Before You Begin: Understanding Eligibility

Before beginning the process of applying for E-Rate program discounts for the upcoming funding year, you should review the E-Rate program application process flow chart. This document provides an overview of the program and the sequence of activities you must complete to receive funding. It is important also to understand what is eligible — which equipment and services are available for E-Rate funding and which types of entities are eligible to receive them — before deciding to participate in the program.

Services Eligible for E-Rate Funding

Internet access and many commercially-available telecommunications services are eligible for discounts, as well as equipment that allows access to these services. The Eligible Services Overview provides a general understanding of eligible equipment and services, while the FCC Eligible Services List provides more in-depth information about equipment and service eligibility for the current funding year. Funding years (FYs) begin on July 1 and end on June 30 of the following year. For example, FY2026 begins July 1, 2026, and ends June 30, 2027.

Discounts range from 20 percent to 90 percent of the cost of eligible services. Refer to the program’s Calculating Discounts page for further discount guidance.

Entities Eligible for E-Rate Funding

To be eligible for discounts from the E-Rate program, your entity must meet the program definition of a school or a library. If you are not sure of your entity’s eligibility status, you may need to contact your higher-level administrative agency (state department of education, state library, or other organization) to assist you.

• Note: Schools and libraries can apply on their own or they can form consortia to aggregate demand and thereby negotiate lower prices. The entity leading the consortium may or may not be eligible for discounts.

The following facilities may also be eligible for discounts:

• Non-instructional facilities (NIFs) – school buildings that generally don’t contain classrooms (e.g., school administrative buildings, school bus barns, school stadiums) or library buildings that don’t have areas open to the public (e.g., library administrative buildings, library technology centers, bookmobile garages)
• Non-traditional elementary and secondary education – facilities for Head Start, pre-kindergarten, juvenile justice, adult education, etc.
• Educational Service Agencies (ESA) – also called ESUs, BOCES, or other names, these are regional public service agencies that develop, manage, and provide services or programs to local education agencies
• Certain school residential facilities:
  • Schools on Tribal lands;
  • Schools that serve children with physical, cognitive, and behavioral disabilities;
  • Schools that serve children with medical needs;
  • Juvenile justice schools, where eligible; and
  • Schools with 35 percent or more students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Next Step: Creating an EPC Account

Once you have reviewed the information above, understand E-Rate’s eligibility guidelines, and have decided to participate in the program, you can go to Step 1: Creating an EPC Account, to begin the process.