Free government phone in California

California residents who qualify for Lifeline can get free or discounted phone service. Here is who qualifies, where to apply, and which companies serve the state.

Who qualifies in California

Under the federal rules, either one of these is enough:

• Someone in your household gets one of these benefits:
  • SNAP (food stamps, called CalFresh in California)
  • Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Federal Public Housing Assistance (including Section 8)
  • Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
  • a qualifying Tribal program
• Your household income is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines. These are the government's yearly income levels by household size.

Each household can get only one Lifeline benefit.

What to know in California

• Since February 1, 2026, federal Lifeline in California uses the National Verifier, as most states do. That is the federal system that checks who qualifies.
• California used to run its own check. The FCC ended this opt-out on November 20, 2025 (order DA 25-965). It confirmed the change on March 25, 2026 (order DA 26-290).
• The separate California LifeLine state discount still has its own application. The link is in the California LifeLine section below. The administrator for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) runs it.
• California LifeLine income limits from June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027: $24,600 for 1 person, $33,300 for 2, $42,100 for 3 and $50,800 for 4. Add $8,700 for each extra person.
• For California LifeLine, more programs count than under the federal rules: Medi-Cal, LIHEAP (energy bill help), SSI, Section 8 or Federal Public Housing Assistance, CalFresh or SNAP, WIC and the National School Lunch Program.
• For California LifeLine, TANF also counts (CalWORKs, StanWORKs, WTW, GAIN), as do Tribal TANF, Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Head Start, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and the Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit.
• With California LifeLine, you pay regular rates until you are approved. Then you get the difference back.
• California LifeLine gives one discounted phone per household.

Check if you qualify with our quick tool, or read the full rules.

California LifeLine

• The CPUC runs this program. It has its own application. An administrator under contract to the state reviews who qualifies.
• It adds a state discount of up to $19.00 a month on home or cell phone service. This amount took effect January 1, 2024.
• It takes up to $39 off the cost to connect or convert service.
• It also exempts you from certain surcharges, the CPUC user fee, federal excise tax, local franchise taxes and the State 911 tax.

Extra discount: Up to $19.00 a month, plus up to $39 off connecting or converting service, and some surcharges and taxes waived

Apply for California LifeLine (californialifeline.com). This is separate from the federal Lifeline application.

Official California LifeLine page

How to apply in California

In California, the National Verifier checks who qualifies. It is the federal system for Lifeline. You can apply on your own, or through a provider. Both lead to the same check.

Apply at getinternet.gov. This is the FCC's official National Verifier site. Have proof of who you are ready, and proof of your income or your benefit.

Companies that give Lifeline service in California

In May 2026, 13 companies gave Lifeline cell phone service in California. These are the 8 with the most customers. The counts come from USAC, which runs Lifeline. They show who serves California, not who is best.

* SafeLink Wireless: This count also includes Lifeline customers of Straight Talk, Total Wireless, Simple Mobile, Walmart Family Mobile and TracFone. USAC counts them together with SafeLink.

Free plan data is from each company's own site. We show it for the companies we have a page on.

Some local phone companies give Lifeline on a home phone instead. In California, 25 companies did this, with 23,669 customers in all.

Not every company serves every part of California. To see who serves your address, enter your ZIP code in the official company finder.

If you don't qualify

Lifeline is only for households that get one of the benefits above or have a low enough income. If yours doesn't, you can still get a phone line for little or nothing. These are this month's picks from our plans page:

• Best free plan: TextNow Free, $0 a month (550 MB, select apps)
• Best under $15: Red Pocket Essentials, $10 a month (3 GB)
• Best free trial: Visible Free Trial, $0 for 15 days (Unlimited)

Each one has a catch, and the plans page says what it is. Our guides compare more options: plans that are genuinely free and free trials. The plans page also lists every plan at $15 or less.

If you applied and were turned down, read why Lifeline applications are denied first. It covers each reason and the document that fixes it.

How many people use Lifeline in California

Phone companies claimed Lifeline for 1,547,538 subscribers in California in May 2026, down 2.6% since May 2025 (USAC). That is the highest count among the 50 states and DC. Lifeline enrollment in every state.

Other states

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
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• New Hampshire
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• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
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• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
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• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming