Disposal or Trade-In of Equipment

In general, eligible products and services purchased with Schools and Libraries (E-Rate) program discounts cannot be sold, resold, or transferred for money or any other thing of value.

However, applicants can dispose of equipment that has been installed for five years or more. Such equipment is considered “obsolete” and can be resold or transferred in consideration of money or any other thing of value, disposed of, donated, or traded.

Note that applicants are not required to continue using the equipment after five years, nor are they required to dispose of equipment five years after installation.

Trade-Ins

Equipment purchased with E-Rate program funds can also be traded in, but no sooner than five years after the equipment is installed. Trade-ins are not allowed before this five-year period has elapsed.

The value of a trade-in does not have to be deducted from the pre-discount amount of a new funding request. Applicants are not required to notify USAC of the disposal or trade-in of equipment. However, an applicant disposing of or trading in equipment should make an appropriate entry in its asset register or inventory for E-Rate funded equipment.

For a list of donation and recycling locations for communications equipment, you can visit the Electronics Donation and Recycling page maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.