codes, including adding new codes and removing two existing de-enrollment codes. These updates will be available in the staging environment on March 5 and will go live in the production environment on April 22 for both the NLAD user interface (UI) and NLAD application programming interface (API). 

When...

Read More
February Monthly System Maintenance

Feb 18, 2026

USAC will perform scheduled monthly system maintenance on Friday, February 20, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET...

Read More
Recertification Begins February 16, 2026

Feb 2, 2026

Recertification is an annual requirement for all active Lifeline subscribers that ensures they are still eligible for...

Read More
Lifeline Newsletter – January 2026

Jan 29, 2026

  • Reminder: FCC Form 555 Submission Window Closing Soon

    • USAC will perform an ad-hoc system maintenance on Thursday, January 29, from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m....

    Read More
Read more announcements