How to Prove Participation

If a consumer participates in one of the following government assistance programs, their household qualifies for the ACP:

• Lifeline, having qualified based on income at or below 135% of Federal Poverty Guidelines or through participation in one of the following programs:
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Medicaid
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA) (including Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (Section 8 Vouchers), Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA)/202/811, Public Housing, and Affordable Housing Programs for American Indians, Alaska Natives or Native Hawaiians).
  • Veterans Pension or Survivors
• Federal Pell Grant in the current award year
• Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program including at US Department of Agriculture Community Eligibility Provision schools
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

If a consumer lives on qualifying Tribal lands and participates in one of the following Tribal assistance programs, their household qualifies for the ACP:

• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) General Assistance
• Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Tribal Head Start (only households meeting the relevant income qualifying standard)
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservation

To prove participation in one of the above programs, consumers must submit a document that, at a minimum, includes:

• The consumer’s name, or the name of their benefit qualifying person (BQP);
• The name of the qualifying program, such as SNAP;
• The government, Tribal entity, program administrator, school, school district, university, or college that issued the document; and
• An issue date within the last 12 months or a future expiration date that aligns with the benefit period, with the following exceptions:
  • 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. Acceptable documentation must include the name of the enrolled student, the relevant school year, the name and address of the school, and contact information for the school.
  • For Federal Pell Grants, documents should be from the current award year and can include:
    • screenshots that clearly document the student’s receipt of a Pell Grant during the current award year, written confirmation from a student’s school (college or university, community college, or career school) or the Department of Education that the student has received a Pell Grant for the current award year,
    • a student’s official financial aid award letter documenting the amount of a student’s Pell Grant award received for the current award year, or
    • a copy of a student’s paid invoice that clearly documents the student’s receipt of a Pell Grant during the current award year.

Learn more about how to submit these documents, or, if you are a consumer, visit USAC’s Affordable Connectivity Program consumer website.