The E-rate year, form by form
From the bid request in the fall to the invoice after the year ends: every step, every clock.
The funding year runs July 1 to June 30. The work for it starts the fall before and finishes after it ends.
Fall: the bid request (Form 470)
If a contract is ending, you post a public request for bids describing what you want. You must wait at least 28 days before choosing a vendor or signing a contract, and the request must be certified at least 28 days before the application window closes. Sign a day early and the year's funding can be denied. From funding year 2028, vendors will submit bids through a USAC portal.
Winter: the application (Form 471)
The application lists every building, its enrollment and lunch counts, and a line for each service with vendor, contract and cost. It must be filed inside a window that usually runs from mid-January to late March. The 2026 window ran January 21 to April 1, 2026. The 2027 dates had not been announced as of November 2026.
Spring: reviewer questions
USAC reviews applications and may ask for proof of anything it doubts. You have 15 days to respond, and more time can be requested.
Summer: service started (Form 486)
After the funding letter arrives, you confirm that service has started and that your internet-filtering policy is in place, within 120 days of the start date or the letter, whichever is later.
After the year: the invoice (Form 472 or 474)
Either the vendor bills USAC directly or you claim the discount back. The deadline is printed in your funding letter.
And always: keep the records
Documents must be kept for ten years, and audits do come.
Any school, district or library: what was approved, paid, left unspent and still unclaimed.