FY 2023 Form 471 Filing Window Dates Announced
December 21, 2022
Attached: E-rate Timeline FY 2023
Form 471 Window: January 18 – March 28
Admin Window: Now – January 16
We have the dates! USAC has just announced the FY 2023 Form 471 application window dates will be January 18 – March 28, with January 16 being the last day that you can update EPC profiles within the Admin Window. Attached is a graphic to help you keep track of the FY 2023 milestone dates. Here’s what you should be doing and by when:
Updating EPC Profiles - The period before the Form 471 window opens when schools and libraries make sure their EPC profiles are up to date is called the Admin Window. The Admin Window deadline for FY 2023 is January 16. Applicants generally are required to update their enrollment and NSLP (or CEP%) each year. Please see: http://e-ratepa.org/?p=34564 for information on updating this data.
Updating Category 2 Enrollment Data – Applicants’ Category 2 Budgets are set in the first year in which a school or libraries applies for C2 within the “cycle” with the current cycle running FY 2021 – FY 2025. If an applicant has received C2 funding in FY 2021 or FY 2022, they can use their enrollment (schools) or square footage (libraries) data for the remainder of the 5-year C2 budget cycle, or if enrollment (or square footage for libraries) increases, they may update their data and request a Category 2 Replacement Budget with USAC to obtain a higher Category 2 budget. See attached Guide related to updating EPC profiles and requesting a C2 Replacement Budget for FY 2023.
Form 470s – If you haven’t yet posted your Form 470 for services that must be competitively bid for FY 2023, you still have a few weeks to do so. Although the Form 471 deadline is March 28, and therefore the last possible date to file the Form 470 is technically February 28, applicants – especially public schools — should have your 470’s released ASAP (no later than the first week in January) so you can take the contracts to your February board meeting(s) for approval. Do not wait until February to begin your competitive bidding process!
PEPPM Mini-Bids – If you intend to use the PEPPM Mini-bid system as the procurement vehicle for your FY 2023 equipment purchases, the PEPPM mini-bid vendor category list should be available on or shortly after January 3. I will post the list, along with the PEPPM mini-bid guide as soon as it’s available.
Category 2 Budgets - To see what your remaining C2 budget is for FY 2023 – FY 2025, use USAC’s C2 Budget Data Tool at: https://opendata.usac.org/E-rate/E-Rate-C2-Budget-Tool-FY2021-/8z69-hkn7. Simply enter your entity’s name in the filter on the right side of the page.
Form 471s – Although the Form 471 deadline is March 28, I encourage everyone to file as early as possible in the Form 471 window. For contracts that have already been signed, MTM services where vendors have been selected, or multi-year contracts signed in previous years, filing when the window opens is a great idea to be at the top of the list when they review applications. The earlier your Form 471 is submitted, the better chance you’ll have of receiving an early funding commitment letter.
Eligible Services List Adopted – The FCC has approved the FY 2023 ESL with no significant changes, as expected. See: http://e-ratepa.org/?p=34571.
If you have any questions about the window filing dates or the Admin Window, please let me know.
And finally, from my family to yours, we wish you a healthy, wonderful holiday season!
– Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org