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Announcements

Announcements

August 20, 2025
August Monthly Maintenance Reminder

Monthly System Maintenance, August 22

USAC will perform scheduled monthly maintenance starting Friday, August 22 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, August 23. 

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Lifeline Claims System (LCS)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)
  • Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS)

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for NV and NLAD are available on the USAC website.

August 5, 2025
ACP User Systems Access Removal

On August 26, 2025, access to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) systems will end. USAC will remove ACP user access to the Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS) and the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) and will also remove ACP reporting capabilities. Service providers who participated in both the ACP and Lifeline will continue to have access to their Lifeline workflows and Lifeline data in NLAD.

Service providers may submit downward revisions in ACCS until August 26 at 5 p.m. ET. After that date, providers should email Form497@usac.org to submit downward revisions. 

What was the ACP?
The ACP provided a discount of up to $30 per month for broadband services for eligible consumers. Consumers who lived on qualifying Tribal lands received enhanced support of up to $75 per month toward broadband services. The ACP ended on June 1, 2024.

If service providers have questions about the ACP system access removal, please email LifelineProgram@usac.org with the subject line ACP System Access Removal. 

August 1, 2025
August System Notice

System Maintenance, August 3

USAC will perform an ad hoc system maintenance starting Sunday, August 3 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET. 

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Lifeline Claims System (LCS)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)
  • Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS)

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

July 31, 2025
July Monthly Newsletter
  • FCC Announces Updated Minimum Service Standards and Voice-Only Phase-Out Extension
  • SCA Emergency Benefit Available for Survivors
  • Compliance Reminder: Maintaining Existing Subscriber Information in NLAD
  • August Maintenance Schedule

View full newsletter

July 16, 2025
July Monthly Maintenance Reminder

Monthly System Maintenance, July 18

USAC will perform scheduled monthly maintenance starting Friday, July 18 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, July 19. 

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Lifeline Claims System (LCS)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)
  • Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS)

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for NV and NLAD are available on the USAC website.

June 26, 2025
June Lifeline Newsletter
  • USAC Webinars Page Enhancements
  • New RAD Acceptable Documentation Guide
  • Reminder: FCC Form 481 Deadline Approaching
  • Lifeline Program Compliance Reminder: Consumer Qualification for Lifeline
  • July Maintenance Schedule

View full newsletter

June 24, 2025
June System Notice

Ad-Hoc System Maintenance, June 26

USAC will perform an ad-hoc system maintenance on Thursday, June 26 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET on Friday, June 27.

The production environments for the below systems will be impacted:

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)

Users will not be able to submit applications via the National Verifier Portal or National Verifier Carrier API. NLAD transactions will also be impacted during this time. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

June 18, 2025
June Monthly Maintenance Reminder

Monthly System Maintenance, June 20

USAC will perform scheduled monthly maintenance starting Friday, June 20 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 21. 

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Lifeline Claims System (LCS)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)
  • Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS)

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for NV and NLAD are available on the USAC website.

June 17, 2025
Reminder: Accurate and Complete Consumer Email Addresses Required on Lifeline Applications

USAC reminds users of the National Verifier that per the National Verifier Terms and Conditions, users must provide accurate and complete consumer email addresses on all Lifeline applications. Correct and accurate consumer email addresses enable USAC to deliver important and timely application updates, recertification notices, and other account-related outreach. Inaccurate or placeholder email addresses are not permitted and will prevent consumers from receiving important USAC communications.

Providers Using the Application Programming Interface (API): Service providers with API connections to the National Verifier should ensure their workflows and procedures clearly reflect the requirement that consumers must provide accurate and complete email addresses. Service provider representatives who assist consumers with Lifeline applications should also emphasize this requirement to consumers. To ensure accurate email addresses are provided, the following practices are prohibited:

  1. The use of placeholder or invalid emails (e.g., the insertion of “none@noemail.com” on an application).
  2. The creation of multiple email addresses for the purpose of repeatedly using them on different consumer Lifeline applications.

Failure to provide accurate and complete consumer email addresses can result in Representative ID and/or API lockouts. 

Consumer and Consumer Advocates: Consumers and consumer advocates helping with online Lifeline applications should also enter accurate and complete emails when creating an account online and applying for Lifeline. If a consumer does not have regular access to their personal email account, they have the option to include a secondary, non-personal email address to receive notices (e.g., the email address of someone authorized to receive USAC communications on behalf of the consumer). 

If a consumer changes their email address, the consumer will need to update their Lifeline account with the new email.

May 29, 2025
May Lifeline Newsletter
  • New Lifeline Benefit Flyers in Spanish
  • FCC Form 481 Filing Now Open – Deadline: July 1, 2025
  • Lifeline Program Compliance Reminder: RAD Annual Agreement
  • June 2025 Webinar: RAD 101
  • June Maintenance Schedule

View full newsletter

May 14, 2025
FCC Form 481 Due by July 1, 2025

All service providers participating in the Lifeline and/or High Cost programs must file and certify the FCC Form 481 on an annual basis. This form collects financial and operational information, which USAC uses to validate service provider support. The filing window is now open and service providers can log into One Portal to access and certify the FCC Form 481. Filings are due by July 1, 2025.

USAC’s High Cost team will host a webinar on May 20th at 1 p.m. ET where service providers can learn more about how to file an FCC Form 481 and changes to the form for the current filing window. For more information on the filing process, please visit our File FCC Form 481 page.

May 14, 2025
May Monthly Maintenance Reminder

Monthly System Maintenance, May 16

USAC will perform scheduled monthly maintenance starting Friday, May 16 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, May 17. 

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Lifeline Claims System (LCS)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)
  • Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS)

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for NV and NLAD are available on the USAC website.

April 30, 2025
April Lifeline Newsletter
  • New Continued Eligibility Status Report in NLAD
  • New Lifeline Benefit Flyers
  • Lifeline Program Compliance Reminder: Advertise Lifeline
  • May 2025 Monthly Webinar: Getting Started as a New Company
  • May Maintenance Schedule

View full newsletter

April 24, 2025
Updated Lifeline Income Qualifications for 2025

USAC has updated its forms, systems, and resources to reflect the 2025 Federal Poverty Guidelines which were released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this year. Consumers qualify for the Lifeline benefit if their income is at or below 135 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Service providers may review the following pages for more information:

Service providers should update their forms and systems as soon as possible to reflect this update. Providers operating in National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) opt-out states (California, Oregon, and Texas) should follow their state’s guidance.

April 17, 2025
New Continued Eligibility Status Report in NLAD

On May 21, USAC will implement a new updated, streamlined, and unified Continued Eligibility Status Report in the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) production environment. Part of these changes include a new error code and updated description type. The new report will be available for service providers to test in the staging environment on April 23. 

To support this enhancement, API parameters will be updated, but the API endpoint will remain unchanged. 

Report Updates

New Error Code 
INVALID_STATUS_PARAMETER_CE: The status must be one or all of the following values: confirmed, inprogress, deenrolled, all.

Updated Description for Continued Eligibility Type Error Code
INVALID_TYPE_PARAMETER_CE: The type must be one of the following values: addressUpdate, deceasedCheck, adhoc

API Parameters
The API parameters for the report have been updated to the following:

  • sac – Optional, but one or more SACs can be provided. If no SAC is provided, results for all SACs assigned to that user will be returned in the report. 
  • ceType – Optional, but can be one or all of the following: addressupdate, deceasedcheck, adhoc. If no value is provided, then all ceTypes will be returned in the report.1.
  • status – Optional, but can be one of the following: confirmed, inprogress, deenrolled, all. If no value is provided, all statuses will be returned in the report.
  • continuedEligibilityStartDate – Optional, but if no date is provided all subscribers who have undergone and are undergoing continued eligibility will appear in the results.

Status

The report has been reduced to three statuses to show where a subscriber is in the continued eligibility process. These are shown in the “Continued Eligibility Status” field. 

  • Confirmed Eligibility – The subscriber successfully completed continued eligibility. 
  • In Progress – The subscriber is undergoing continued eligibility and must resolve an error on their application.
    • If a subscriber de-enrolls or transfers while in this status, the subscriber will be removed from the report. If a subscriber is re-enrolled in NLAD after being de-enrolled they will no longer show on the report.
  • De-enrolled – Eligibility Not Confirmed – The subscriber was de-enrolled for not completing/failing continued eligibility.

Report Fields

A summary of certain fields within the report is listed below:

Continued Eligibility Type: shows the specific continued eligibility process the subscriber is undergoing:

  • Deceased Check
  • Address Update
  • Adhoc (initiated by USAC)

Continued Eligibility Start Date: the date that the continued eligibility application was created in the National Verifier. 

Continued Eligibility Deadline Date: the date that the continued eligibility application expires. The subscriber must complete continued eligibility by this date to avoid being de-enrolled from the program.

Eligibility Resolution Required: shows if a subscriber will need to provide documentation to complete continued eligibility.

  • If this field says “Yes”, the subscriber will need to provide eligibility documentation
  • If this field says “No”, the subscriber is not required to provide eligibility documentation

The new Continued Eligibility Status Report will not show Safe Connections Act (SCA) subscribers undergoing continued eligibility. These subscribers will still be shown in the SCA Subscriber Status Report. For any questions related to the enhancement, please contact LifelineProgram@usac.org. 

April 16, 2025
April Monthly Maintenance Reminder

Monthly System Maintenance, April 18

USAC will perform scheduled monthly maintenance starting Friday, April 18 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, April 19. 

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Lifeline Claims System (LCS)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)
  • Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS)

Ad-hoc System Maintenance, April 24

USAC will also perform an ad-hoc system maintenance on Thursday, April 24, from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET.

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API
  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for NV and NLAD are available on the USAC website.

April 10, 2025
Scheduled Maintenance on USAC.org

USAC will perform scheduled maintenance on USAC.org on Thursday, April 17 from 9 p.m. – midnight. During this time, users may experience disruptions or outages when visiting USAC.org. We apologize for the inconvenience.

April 9, 2025
April System Notice

Ad-Hoc System Maintenance, April 11

USAC will perform an ad-hoc system maintenance on Friday, April 11 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET.
The production environments for the below systems will be impacted:

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API

Users will not be able to submit applications via the National Verifier Portal or National Verifier Carrier API. Additionally, NLAD functions that require the National Verifier will also be affected (e.g., enroll or transfer transactions).
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for National Lifeline Accountability Database and National Verifier are available on the USAC website.

March 27, 2025
March Lifeline Newsletter
  • Disaster Assistance Waiver Applications Ending Soon
  • Lifeline Benefit: Key Differences Between Standard and Survivor Support
  • Lifeline Program Compliance Reminder: Obtaining Consent and Consumer Certifications
  • April Webinar: How to Apply for Lifeline
  • April Maintenance Schedule

View full newsletter

March 26, 2025
March Monthly Maintenance Reminder

NLAD System Maintenance 

USAC will perform scheduled monthly maintenance for NLAD starting Friday, March 28 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 29.

The production environments of the following systems are impacted:

  • National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD)
  • Lifeline Claims System (LCS)
  • Representative Accountability Database (RAD)
  • Affordable Connectivity Claims System (ACCS)

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for NV and NLAD are available on the USAC website.

March 20, 2025
March Monthly Maintenance Reminder

National Verifier System Maintenance 

USAC will perform scheduled monthly maintenance starting Friday, March 21 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 22. 

The production environments of the following systems are impacted: 

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API

National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) functions that require the National Verifier will also be affected (e.g., enroll or transfer transactions). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for NV and NLAD are available on the USAC website.

March 12, 2025
Ad-hoc System Maintenance, March 13

USAC will perform an ad-hoc system maintenance starting on Thursday, March 13, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Users may experience intermittent performance issues with the following systems:

  • National Verifier Portal
  • National Verifier Carrier API

The staging environments will not be affected. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Note: All scheduled maintenance dates for National Lifeline Accountability Database and National Verifier are available on the USAC website.

February 27, 2025
February Lifeline Newsletter
  • 2025 Recertification Is Ongoing
  • California Wildfires Waiver Expiring Soon
  • Lifeline Program Compliance Reminder: Keep NLAD Up to Date
  • March Webinar: Navigating USAC Systems
  • March Maintenance Schedule

View full newsletter

All announcements can be found in the Announcements Archive.

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