§  54.410   Certification and Verification of Consumer Qualification for
Lifeline.

   (a) Certification of income. Consumers qualifying under an income-based
   criterion must present documentation of their household income prior to
   enrollment in Lifeline.

   (1) By one year from the effective date of these rules, eligible
   telecommunications carriers in states that mandate state Lifeline
   support must comply with state certification procedures to document
   consumer income-based eligibility for Lifeline prior to that consumer's
   enrollment if the consumer is qualifying under an income-based
   criterion.

   (2) By one year from the effective date of these rules, eligible
   telecommunications carriers in states that do not mandate state
   Lifeline support must implement certification procedures to document
   consumer-income-based eligibility for Lifeline prior to that consumer's
   enrollment if the consumer is qualifying under the income-based
   criterion specified in § 54.409(b). Acceptable documentation of income
   eligibility includes the prior year's state, federal, or tribal tax
   return, current income statement from an employer or paycheck stub, a
   Social Security statement of benefits, a Veterans Administration
   statement of benefits, a retirement/pension statement of benefits, an
   Unemployment/Workmen's Compensation statement of benefits, federal or
   tribal notice letter of participation in General Assistance, a divorce
   decree, child support, or other official document. If the consumer
   presents documentation of income that does not cover a full year, such
   as current pay stubs, the consumer must present three consecutive
   months worth of the same types of document within that calendar year.

   (b) Self-certifications. After income certification procedures are
   implemented, eligible telecommunications carriers and consumers are
   required to make certain self-certifications, under penalty of perjury,
   relating to the Lifeline program. Eligible telecommunications carriers
   must retain records of their self-certifications and those made by
   consumers.

   (1) An officer of the eligible telecommunications carrier in a state
   that mandates state Lifeline support must certify that the eligible
   telecommunications carrier is in compliance with state Lifeline income
   certification procedures and that, to the best of his/her knowledge,
   documentation of income was presented.

   (2) An officer of the eligible telecommunications carrier in a state
   that does not mandate state Lifeline support must certify that the
   eligible telecommunications carrier has procedures in place to review
   income documentation and that, to the best of his/her knowledge, the
   carrier was presented with documentation of the consumer's household
   income.

   (3) Consumers qualifying for Lifeline under an income-based criterion
   must certify the number of individuals in their households on the
   document required in § 54.409(d).

   (c) Verification of Continued Eligibility. Consumers qualifying for
   Lifeline may be required to verify continued eligibility on an annual
   basis.

   (1) By one year from the effective date of these rules, eligible
   telecommunications carriers in states that mandate state Lifeline
   support must comply with state verification procedures to validate
   consumers' continued eligibility for Lifeline. The eligible
   telecommunications carrier must be able to document that it is
   complying with state regulations and verification requirements.

   (2) By one year from the effective date of these rules, eligible
   telecommunications carriers in states that do not mandate state
   Lifeline support must implement procedures to verify annually the
   continued eligibility of a statistically valid random sample of their
   Lifeline subscribers. Eligible telecommunications carriers may verify
   directly with a state that particular subscribers continue to be
   eligible by virtue of participation in a qualifying program or income
   level. To the extent eligible telecommunications carriers cannot obtain
   the necessary information from the state, they may survey subscribers
   directly and provide the results of the sample to the Administrator.
   Subscribers who are subject to this verification and qualify under
   program-based eligibility criteria must prove their continued
   eligibility by presenting in person or sending a copy of their
   Lifeline-qualifying public assistance card and self-certifying, under
   penalty of perjury, that they continue to participate in the
   Lifeline-qualifying public assistance program. Subscribers who are
   subject to this verification and qualify under the income-based
   eligibility criteria must prove their continued eligibility by
   presenting current income documentation consistent with the
   income-certification process in § 54.410(a)(2). These subscribers must
   also self-certify, under penalty of perjury, the number of individuals
   in their household and that the documentation presented accurately
   represents their annual household income. An officer of the eligible
   telecommunications carrier must certify, under penalty of perjury, that
   the company has income verification procedures in place and that, to
   the best of his or her knowledge, the company was presented with
   corroborating documentation. The eligible telecommunications carrier
   must retain records of these certifications.

   [ 69 FR 34600 , June 22, 2004, as amended at  73 FR 42274 , July 21, 2008]