September 3, 2026
E-Rate Systems (CBR & EPC) Outage Due to System Maintenance
The CBR and EPC systems will be temporarily unavailable for two hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET today due to system maintenance. During this time, users will be unable to log in to and use the system. We apologize for any inconvenience.
September 2, 2026
Payments Will Be Held for BEAR Filers Without an Active SAM.gov Registration and UEI –Â Effective September 8
All E-Rate applicants who use the BEAR method to invoice USAC and receive USF disbursements must have their current SAM.gov UEI on their FCC Form 498 in EPC and must have a valid bank account associated with their SAM.gov registration. BEAR filers who have not registered with SAM.gov or added their UEI to the FCC Form 498 in EPC should do so promptly. Once USAC transitions to SAM.gov banking information, BEAR filers without a UEI on their FCC Form 498 can submit invoices, but their payments will be held until these steps are completed. If a payment is held, USAC will send an email to the E-Rate remittance contact notifying them of the hold with the subject line “Action Required: Your Payment is on Hold.” For questions about a held payment, contact the USAC Customer Service Center at CustomerSupport@USAC.org.
SAM.gov requires users to renew their registration annually. The renewal process is conducted through the SAM.gov website. Once users complete their renewal, SAM.gov will inform USAC; E-Rate applicants do not need to take any action with their FCC Form 498.
August 20, 2026
New E-Rate Post Commitment Deadline Tool Available
USAC has created a new E-Rate Post Commitment Deadline Tool so that applicants and service providers can better track critical post-commitment deadlines applicable to the E-Rate program. Specifically, the tool allows users to track invoicing deadlines, FCC Form 473 (Service Provider Annual Certification, or SPAC) status, and the FCC Form 486 status in a unified interface to ensure applicants and service providers have visibility into the final stages of the funding lifecycle.
The tool displays remaining invoice balances alongside filing deadlines, so applicants do not miss out on committed funding due to a missed deadline. Users can see if an unapproved FCC Form 473/SPAC or a pending FCC Form 486 is holding up an invoice. For state coordinators or large consulting groups managing hundreds of Billed Entity Numbers (BENs), the tool can aggregate large datasets, allowing coordinators to identify statewide compliance trends or pinpoint systemic vendor delays in filing annual certifications.
