Lifeline: A Discount on Phone and Internet Service

1What you are applying for

Lifeline is a monthly discount, not a separate phone line or a device. It is applied to a service you choose from a participating company: mobile phone service with data, home internet, a landline, or a bundle. The discount is up to $9.25 a month in most of the country and up to $34.25 for residents of Tribal lands, where service costs more to provide; Tribal residents can also get up to $100 off the initial connection charge for a new service.

It is paid from the federal Universal Service Fund, financed through charges on phone bills, and run for the Federal Communications Commission by the Universal Service Administrative Company. The FCC sets minimum service standards for plans that receive the discount, such as a minimum amount of mobile data each month, which keeps a free plan usable. Some states add their own discount on top.

2Step 1: Check whether a benefit you already have qualifies you

The quickest way in is through another program. A household qualifies without an income test if anyone in it, including a child or other dependent, receives:

• SNAP;
• Medicaid;
• Supplemental Security Income;
• Federal Public Housing Assistance, such as public housing or a Section 8 voucher; or
• the Veterans Pension or Survivors Pension.

Benefits that do not appear on this list, such as unemployment compensation or WIC, do not qualify a household by themselves, though the income test may. On Tribal lands, Tribal TANF, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance and income-based Tribal Head Start also qualify. A parent who is not on Medicaid, but whose child is, qualifies the household through the child. Our guides to SNAP and SSI explain those programs if you are not yet enrolled.

3Step 2: If not, check your income

A household with income at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines qualifies. For 2026 that is about $21,550 a year for one person and $44,550 for a household of four in the 48 contiguous states, with higher limits in Alaska and Hawaii. Income means everything the household receives before taxes, from wages and self-employment to Social Security, unemployment, child support and pensions. You will be asked for proof, such as a tax return, pay stubs or a benefits statement.

Count the household the way Lifeline does: people who live together and share income and expenses. Two families at one address who keep their money separate are two households and can each have a discount; a couple who share expenses are one household and can have only one.

4Step 3: Gather what you need

Have your full name as it appears on official documents, date of birth, address, and the last four digits of your Social Security number or a Tribal ID number. If you are qualifying through a program, have its card or award letter at hand; if through income, have last year's tax return or three consecutive months of pay stubs.

No permanent address? You can apply with a temporary one, such as a shelter, or by describing where you stay. Households using a temporary address must confirm it every 90 days.

5Step 4: Apply through the National Verifier

Applications go through the Lifeline National Verifier, which checks eligibility against government databases where it can. Apply online or by mail and then choose a company, or apply through a participating company that submits the application for you. A few states run their own Lifeline application instead; the National Verifier site tells you if yours does.

If the databases cannot confirm your eligibility, you will be asked to upload or mail copies of documents. If you are told you do not qualify, the notice explains why; often a document did not match or could not be read, and the fix is a clearer or different one. You can resubmit, and the Lifeline Support Center can explain your options and mail you a paper application. Be careful with offers on the street or at your door: give personal information only after confirming the company is a real Lifeline provider, which the Lifeline site lets you check.

6Step 5: Choose a company and a plan within 90 days

Once approved, you have 90 days to sign up for service before you would need to apply again. Plans differ in data, minutes and devices, and not every company serves every area:

• A free mobile plan suits someone who mainly needs a phone.
• A discount on home internet may matter more for a family with children doing schoolwork or someone who works from home.
• Check whether the plan includes a phone or requires you to bring one, and what it costs if you go over its limits.

The benefit can be moved from one company to another, or from mobile service to home internet, but not doubled. Signing up with a second company transfers the discount rather than adding one, which is why an offer of a second free phone to someone already enrolled deserves suspicion.

7Step 6: Keep it: use the service and recertify

Use a free plan at least once every 30 days. If you do not make a call, send a text or use data in 30 days, the company must warn you, and if the service is still unused 15 days later it is canceled. Paying something toward the service yourself removes that rule.

Recertify every year. The National Verifier tries to confirm continued eligibility automatically; if it cannot, you will be contacted and must respond by the deadline or the discount ends. If it does end because a notice was missed, you can apply again.

Report changes within 30 days. Tell your company if you no longer qualify, if someone else in the household already has Lifeline, or if you move. The discount moves with you if the company serves your new area; otherwise you can transfer it to one that does. If you lose the benefit that qualified you, such as when Medicaid ends, check whether your household still qualifies by income before giving up the discount.

8When the discount is not enough

Lifeline will not cover an expensive phone or a fast home internet plan. Some internet providers run their own low-cost plans for households on SNAP, Medicaid or free school meals, separate from Lifeline, and public libraries lend hotspots in many areas. Some states also run a larger program of their own alongside the federal one, with its own application, so ask your state's utility commission what it offers. For other household bills, LIHEAP helps with heating and cooling costs.

10What this guide does not cover

This guide describes the federal Lifeline program. Some states add their own discount or run their own application, and the participating companies and plans differ by area. None of our calculators screens for Lifeline.