December 18, 2025
Funding Year (FY) 2026 FCC Form 471 Application Filing Window Opens January 21, 2026
The Funding Year (FY) 2026 FCC Form 471 application filing window will open on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at noon E.T. and will close on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. E.T.
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 is the last date that you can submit and certify an FY2026 FCC Form 470 and still wait the required minimum 28-day period before submitting and certifying your FY2026 FCC Form 471 by April 1, 2026, the last date of the FY2026 application filing window.
All applicants can now review their EPC profiles and make additional updates for changes that occurred after USAC’s review of their FY2025 FCC Forms 471 (see E-Rate Tips above).
The EPC Administrative Window will close – and applicant profiles will be locked – on January 16, 2026 before the FY2026 application filing window opens January 21, 2026. View the EPC Administrative Window webinar recording and webinar slides to learn more.
December 18, 2025
E-Rate Pre-Commitment Process Question & Answer (Q&A) Session
On February 19, 2026, from 2 pm to 3 p.m. ET, the E-Rate subject matter experts will answer questions about the competitive bidding process, Category Two budgets, and the Eligible Services List. Register.
This is recommended for applicants and service providers of all E-Rate experience levels. Materials to review before the session include:
December 18, 2025
E-Rate Pre-Commitment Process
On Thursday, January 22, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. E.T. the E-Rate subject matter experts will discuss the E-Rate Pre-Commitment process. This includes how to get started, competitive bidding, applying for funding, and Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) review. This webinar is intended for program participants of all levels and will include a question-and-answer session. Register.
December 18, 2025
Customer Service Center Holiday Hours
The Customer Service Center (CSC) provides customer service across USAC programs with specialized agents trained to answer your E-Rate program questions. At the end of December, CSC will be reducing its open hours around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
CSC will be open during its customary hours through Wednesday, December 24 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. E.T.) as well as Wednesday, December 31.
CSC’s holiday schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, December 25, 2025 – CLOSED
- Friday, December 26, 2025 – OPEN
- Monday, December 29, 2025 – OPEN
- Tuesday, December 30, 2025 – OPEN
- Wednesday, December 31, 2025 – OPEN
- Thursday, January 1, 2026 – CLOSED
CSC will resume its customary hours starting at 8 a.m. E.T. on Friday, January 2, 2026
December 18, 2025
New BEAR/SPI Selection Added to FY2026 E-Rate FCC Form 471 Application
The FY2026 FCC Form 471 was updated with a new field below the Narrative to collect the invoicing method (FCC Form 472/BEAR or FCC Form 474/SPI) for the Funding Request Number
(FRN) for each funding request. Pursuant to section 54.514(c) of the program rules, the applicant decides which method to use on a particular FRN: either the FCC Form 472/BEAR (Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement) or the FCC Form 474/SPI (Service Provider Invoice). The Select an Invoicing Method in E-Rate infographic explains the invoicing methods. If you are copying an FRN from a previous funding year that does not have the invoicing method assigned, you will be prompted to select BEAR or SPI once it has been copied. The selected invoicing method will be displayed on the PDF copy of the FCC Form 471 and on the FRN Record in EPC.
Applicants should notify their service providers of the invoicing method early in the process of preparing the funding requests. Program participants will be able to request a different invoicing method prior to requesting reimbursement that will be available later in the year, but we encourage applicants to have these conversations early to reduce the need to file additional forms.
The FCC Form 471 was also updated to reflect the FY2026-2030 Category 2 Budget cycle. The Entity Details section on the Category Two screen now shows FY2026-2030 Category Two budget cycle data based on the latest entity profile information entered by applicants during the FY2026 EPC Administrative Window. The FCC Form 471 PDF copy for Category Two applications was updated to reflect this latest entity profile data for student counts (schools/school districts) and square footage (libraries/library systems) for the FY2026-2030 budget cycle.
