To file FCC Form 471, submit it online through the E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) during the annual filing window after you have completed competitive bidding on Form 470 and signed a contract with your chosen service provider. For funding year 2026, the window runs from January 21 through April 1, 2026, with the form due by 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date.1Universal Service Administrative Company. Funding Year 2026 Filing Window The form is where schools, libraries, and consortia formally request E-rate discounts on internet and telecommunications services, but it is the middle step in a longer process, not the starting point.
Finish Competitive Bidding First
You cannot file Form 471 without a certified Form 470 and a signed contract behind it. Form 470 posts your service needs publicly so vendors can bid. Once it is certified in EPC, you must wait at least 28 days before closing the bidding, selecting a provider, or signing a contract.2Universal Service Administrative Company. E-Rate – Competitive Bidding For FY2026, the last day to submit and certify Form 470 is March 4, 2026, which gives exactly 28 days before the Form 471 window closes on April 1.3Universal Service Administrative Company. E-Rate
During the 28-day wait, evaluate every bid you receive. Price has to be the primary factor in your selection, though you can weigh other criteria. Choose a provider, sign a legally binding agreement, and pull the details you will need for Form 471: provider name, contract number, execution date, and service start date. Keep your scoring matrices, vendor correspondence, and copies of all bids received. USAC may ask for them during review, and program rules require you to retain application-related records for ten years.4eCFR. 47 CFR 54.504 – Requests for Services
One trap the system enforces: you cannot certify Form 471 before the Allowable Contract Selection Date, 28 days after Form 470 was certified. EPC will block you.
Set Up EPC Before the Window Opens
Form 471 pulls most of its identifying information from your EPC account, so the account has to be ready before you open the form. Confirm the entity name, address, and contact person on your Billed Entity Number (BEN). If you file as a consortium, verify that member entities are properly associated with their own BENs. Create a contract record in EPC for every agreement you plan to reference.5Universal Service Administrative Company. FCC Form 471 Filing
Update Your Discount Data
Your discount rate depends on the poverty level of the students you serve, measured by National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility, and on whether your location is urban or rural. Schools use their own NSLP data; libraries use the NSLP percentage of the public school district where they sit.6Universal Service Administrative Company. Calculating Discounts
Category One discounts (internet access and data transmission to your building) range from 20 to 90 percent. Category Two discounts (internal connections such as routers, switches, and managed internal broadband) cap at 85 percent.7Federal Communications Commission. E-Rate – Schools and Libraries USF Program A rural school with 75 percent or more NSLP eligibility gets the maximum; an urban applicant under one percent gets 20 percent. Round decimals down below 0.5 and up at 0.5 or higher.6Universal Service Administrative Company. Calculating Discounts An incorrect NSLP percentage or urban/rural flag can shrink or kill your funding commitment during review, so update your entity profile with current enrollment and NSLP figures every year before you start the form.
Check Your Category Two Budget
Category Two funding runs on a five-year cycle. The current cycle covers FY2026 through FY2030, and each applicant has a pre-discount budget cap for the full period: $201.57 per student for schools, $5.43 per square foot for libraries. Every applicant has at least a $30,175 floor, and Tribal libraries have a $66,385 floor.8Universal Service Administrative Company. Category Two Budgets The budget locks based on enrollment or square footage in the first year you apply for Category Two in the cycle. If enrollment grows later, you can request a recalculation from USAC. Unused budget carries forward within the cycle but does not roll into the next one.
Filling Out the Form
The form has several main components, all completed online. Verify your entity and contact information first, then build the funding requests.5Universal Service Administrative Company. FCC Form 471 Filing
Funding Request Numbers and Line Items
Each group of services from a single provider gets its own Funding Request Number (FRN). Within an FRN, you add line items describing the specific service, bandwidth or quantity, cost, and recipients. For every FRN you need:
- The service provider’s SPIN (Service Provider Identification Number), a unique nine-digit number USAC assigns when a provider files FCC Form 4989Universal Service Administrative Company. Step 1 – Obtain a 498 ID/SPIN
- The contract execution date
- Service start and end dates
- The associated Form 470 number that initiated the bidding
Category One and Category Two FRNs are built differently in EPC. Category One asks about connection type and bandwidth. Category Two focuses on equipment quantities and internal network specifications. If you have many line items or recipient entities, EPC accepts a bulk upload spreadsheet.5Universal Service Administrative Company. FCC Form 471 Filing
Certifying the Form
Certification is signed under oath. Under 47 CFR 54.504, the authorized certifier attests, among other things, that the schools listed meet the federal definition of elementary or secondary school, are not for-profit, and do not hold endowments over $50 million; that libraries have budgets fully separate from any school; that you have the resources to use the services and will pay the non-discount share; that you followed applicable state and local procurement laws; that services will be used primarily for educational purposes and not resold; that price was the primary factor in a cost-effective selection; and that you will retain all worksheets and supporting records for ten years.4eCFR. 47 CFR 54.504 – Requests for Services
When you hit certify, EPC generates a Receipt Confirmation Letter. Save it as your proof of on-time filing. The system also issues a Receipt Acknowledgment Letter (RAL) summarizing the application. Read the RAL carefully; it is where you catch what you entered wrong.
One boundary worth flagging: Form 471 does not certify Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliance. That certification happens later, on FCC Form 486, after USAC commits funding.10Universal Service Administrative Company. CIPA Your internet safety policy, filtering, and public hearing should already be in place, but you are not attesting to any of that on Form 471.
Fixing Mistakes After Certification
If you spot an error after certifying, you can submit a RAL Modification Request in EPC. The option is available from certification until USAC issues your Funding Commitment Decision Letter.11Universal Service Administrative Company. FCC Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letter Modification Guide Open the certified form in EPC and choose “Submit Modification Request (RAL)” from the Related Actions menu.
Clerical corrections that qualify include arithmetic errors, misplaced decimals, and dollar figures copied incorrectly from contracts; wrong reference numbers such as an incorrect Form 470 number, contract number, or SPIN; misclassified charges, like non-recurring items marked recurring or ineligible items not flagged; incorrect service delivery periods or contract dates; and updates to enrollment counts or square footage, which can trigger a recalculated Category Two budget.
Not everything qualifies. You cannot use a RAL modification to add services you forgot, to reprice based on a renegotiated contract, or to submit documents dated after the filing window closed. Those are substantive changes, not clerical corrections. Modifications are reviewed alongside your application during PIA and only take effect when USAC issues your funding decision.
What Happens After You File
USAC’s Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) team reviews the application for compliance and cost-effectiveness. Reviewers may contact you through EPC with questions about discount calculations, service specifications, or bidding documentation. You have 15 days to respond.12Universal Service Administrative Company. Step 4 – Application Review Miss the deadline and your funding can be reduced or denied, so watch your EPC account after filing.
When review closes, USAC issues a Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) with the approved dollar amount for each FRN. Denials or reductions are explained in the letter. You can appeal to USAC within 60 days of the letter’s date; if that day is a weekend or federal holiday, an appeal filed the next business day is timely.13Universal Service Administrative Co. E-Rate Appeal/Waiver Guide The FCDL is what unlocks the next stage of the process, when you file Form 486 to start services and certify CIPA compliance.