Apply and keep it
Lifeline non-usage: how to keep a free line active
Independent site, not the FCC, USAC or a phone company. Lifeline applications are made only on the official National Verifier or through your state.
Enter how many days ago you last made a call, sent a text or used data: the counter shows where you stand and how long you have left.
Free Lifeline service: days without use
Status
Active
| Days left to use it | 25 |
| Rule | 30 days, then 15 days of notice |
| What counts as use | a call, a text, data, or answering the company |
Applies only to service with no monthly fee; a paid plan is not cut for non-use.
A Lifeline line that costs you nothing each month must be used at least once every 30 days. If 30 consecutive days pass without usage, the company must send you a notice in clear language giving you 15 more days; if you still do not use the line during that period, service ends and you are de-enrolled from Lifeline. In practice the line is safe for up to 45 days without use, but no longer. Usage is defined in 47 CFR 54.407: making a call, using data, sending a text, buying extra minutes or data from the company, answering a call from someone other than the company, or answering the company to confirm you want to keep the service. The rule exists because the company is paid the $9.25 monthly support only for subscribers who used the service in the last 30 days. It does not apply to a plan for which you pay a monthly fee to the company, whatever the amount.
Rules and figures read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The timeline from the last use
The rule in 47 CFR 54.405(e)(3) runs in two stages. First, 30 consecutive days without usage. Second, a notice from the company, in clear and easily understood language, saying that failing to use the service within 15 days will end it. Use the line at any point during the notice and the count starts again from zero. The table shows where a subscriber stands after different gaps:
| Days since last use | Status | Days left |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Active | 35 |
| 29 | Active | 16 |
| 35 | Notice period | 10 |
| 45 | Service can be ended | 0 |
The counter at the top gives the same answer for your own number of days. Each company reports to the FCC, once a year and month by month, how many subscribers it de-enrolled for non-usage.
What counts as usage, and what does not
The list in 47 CFR 54.407(c)(2) is short and precise. Any one of these, done by the subscriber, keeps the line active:
- completing an outbound call, or using data;
- buying minutes or data from the company to add to the plan;
- answering an incoming call from anyone other than the company, its agent or its representative;
- responding to direct contact from the company and confirming you want to keep Lifeline;
- sending a text message.
Some everyday actions are not on that list. A call from the company itself does not count unless you confirm you want to keep the service. Receiving a text is not listed. A phone left switched on in a drawer, receiving nothing, uses nothing. Using data does count, as long as it is data from the Lifeline service itself.
Which lines the rule covers
The rule applies only where the company does not charge and collect a monthly fee, which the FCC Lifeline page sums up the same way: if your provider does not charge you each month, use the service at least once every 30 days. Many free mobile plans fall in that category because their price equals the $9.25 discount. Home internet or a mobile plan for which you pay the balance after the discount is not covered. The value of a free line over time, the support you would lose if it were cut, shows in the calculator below.
What the Lifeline discount is worth
Discount per month
$9.25
| Over 12 months | $111 |
| Standard part | $9.25 |
| Tribal lands extra | $0 |
The discount comes off the bill of the company you choose; it is never paid to you in cash.
Simple habits that keep a free line safe
Make one outbound call or send one text at a fixed date each month, for example on the day a benefit is paid. Keep the company’s customer line, printed on its materials, and answer its direct contact when it asks whether you want to keep the service. If you know you will be away from the phone for weeks, use it the day before you leave and again as soon as you are back, so the gap stays under 30 days and no notice is needed. And keep the line separate from your annual check: passing recertification does not protect an unused line, and a used line does not exempt you from recertifying. Mobile plans must also meet the data standard of 4.5 GB listed on the USAC standards page, so there is data to use.