Form 500 Adjustment to Funding Commitment and Modification to Receipt of Service Confirmation
Introduction:
FCC Form 500, Adjustment to Funding Commitment and Modification to Receipt of Service Confirmation Form, is a form that can be filed by an applicant:
- To adjust the funding year Service Start Date reported on a previously filed FCC Form 486
- To adjust the contract expiration date listed on the FCC Form 471
- To cancel a Funding Request Number (FRN)
- To reduce the amount of an FRN
- To request a service delivery extension request for Category 2 equipment or special construction fiber projects
- To notify USAC of an equipment transfer resulting from the closure of the location where the equipment was originally installed
Detailed instructions for completing a Form 500 for FY2015 and prior can be found:
Submission of the Form 500 must be completed online in the E-rate Productivity Center, regardless of the funding year.
Preparation Tips, Know When to File:
Tip 1: Extend contract expiration dates due to a service delivery extension. In general, non-recurring services such as installation charges or internal connections equipment must be delivered and installed between July 1 of the relevant funding year and September 30, following the June 30 close of that funding year. An applicant may receive automatic extensions of the deadline for delivery and installation of non-recurring services. Such extensions can occur for various reasons, including:
- A Funding Commitment Decision Letter (“FCDL”) is issued by USAC on or after March 1 of the funding year.
- Operational SPIN changes or service substitutions are approved by USAC on or after March 1 of the funding year.
File a Form 500 to notify USAC that their contract has been extended to align with the later service delivery deadline due to one of these automatic extensions.
Tip 2: Reduce (or cancel) a funding commitment if the full amount is not required.
- Since funding requests are typically submitted well before the start of an E-rate program year, applicants may later find that the SLD has awarded funds in excess of their actual needs. Once it becomes clear that all or a portion of the awarded discounts are not going to be used, the applicant should file a Form 500 to cancel or reduce the funding commitment.
- Reducing or canceling funding which will not be used is not a formal requirement, but is a highly recommended and good faith action that should be undertaken by all E-rate applicants.
- The sooner the SLD is notified that all or a portion of previously awarded funds are not needed by the original applicant, the greater is the possibility that these funds can be awarded to another needy applicant.
- An applicant with unused committed Category 2 funding will want to be certain to return the funding so that the funds can be returned to their C2 Budget and be requested in future years. Returning Category 2 funding creates added complexity by requiring an applicant to provide site and FRN line item number detail
Tip 3: Service Delivery Extension Request
- An applicant may request an extension of the service delivery deadline due to a service provider being unable to complete delivery and installation of non-recurring services for reasons beyond their control. A service delivery extension may also be requested if a service provider has been unwilling to complete delivery and installation because USAC withheld payment for those services on a properly submitted invoice for greater than 60 days after invoice submission. In both of these situations, an applicant must submit the Form 500 on or before the last date to receive service, which is generally September 30 following the end of the funding year.
- Special construction fiber projects must be completed — i.e., the fiber must be operational — by June 30, not the following September 30.
Tip 4: Warning, reductions or cancellations of funding commitments are irreversible.
- Submission of a Form 500 to reduce or cancel a funding commitment is an irreversible action. Once funding is reduced, it cannot be restored. An applicant should not file a Form 500 to reduce funding unless it is sure that the service will not be used in that program year or that the original expense estimate was clearly too high.
Tip 5: Transfer of equipment from a closed location less than three years after purchase
Equipment may be transferred to other eligible entities within three years of the date of purchase if the particular location where the service was originally received is temporarily or permanently closed. The applicant must notify USAC of the transfer via the Form 500 as soon as possible after the transfer has occurred. The applicant must maintain detailed records of the transfer and the reason for the transfer for five years from the date of the transfer. These records must be sufficient to verify the actual location of the transferred equipment.