Did you know?
45% of Households qualify for California LifeLine
California LifeLine Plans
Plans
Include:
- Bring Your Device
- No Contracts
- Mobile Hotspot
- No Monthly Fees
- Keep Your Number
- No Hidden Fees
About California LifeLine
There are two main Universal LifeLine Telephone Service discounts in California: wireless (cell phone) and wireline (home phone). All qualified California Households may take advantage of these telephone discount programs to help lower the cost of their phone bills. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) administers both California Lifeline Programs and even extends the Program to be more inclusive to California enrollees by including additional Qualifying Programs for their most disadvantaged residents.
Only one discount per Household for each residential address is allowed (except for teletypewriter users and for Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program participants). Exceptions can be granted through the “Household Worksheet,” if you live with another adult who receives Lifeline but you do not share income or expenses. 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 discounts 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.
Program Overview
- California LifeLine, overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission, offers discounted phone service for low-income households.
Eligibility & Rules:
- One Discount Per Household
- You can only receive one LifeLine discount per household, per address. You must choose either a home phone or a cell phone, not both.
- Exceptions
- Teletypewriter (TTY) users
- Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP) participants
- Households with multiple adults who don’t share income or expenses may apply for an exception using the Household Worksheet.
- Definition of a Household
- A group of adults and children living together at the same address who share income and expenses (i.e., one economic unit).
- Violating the One-Discount Rule
- Households that violate this rule (e.g., getting discounts from multiple providers) will lose their LifeLine benefits.
Qualifying Programs
or may qualify through Income Verification
- MediCal
- CalFresh
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance or Section 8
- Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit Program
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- National School Lunch Program (NSL)
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF):
- California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
- Stanislaus County Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (StanWORKs)
- Welfare-to-Work (WTW)
- Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)
- Special Programs for Tribal Lands:
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Tribal TANF
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
- Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
**Instant Eligibility determination available.
Household Income
Single Person Income
Family Household
Household Income Verification
Tax returns or pay stubs are required to verify income. These limits are for total Household income before taxes.
Household is defined as: A group of people living at the same address that share income and expenses. Program Rules limit one plan per household.
Acceptable Documentation
To verify participation in a qualifying program, please provide one of the following documents: a benefit award letter, approval letter, statement of benefits or benefit verification letter with the Qualifying Program.
Acceptable Documents must have:
- Benefit Qualifying Person’s first and last name
- Name of the Qualifying Program
- 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
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
- Driver License
- Passport
- Certificate of U.S. Citizenship or Naturalization
- Permanent Resident Card or Green Card
- Social Security Card
Enrollment Freeze
When you submit an enrollment request, you must wait up to 30 days before submitting another request.
You CANNOT submit multiple enrollment requests for California LifeLine discounts at the same time.
- The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) makes the final eligibility decision.
- The enrollment request may be canceled by contacting the California LifeLine Administrator after 24 hours of completing an application.
For additional information
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Visit the Website
- californialifeline.com
- Apply for or renew services
- Check your status
- Find additional program guidelines
California LifeLine
Call Center
- English (866) 272-0349
- Spanish (866)272-0350
