Lifeline phone programs by state

Every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and qualifying U.S. territories participate in the federal Lifeline program. Pick your state below to see which carriers operate there, what plans they offer, and how to apply.

How states differ: While the federal benefit ($9.25/month, $34.25 enhanced Tribal) is uniform, three states administer their own enrollment: California (California LifeLine), Texas (Texas Lifeline Program), and Oregon (OTAP). Everyone else uses the National Verifier at nv.fcc.gov/lifeline.

Midwest

Illinois Lifeline Indiana Lifeline Iowa Lifeline Kansas Lifeline Michigan Lifeline Minnesota Lifeline Missouri Lifeline Nebraska Lifeline North Dakota Lifeline Ohio Lifeline South Dakota Lifeline Wisconsin Lifeline

Northeast

Connecticut Lifeline Maine Lifeline Massachusetts Lifeline New Hampshire Lifeline New Jersey Lifeline New York Lifeline Pennsylvania Lifeline Rhode Island Lifeline Vermont Lifeline

South

Alabama Lifeline Arkansas Lifeline Delaware Lifeline District of Columbia Lifeline Florida Lifeline Georgia Lifeline Kentucky Lifeline Louisiana Lifeline Maryland Lifeline Mississippi Lifeline North Carolina Lifeline Oklahoma Lifeline South Carolina Lifeline Tennessee Lifeline Texas Lifeline Virginia Lifeline West Virginia Lifeline

West

Alaska Lifeline Arizona Lifeline California Lifeline Colorado Lifeline Hawaii Lifeline Idaho Lifeline Montana Lifeline Nevada Lifeline New Mexico Lifeline Oregon Lifeline Utah Lifeline Washington Lifeline Wyoming Lifeline

How to use these state guides

Each state page lists Lifeline-approved carriers serving that state, their monthly plan terms (data, voice, text, hotspot), and the device they typically issue at signup. State pages also call out the verifier portal — the National Verifier in most states, or the state-administered system in California, Texas, and Oregon — and the income and program-based qualification thresholds that apply locally.

If you participate in SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Federal Public Housing, the Veterans and Survivors Pension, or live in a qualifying Tribal area, you almost certainly qualify for Lifeline. The same goes if your household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines — about $21,008 for a single person and $43,680 for a family of four in the contiguous 48 states (higher in Alaska and Hawaii).