Year 6 Form 471 Filing Window Closes February 6
~ Reminders Listed Below ~
Message Posted January 21, 2003

This is your first reminder that the Year 6 Form 471 Filing Window closes on February 6 -- that's only 13 business days, including today.

1) What Must Be Done by Feb. 6

The following materials associated with Funding Year 6 Form 471s must be postmarked or submitted online by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 6, 2003 in order for the request to receive consideration as inside the window. These materials are:- The Form 471 itself (whether electronic or paper)- The Block 6 certification of the Form 471 with the signature of the authorized person (whether electronic or paper)- The Block 5 certification of any Form 470 cited in a Funding Year 6 Form 471 with the signature of the authorized person (whether electronic or paper).

2) Item 21 Attachments -- Labeling/Faxing/E-mailing

Item 21 attachments are allowed to be postmarked OUTSIDE the 471 window and may be submitted via e-mail or fax, in addition to the mail. The SLD, however, cannot review your application until they are received, so it is in your best interest to submit them ASAP. The attachment should include this information:- A label of "Form 471 Item 21 Attachment"- The applicant's name- The Attachment Number you have assignedAdditionally, if the Item 21 Attachment is being submitted separately from the Form 471, then the Attachment or a cover letter must also include:- The applicant's Billed Entity Number- The Form 471 application number, if one has been assigned through electronic filing, or the Form 471 Applicant Form Identifier, if the Form 471 has been filed manually.Send submissions by e-mail to attachments@sl.universalservice.org. (Do not send submissions other than Form 471 Item 21 Attachments to this e-mail address.) Documents may be sent in most commercially available word processing or spreadsheet formats. Scanned documents may also be sent. (TIF file format is preferred.) Total file size of the e-mail message must be limited to less than 10 Megabytes. If you have more than one Form 471 application, do not combine Item 21 Attachments from multiple Form 471 applications in the same e-mail message.Send fax submissions to (973) 599-6511. (Do not send submissions other than Form 471 Item 21 Attachments to this fax number.)

3) Form 470 certification (required)

A completed Form 470 certification is a Block 5 certification with the signature of the authorized person. Forms 470 with completed certifications submitted in a previous year meet this requirement, as do those filed for Year 6 and submitted to the SLD with a postmark date on or before February 6, 2003.

4) Signatures

Although an authorized signature is still required, an ORIGINAL signature is not. The SLD will now accept stamped signatures, photocopies, black ink, etc. But please make sure not to leave this item and the date blank... some type of signature is required to be there.

5) PIN Numbers

It is not too late to request a PIN number from the SLD for online certification. If you have already applied for and received your PIN, please use it when certifying your forms. However, if you have previously signed an approved 471 or 486, you may still apply for a PIN -- but you must do so ASAP. If you haven't received your PIN but want to go ahead and submit your 471, that's OK. After you get your PIN in the mail, simply go back to the SLD website and click on "Certify Incomplete."

6) Don't Wait!

Please don't wait until February to file your application, as traffic is usually extremely heavy and there may be server crashes.

Important **
If you were one of the applicants who filed a Form 470 close to January 8/9 (the last dates to file), and you will be submitting your 471 on February 5 or 6, my advice to you is to begin your application NOW, completing all sections but the contract signing dates, vendor selected, and amounts. Then save and exit your application and simply complete it after your contract is signed, but before midnight on February 6, 2003.

Julie Tritt Schell