2018 Lifeline Recertification Results Due Jan. 31

All eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) must submit and certify their FCC Form 555, the annual Lifeline ETC certification form, by January 31 via the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) E-File system. Forms cannot be sent by mail or email. Certified copies of Form 555 must also be filed at the FCC and applicable state commissions. Form 555 will report rolling recertification results for each month of 2018, not a yearly aggregate.

ETCs in the first wave of states (Colorado, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) that have transitioned to the Lifeline National Verifier will still be required to submit a Form 555. However, these ETCs will enter zeros in blocks A-C as the re-verification process during the transition replaced the monthly rolling recertification requirement for 2018. ETCs in the second wave of states and territories (Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and South Dakota) that are in the process of transitioning to the National Verifier must report recertification results for all the months in 2018 where monthly rolling recertification was completed.

Depending on your needs, JSI is available to assist you with Form 555 by filing it through USAC’s E-File system, guiding you through the process, and/or filing the necessary copies with the FCC and state commissions. If you would like JSI to submit the form in E-File, your company officer or general contact will need to create an account to designate someone as an Authorized Agent through the USAC website. The Single-SAC or Multi-SAC monthly recertification trackers can be used to track your company’s rolling recertification results monthly and can be found on USAC’s website.

If you have any questions or you would like JSI’s help, please contact Lans Chase in JSI’s Georgia office at 770-569-2105 or Lisa McLaughlin or Cindy Neugebauer in JSI’s Texas office at 512-338-0473.