Do I qualify?
Lifeline eligibility: the three tests your household must pass
Independent site, not the FCC, USAC or a phone company. Lifeline applications are made only on the official National Verifier or through your state.
A qualifying route, a household with no other Lifeline account, and an identity the National Verifier can confirm. Enter your figures above to see which route opens for you.
Your income qualifies
$9.25 off per month
| 2026 income limit, 2 people | $29,214 |
| Your income is under it by | $3,214 |
| Share of the poverty guideline | 120% |
| Discount over a year | $111 |
| Where to apply | National Verifier (USAC) |
- Income route: proof of a full year of income, or 3 consecutive months of pay stubs.
- One Lifeline per household (48 states, DC and territories table). How to apply
Everything you enter stays in this browser: nothing is sent or stored. This is an estimate from the published rules; the decision is made by the National Verifier or your state.
Lifeline eligibility comes down to three tests written in 47 CFR 54.409 and 54.410. First, a qualifying route: household gross income at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines, which in 2026 means $21,546 for one person, $29,214 for two and $59,886 for six in the 48 states and DC, or someone in the household (you, a dependent or the household itself) receiving SNAP, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Federal Public Housing Assistance or the Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit. Second, nobody in your household may already hold a Lifeline service. Third, you must be at least 18 years old, or an emancipated minor, and your identity must be confirmed through your date of birth and the last four digits of your Social Security number or, for a member of a Tribal nation without one, a Tribal identification number. The National Verifier runs these checks everywhere except Oregon and Texas, and a household that passes gets up to $9.25 a month off one phone or internet plan.
Rules and figures read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Test one: a qualifying route
There are two routes and you only need one. The qualification rule sets the income route at 135% of the poverty guidelines for your household size, with gross income counted for every member, not only the person applying. The program route lists five federal programs, and on Tribal lands four more: Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribally administered TANF, Head Start for households that met its income standard, and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. USAC adds that the Nutrition Assistance Programs of Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands count as SNAP.
The program route ignores income completely. A household of five earning well above $52,218 still qualifies if one member receives Supplemental Security Income. The detailed limits by household size are on the income limits page.
Test two: one benefit per household
Under 47 CFR 54.400, a household is everyone living at the same address as one economic unit, meaning all adults who contribute to and share in its income and expenses. Relatives and non-relatives can belong to the same household. Three precise rules decide the borderline cases. An adult is anyone 18 or older. An adult with no or minimal income who is supported by someone at the address belongs to that person’s household. Children under 18 living with a parent or guardian belong to the parent’s household. The FCC also allows residents of group living facilities to be treated as separate households.
When the National Verifier finds another Lifeline account at your address, you fill in the household worksheet to show that you are a separate economic unit. The calculator below counts how many benefits an address can hold:
One Lifeline per household: how many at your address?
Benefits still possible
1
| Households (economic units) | 2 |
| Already enrolled | 1 |
| Worksheet needed | Yes, the household worksheet |
Each economic unit may hold one benefit, after the worksheet.
Test three: who you are and where you live
Before looking at any benefit, the National Verifier confirms your identity through a third-party identity check, your address through the U.S. Postal Service address matching service, and searches for duplicate benefits for the same person or address. It then checks your program through computer matching agreements: data connections with HUD for public housing, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for Medicaid and with the Department of Veterans Affairs for the pension, plus state connections that vary. When nothing matches, the manual review takes a copy of a document dated within the last 12 months.
Four households, four answers
A single worker in Ohio earning $20,000 a year. The 2026 limit for one person is $21,546, so she is $1,546 under it and qualifies on income. Because Ohio has no automatic income check, she should expect to upload a tax return or 3 consecutive months of pay stubs.
A family of four in Honolulu earning $50,000. In the 48 states the limit for four is $44,550 and this family would be over it. Hawaii has its own table, $51,233 for four, so the family is $1,233 under the line and qualifies.
A couple with one child in Georgia earning $60,000, where the child is on Medicaid. Their income is far above $36,882, the limit for three, yet the household qualifies through the child’s Medicaid, which Georgia’s data connection can confirm without any upload.
A retired man living with his daughter, who pays the rent and the groceries. He has almost no income and is supported by her, so the two form one household. If the daughter already holds Lifeline, he cannot open a second account at that address.
Staying eligible after approval
Eligibility is checked again every year. Many subscribers pass an automatic database check and do nothing; the others get 60 days to answer, and are removed 5 business days after the window closes if they do not. If a company has a reasonable basis to think you no longer qualify, it must give you 30 days to prove otherwise. If your income rises above the limit or the benefit that qualified you stops, the FCC asks you to contact your company at once. The documents page lists the proof for each route, and the National Verifier page walks through the application screens.