Eligibility for California
In California, 45% of households are eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)! To qualify, you or a family member must either be enrolled in an assistance program, or your household income is below a certain threshold. There are 10 “Instant Approval” methods where approval is immediate through backend integrations with federal databases. Those under “Additional Programs” and “Household Income” require uploading documentation and a manual approval process.
About California LifeLine
There are two main Universal LifeLine Telephone Service discounts in California. There are discounts from the California LifeLine Program (California LifeLine) and from the federal Lifeline program (federal Lifeline). All qualified California households may take advantage of these telephone discount programs to help lower the cost of their phone bills. The California LifeLine Administrator administers both the California LifeLine Program and the federal Lifeline program.
Only one discount per household for each residential address is allowed (except for teletypewriter users and for Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program participants). Each household must choose to get the discount either on a home phone or on a cell phone, but not on both. Households cannot get the discount from multiple phone companies. Households that do not follow the one discount per household rule will lose their discounts.
A household includes adults and children who are living together at the same address as one economic unit. An economic unit consists of all adults (persons at least 18 years old unless emancipated) contributing to and sharing the household’s income and expenses.
The Federal Communications Commission requires collection of Date of Birth and last 4 digits of Social Security Number or Tribal ID Number on application and renewal forms to be eligible for California LifeLine and federal Lifeline discounts.
About the California LifeLine Program
When you submit an enrollment request to receive the California LifeLine discounts for cell phone service you have to wait up to 30 days to submit another enrollment request. You CANNOT have multiple enrollment requests for the California LifeLine discounts for cell phone service going at the same time.
- The California LifeLine Administrator sends the final eligibility decision.
- The enrollment request s cancelled.
- The 30 days have passed since the enrollment request
- Whichever occurs first. After the 30-day clock stops
- The California LifeLine Administrator sends the final eligibility decision
Instant Approval
Eligibility varies from state to state, but you may qualify for California if you qualify for any of the following government programs.
Household Income
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Single Person Income
Single Person Household with income below $29,160
Family Household
For each additional person, add $10,280
Acceptable Documentation
To verify participation in a qualifying program, provide either a benefit award letter, approval letter, statement of benefits, benefit verification letter, or school documentation that must include:
- Your (or your dependent’s) first and last name.
- The name of the qualifying program, such as SNAP.
- The name of the government, Tribal entity, program administrator, school, school district, university, or college that issued the document.
- An issue date within the last 12 months or a future expiration date
- For the Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, including at US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools, documents must be from the current school year or the school year immediately preceding the application.
- For USDA Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools, documents must show that the student is enrolled in a CEP School for the relevant school year (the student must still be enrolled in the CEP school at the time of the application). Acceptable documentation shows the student’s name, the relevant school year, the name and address of the school, and contact information for the school.
- For Federal Pell Grants, documents must be from the student’s school (college or university, community college, or career school) or the Department of Education and show the student has received a Pell Grant for the current award year.
Identity Verification
Documentation must include:
- Your first and last name
- Your date of birth
Document Examples:
- Valid government, military, state or Tribal ID
- Birth Certificate
- U.S. Driver’s license
- Passport
- Certificate of U.S. Citizenship or Naturalization
- Permanent Resident Card or Green Card
- Government assistance program document
- Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) document (does not need to include date of birth)
Address
Documentation must include:
- Your first and last name
- Your physical address
Document Examples and Tips:
- To prove your address using the online application, you will use the online mapping tool in the application to help USAC find your address
- If you choose to mail in documentation, you can send a map that clearly shows your physical address or location, including latitude and longitude coordinates (coordinates are required if you live on Tribal lands)
- Other options include:
- Driver’s license or other valid government, state, or Tribal ID
- Utility bill
- Mortgage or lease statement
- Most recent W-2 or tax return
