Free government phone in Texas

Texas 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 Texas

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

• Someone in your household gets one of these benefits:
  • SNAP (food stamps)
  • Medicaid
  • 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 Texas

• Texas uses its own sign-up, not the federal one (the National Verifier).
• More households qualify in Texas. The income limit is 150% of the poverty guidelines, not 135% as in the federal rules.
• You also qualify if you get Medicaid, LIHEAP (energy bill help), SNAP, Federal Public Housing Assistance or SSI.
• CHIP, free lunch from the National School Lunch Program and TANF (cash aid for families) count too.
• A state administrator checks who qualifies. It also checks that your household does not already get Lifeline.
• If someone in your household is on a qualifying Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC) program, you are signed up for the phone bill discount automatically. You only fill in and sign a form that is mailed to you.
• Apply to the administrator online at texaslifeline.org, by phone (1-866-454-8387), by fax or by email.
• For prepaid cell service (you pay before you use it), give your application to the phone company instead. Ask the company how to send your forms.

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

Texas Lifeline (state discount via the Low-Income Discount Administrator)

• The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) runs a state Lifeline discount on top of the federal benefit.
• The PUC's page puts the combined federal and state discount at up to $12.75 a month off the basic phone rate.
• More people qualify than under the federal rules: income up to 150% of the poverty guidelines, and extra programs.
• You do not apply through the National Verifier. Apply through the state's Low-Income Discount Administrator at texaslifeline.org or 1-866-454-8387. For prepaid cell service, apply through the phone company.

Extra discount: Up to $12.75 a month off the basic phone rate, federal and state combined, according to the PUC's page

Official Texas Lifeline (state discount via the Low-Income Discount Administrator) page

How to apply in Texas

Texas checks who qualifies itself. It does not use the National Verifier, the federal system most states use. There are two ways to apply. The official help box below shows each one.

Start at Texas Lifeline. Have proof of who you are ready, and proof of your income or your benefit.

Companies that give Lifeline service in Texas

In May 2026, 12 companies gave Lifeline cell phone service in Texas. These are the 8 with the most customers. The counts come from USAC, which runs Lifeline. They show who serves Texas, 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 Texas, 60 companies did this, with 3,140 customers in all.

Not every company serves every part of Texas. 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 Texas

Phone companies claimed Lifeline for 264,499 subscribers in Texas in May 2026, up 32.3% since May 2025 (USAC). That is the 6th highest count among the 50 states and DC. Lifeline enrollment in every state.

Other states

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