How to switch Lifeline providers (and keep your number)
In short
- You can move your Lifeline benefit to a new company. Plan on once a month at most. The new company does the transfer, so do not cancel your old line.
- There is no 60-day limit in force as of October 2026. The FCC has only asked about a transfer freeze in a proposal.
- Moving your phone number is a separate step. Tell the new company you want to keep your number before you sign anything.
On this page
You can move your Lifeline benefit to a different company. USAC’s pages say you can do it at any time, or once a month, so plan on once a month at most. You do not need permission from your current company. You sign up with the new one, give your consent, and the new company submits the transfer. When it goes through, your benefit with the old company ends and the new one starts. In most cases there is no gap in service. If you want to keep your phone number, tell the new company before the transfer and ask it to port the number in.
The rule: switch when you need to
USAC’s Change My Company page says you “may transfer your Lifeline benefit to a new company at any time.” The Lifeline Support home page puts it differently: “you may transfer your benefit once a month.” Until USAC makes the two match, assume one switch a month. The transfer “must be at the request of the subscriber,” and the new company “initiates the transaction in NLAD on the subscriber’s behalf.” NLAD is the national database that records which company is paid for your benefit.
You do not cancel with your current company first, and you do not call USAC to start a switch. The new company does the work. If you have not picked one, see the best Lifeline providers compared.
Is there a 60-day limit?
No. We checked the official pages for a limit on how often you can transfer. The only one we found is the Lifeline Support home page’s “once a month.” Nothing says 60 days as of October 2026.
| Claim you may hear | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| “You can only switch once every 60 days” | USAC’s Change My Company page says you may transfer “at any time.” The Lifeline Support home page says “once a month.” Neither says 60 days. |
| “There is a port freeze after you enroll” | The FCC codified port freezes in its 2016 Lifeline order and eliminated them in 2017, per the FCC’s February 2026 notice. |
| “The FCC is adding a transfer freeze” | In FCC 26-8, released February 23, 2026, the FCC asked whether to freeze transfers “for a specified period, such as 60 or 90 days after enrollment.” That is a question in a proposed rulemaking, not a rule. |
The same FCC notice says subscribers can transfer “from one ETC to another with few restrictions.” ETC is short for eligible telecommunications carrier, the rules’ term for a Lifeline phone company.
The consent step
The new company cannot move your benefit without your consent. USAC’s Benefit Transfers page says the company must obtain consent before it starts the transfer in NLAD and must keep a record of it. Consent can be verbal or written. It has to include two acknowledgments:
- Once the transfer is complete, you lose your Lifeline benefit with the previous company.
- The new company explained that you cannot have more than one Lifeline benefit per household, with the same company or different ones.
The one-per-household rule is 47 CFR 54.410(d)(1)(ii): “Only one Lifeline service is available per household.” Our eligibility guide explains what counts as a household.
If a company moves your benefit without asking you, report it to the Lifeline Support Center at (800) 234-9473 or the FCC Lifeline Fraud Tip Line at (855) 455-8477.
You may have to reapply first
The Change My Company page says: “You may need to reapply before your company can transfer you.” USAC tells companies to “obtain a new, completed application form, review proof of eligibility,” and then send you a consent request. The new company runs your information through the National Verifier. If you are already enrolled, the Verifier returns a status saying so, and the company uses that to complete the transfer.
The Verifier checks identity, address, and program eligibility against databases and asks for documents only when it cannot confirm something. An approved application is good for 90 days. USAC’s error guide says a check fails when the consumer has not “successfully completed an eligibility application in the National Verifier in the past 90 days.”
Steps to switch
- Pick the new company. Confirm it offers Lifeline in your state at Companies Near Me or on our state pages.
- Decide whether you want to keep your number. If yes, say so before you sign anything.
- Apply with the new company. Give your name, date of birth, last four of your Social Security number, and address. Complete a new National Verifier application if asked.
- Give consent to the transfer. Read the two acknowledgments above before you agree.
- Wait for the transfer. NLAD moves you out from the old company, enrolls you with the new one, and notifies both.
- Confirm the new service works. Then stop using the old one.
Do not cancel the old line yourself. The transfer closes it, and the Change My Company page says that “in most cases, you should not experience an interruption in service.”
Keeping your number
The benefit transfer and the number port are separate. The transfer moves the benefit. The port moves the number. Ask the new company to do both.
FCC rules at 47 CFR 52.35(a) require carriers to complete a simple port within one business day, unless you or the new provider ask for longer. Keep the old line active until the new company confirms the port is done. Our guide to switching carriers and keeping your number covers the port step by step, including what to do if it stalls.
What happens to the old service and phone
When the transfer completes, NLAD labels you as transferred out from the former company and transferred in at the new one. Your benefit with the old company ends. You cannot hold both.
Lifeline rules cover the discount, not the handset. Whether you can keep using a phone the old company gave you depends on that company’s terms and whether the phone works on the new network. Ask the old company whether it is unlocked and the new company whether it will accept it. Do not assume the new company will give you a phone. That is up to the company, not the program.
Why a transfer gets blocked
USAC says that if a transfer fails, the company sees an error code, the process ends, and “the subscriber will stay active in NLAD under its previous service provider.”
| Error | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Application_Not_Found | You have not qualified through the National Verifier, or your approval is more than 90 days old | Complete a new application; the company can start it |
| Application_Not_Complete | The Verifier needs documents | Submit what it asked for |
| Application_Pending | Your application is under review | Wait, or call (800) 234-9473 |
| Duplicate subscriber | A record for you already exists in NLAD | Normal for a switch; the company completes a transfer, not a new enrollment |
| Duplicate you do not recognize | NLAD shows a benefit you say you never had | Call the Support Center; disputes go to LifelineProgram@usac.org with your name and contact details |
If the old company de-enrolled you before the switch, there is no benefit to transfer. Apply as a new subscriber instead. See how to get a free government phone.
Texas, Oregon, and California
Texas and Oregon run their own eligibility checks. USAC tells residents of those states to apply through the state website, and yearly rechecks there are run by the state.
California moved federal Lifeline enrollment to the National Verifier and NLAD on February 1, 2026 under FCC order DA 25-965. Switching in California now works the same as elsewhere.
After the switch
USAC or your state still checks once a year that you qualify. See how to recertify.
The Lifeline Support Center is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, at (800) 234-9473 or LifelineSupport@usac.org. For a company that refuses to help, file a complaint at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. Not sure you still qualify? Use the eligibility checker before you start.
Correction, October 19, 2026: an earlier version said there is no limit on how often you can switch. The Lifeline Support home page says you may transfer “once a month,” so this page now gives both of USAC’s statements.