E-Rate
Funding Year 2026 FCC Form 471 Application Filing Window Opens January 21, 2026
The Funding Year (FY) 2026 FCC Form 471 application filing window will open on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at noon ET and will close on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Because April 1 is the last day of the FCC Form 471 filing window, March 4, 2026, is the last date that you can timely submit and certify an FCC Form 470 to request bids for FY2026. E-Rate rules require applicants to post FCC Form 470 for at least 28 days before selecting service provider(s) and submitting the FCC Form 471.
Applicants can now review their E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) profile and make additional updates for changes that occurred after USAC’s review of their FY 2025 FCC Forms 471. The EPC Administrative Window will close and applicant EPC profiles will be locked on January 16, 2026. You will need to contact USAC to make changes to your EPC profile after the administrative window has closed. View the EPC Administrative Window webinar recording and webinar slides to learn more.
FY2026 E-Rate Program Updates
FY2026 Eligible Services List Adopted
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) released the FY2026 Eligible Services List (ESL) Order DA 25-1069 on December 17, 2025. WCB adopted its proposal to treat all currently eligible software- or remote-based services, including bug fixes, security patches, software-based technical assistance, and configuration changes the same and have applicants request all software- and remote-based services with the internal connections equipment that they support. Applicants will no longer need to separate software- and other remote-based services into internal connections and basic maintenance of internal connections (BMIC) services.
The Order also permits applicants that had sought funding for software-based BMIC services on a pro-rated basis in prior funding years to request discounts on the remainder of the contract in FY2026 or continue requesting pro-rated support. The Order further clarifies that applicants who seek support for software- or remote-based services as internal connections in FY2026 that were competitively bid as BMIC services are not violating the Commission’s competitive bidding rules.
New BEAR/SPI Selection Added to FY2026 E-Rate FCC Form 471 Application
The FY2026 FCC Form 471 was updated with a new field below the Narrative field to collect the invoicing method for every Funding Request Number (FRN). Pursuant to section 54.514(c) of the program rules, the applicant is permitted to select the invoicing method for each FRN. The applicant can select either the FCC Form 472/BEAR (Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement) or the FCC Form 474/SPI (Service Provider Invoice). Please review the Select an Invoicing Method in E-Rate to learn more. If you are copying an FRN from a previous funding year that does not have the invoicing method assigned, you will be prompted to select the BEAR or SPI invoicing method once the request has been copied on your FY2026 FCC Form 471. The selected invoicing method will be displayed on the PDF copy of the FCC Form 471 and on the FRN Record in EPC.
Applicants should notify their service providers of the invoicing method early in the process of preparing their funding requests. Please note that applicants will be able to request a different invoicing method prior to requesting reimbursement if the method needs to be changed. The applicant’s service provider will need to agree to the invoicing method change after the FCC Form 471 has been submitted.
Category 2 Budget Updates for FY2026- FY2030
The FCC Form 471 was updated to reflect the FY2026-FY2030 Category 2 Budget cycle. The Entity Details section on the Category Two screen now shows FY2026-FY2030 Category Two budget cycle data based on the latest entity profile information entered by applicants. The PDF copy for Category Two FCC Form 471 applications was updated to reflect this latest entity profile data for student counts (schools/school districts) and square footage (libraries/library systems) for the FY2026-FY2030 budget cycle.
E-Rate Helpful Links
USDA’s Final Rule for CEP effective October 26, 2023
Nebraska State School E-Rate Contact
For questions regarding E-Rate and/or the E-Rate process contact Chris Struebing at christina.struebing@nebraska.gov