Lifeline Recertification Form 555 Due by Jan. 31

All eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) must submit and certify their FCC Form 555, the annual Lifeline ETC certification form, by January 31, 2020, via the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) E-File system. Reminder, USAC has changed its website to require multifactor authentication, so if you have not yet signed on to USAC’s website, be prepared for that login change. Companies will report annual rolling recertification results by month.

Service providers in states that were part of the 2019 soft launch of the National Eligibility Verifier were not responsible for recertifying subscribers beginning the day of soft launch. However, those companies are required to complete the Form 555 for any certifications up until the day of the soft launch and any certifications that were already underway. The soft launch schedule for 2019 can be found on USAC’s website if you are unsure where your company fell in the launch schedule. For service providers in states that were fully launched into the National Eligibility Verifier in 2019 and did not complete the recertifications, you are still required to submit a certified 555. Service providers that elected to have USAC conduct recertification should use the results on the Recertification Subscriber Status Report and the Failed Recertification De-Enroll Report from the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD) to complete FCC Form 555.

JSI is available to assist you with the Form 555 by filing it through E-File or by guiding you through the process, depending on your needs. 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 at JSI as an Authorized Agent through the USAC website. The single study area code (SAC) or multi-SAC monthly recertification trackers can be used to track your company’s rolling recertification results and can be found on USAC’s website. The Form 555 must also be filed at the FCC and applicable state commissions and JSI can assist you with these filings.

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.