Selective Review
Selective review is a separate component of the FCC Form 471 Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) review process. During selective review, USAC verifies that applicants followed competitive bidding rules to ensure that a fair and open bidding process occurred.
The selective review takes place at the billed entity level. Generally, this means that the review will take place at the school district, library system, or consortium level. USAC requests and reviews information for all FCC Forms 471 that were filed by the billed entity for the current funding year.
Selective Review Information Request (SRIR)
USAC will send an email to the FCC Form 471 contact to inform them that their entity has been chosen for selective review and will provide information about how to submit a response. A link will be provided to access the SRIR in the E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC).
If you receive a selective review, USAC must receive all requested information within 15 calendar days from the date of the SRIR inquiry listed in EPC.
If you need additional time to respond, you can request an extension on the Review Inquiries page of your FCC Form 471 record in EPC. Your first extension request will be automatically granted, and you will receive an additional seven (7) days to respond. USAC is unable to grant multiple or lengthy extensions to respond to the SRIR.
USAC will contact you through EPC for any additional information or supporting documentation that is required to complete the review. We will inform you if the information you submitted supports a modification or denial of your funding request(s). You will have an opportunity to agree with the modification or denial or to provide additional information to support your funding request before USAC issues a Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL).
How to Respond to the SRIR
The applicant or the applicant’s authorized representative can respond to the SRIR. If the applicant’s authorized representative responds, the applicant must submit a Letter of Agency (LOA) or consulting agreement authorizing the authorized representative to act on the applicant’s behalf. Remember, however, that service providers may not act as the applicant’s representative in this case and may not complete the SRIR for any applicant.
- Confirm Receipt – First, acknowledge that you have received the SRIR by contacting the USAC reviewer named in the SRIR. If they do not receive a confirmation from you, they will call or email you for your confirmation.
- Provide Complete Response – Respond fully and completely to your SRIR to avoid delaying the review and approval of your funding request.
- Submit Supporting Documentation – USAC requests copies of documents associated with your competitive bidding process. Please label each document and include FRN(s) and descriptions that identify the information contained within. If your documentation was already uploaded into your EPC profile or contracts, indicate this in your response. You do not need to submit the same documentation again.
To assist you in completing these documents, you can refer to the SRIR instructions which include clarifications and examples.
Status Updates
The selective review is independent of other reviews conducted by PIA which may or may not still be in progress. To learn the latest status of your FCC Form 471 application, please refer to the form in the EPC or use the FRN Status Tool. For Funding Years 2015 and prior, check your application status in the FCC Form 471 Status Tool. The outcome of all of the selective reviews or PIA reviews will be provided to you in a Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL)