USACRural Health CareTelecommunications Program
Step 1: Determine Eligibility of Your Site

Step 2

Step 1: Determine Eligibility of Your Site

You are eligible to receive funding from the Telecom Program if you meet all of the following criteria.

Your Site:

  1. Must be a non-profit entity or a public entity.
  2. Must be located in a rural area as defined by the FCC. You can determine the rurality of your site using the Eligible Rural Areas Search Tool.
  3. Must be one of the following types of facilities:
    • A post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, such as a teaching hospital or medical school,
    • A community health center or health center providing health care to migrants,
    • A local health department or agency,
    • A community mental health center,
    • A not-for-profit hospital,
    • A rural health clinic,
    • A Dedicated emergency departments of a rural for-profit hospitals,
    • A part-time eligible entity located in a facility that is ineligible,
    • A Skilled Nursing Facility, or
    • A consortium of health care providers consisting of one or more entities described in (a) through (-ih) above.

Note: The FCC considers each health care site or location as an individual HCP for purposes of calculating support under the RHC program. Therefore, each HCP must demonstrate that, by itself, it is an eligible entity.

Submit FCC Form 460

If your site meets the criteria above, you are ready to submit the FCC Form 460 (Eligibility and Registration Form). You can submit this form at any time during the year, and you only need to submit it one time, unless your information changes. If any of your information does change, such as your site’s physical location or entity type, you must submit a revised FCC Form 460 within 30 days of the change.

If you are using a consultant, submit your signed third party authorizations (TPAs) with the FCC Form 460.

The material on these webpages is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting the RHC program rules, orders, and other primary sources of information. Applicants and service providers are ultimately responsible for knowing and complying with all RHC program rules and procedures.

Additional Resources