Free Government Cell Phones

Lifeline phone service provides free cell phones to America's financially disadvantaged

Menu
  • Home
  • How to Qualify
  • How to get one
  • States
  • Providers
  • FAQ
  • News
  • Top-Up
  • Earn Money

Can I use this free phone forever?

< Back to all FAQ's

updated 01/227/23

In the words of an old song, “Forever is a long, long time.”

The short answer to the question is that you can have a free government cell phone for the rest of your life as long as you meet the requirements.

Here are the details:

As soon as you enroll, your free cell phone from the government it will be sent to your home address. You’ll probably receive it two to three weeks or so after you are approved. At the same time you will receive your first monthly allotment of minutes. You will continue receiving this monthly allotment for a full year.

As you get near the end of that one year period, Lifeline Assistance/Affordable Connectivity Program service providers are required to send you an email alerting you to the fact that you need to re-qualify and tell you how to do it. Don’t worry. It’s simple.

Federal and/or State regulations require that you re-certify that you are eligible for the Lifeline Assistance program within 30 days of the anniversary of your annual enrollment date. So mark it on your calendar.

There are two other times you are required to recertify:

First, if something could affect your Lifeline/ACP eligibility changes, your service provider may send you a notification asking you to recertify. We’re talking about things like changes in your income, household size, or your enrollment in government assistance programs.

Second, you may be chosen for a random qualify assurance review. In this case, your service provider will send you a notification with instructions on how to complete the review and provide the required documentation.

And as long as you continue to qualify, you can continue to use your free government cell phone and continue to receive your monthly allotment of minutes.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Before you post your comment...

  1. If you are going to ask "how do I get a cell phone?" go here instead.
  2. If you are going to ask "how do I get a replacement phone," go here instead
  3. We are not your cell phone company. All technical questions should be asked of your vendor.
  4. Your comments are moderated, and we will manually approve those worth publishing within 24 hours.

Comments

  1. Blaine says

    May 30, 2022 at 2:24 pm

    I lost my phone, but don’t remember what company it was with. How do i find out so i can cancel it?

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      May 30, 2022 at 2:43 pm

      We used to answer this question by saying that you could visit the USAC website and they would help. But numerous readers have said the USAC was no help. Another option is calling each of the companies offering plans in your state to ask the question, “Are you my service provider.” They should be able to answer the question with your phone number. Here’s where you can find all the service providers in your state (hopefullly, you live in a state with only a few providers):

      https://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/states

      Reply
  2. Tiffany says

    May 27, 2022 at 12:15 pm

    What happens when I no longer qualify for this service/ program? How do I return the phone and is there a service charge?

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      May 27, 2022 at 2:13 pm

      Good news. There is no charge and you can keep the phone forever.

      Reply
  3. Emily says

    December 27, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    My brother went into a nursing home and no longer uses his phone. What do I do with the phone? I am not qualified for a free government phone.

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      December 27, 2017 at 5:37 pm

      You should contact his service provider to request that they cancel the account. You can do that by calling 6-1-1 on his free government cell phone.

      Reply
  4. Adelfa Rosell says

    December 23, 2016 at 11:07 pm

    My father recently passed away. I need to return his phone and close his “account”. My mother will be applying however. Whom do I speak to? Where do I go to get this taken care of? Nothing is on the FAQ page about this that I can find.

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      December 24, 2016 at 3:44 am

      Contact your service provider’s customer service team, Adelfa. They should be able to cancel your father’s account and open one for your mom. Sorry to hear about your loss.

      Reply
  5. Marianne Goslawski says

    November 20, 2016 at 7:40 pm

    How do I return my phone?

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      November 21, 2016 at 5:08 am

      Why do you want to return your phone? If it’s because you no longer qualify, there’s no need to return your phone. If it’s because it’s broken, here’s an article that tells you what you need to know:

      https://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/faq/i-lost-my-phone-how-do-i-get-a-replacement

      Reply
  6. Scott Lara says

    March 9, 2015 at 8:14 am

    when do my 250 minutes get reladed is it on the date that i recived it or the 1st of the month i haveno minutes as of now. i appreciate your your time to reply .

    Reply
  7. ManuelcampoamoAmor says

    June 4, 2014 at 1:28 pm

    I am 67 totally disable diabetic heart lung diease two artifical knees on oxygen need something for emergency I am on a special watch program with Tampa coal gas co as I also use a Cpap so how do I know if I quilify

    Reply
  8. peggyj.hansen says

    August 13, 2013 at 12:55 pm

    I just got this free government cell phone in 2 wks ago and now I lost 204minutes & I only used up 46minutes on it. So am I ever going to have more minutes to be put on again??????????????????????
    I need to be turn on now ASAP cause I’m looking for work,
    Thank you,
    Peggy Hansen
    P.S. let me know something?
    Does this free phone work as the same as food stamps does you get 200.00 each month???????????

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      August 13, 2013 at 3:08 pm

      No, it doesn’t work the same as Food Stamps.

      Reply
  9. ken katayama says

    January 11, 2012 at 12:22 am

    I’m in los angeles ca. Is there a provider in ca. I’m on food stamps

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      January 11, 2012 at 8:02 pm

      https://www.freegovernmentcellphones.net/states/california-government-cell-phone-providers

      Reply
  10. Theresa Greene says

    September 30, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    I either lost my charger or it doesn’t light up when I remove the battery. I’ve not
    made a call on my verizon free phone for seven months. The reason why I
    haven’t cleared this up earlier is was hospitalized for 2 months and taking care
    of my other business.
    I talked to Penny at Tech-support. She left me hanging.

    Thank you for any help you can give.

    Theresa Greene

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      September 30, 2011 at 2:07 pm

      Verizon does not participate in the free cell phone program.

      Reply
      • devin says

        August 9, 2014 at 7:16 pm

        Yes they do. I have a Verizon Obama phone.

        Reply
        • Lulu says

          August 17, 2014 at 12:41 pm

          Theresa Greene’s post was from 2011.

          Reply
  11. Lisa S Rasco says

    June 20, 2011 at 7:42 pm

    My parents received a phone call alerting them that they needed to requalify for the continued use of the free phone. How would we go about reapplying?

    Reply
    • Free Government Cell Phones says

      June 20, 2011 at 9:32 pm

      Lisa,

      Each company’s website has a link for “Verification” or “Annual Certification.” Look for that and follow the directions. You should only have to indicate by checking a box that you sill qualify under the requirements of the program.

      Reply

Just tell me how to get a Phone!

Confused? Getting a phone is actually very simple. Click here to begin, read every word, and then simply follow the instructions.

Sign up for our Free Newsletter

Click to learn more...

Search this site

More Information

  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Readers' Questions
  • Help
  • Contact
  • About Us

Recent Articles

Horrifying: California giving food stamps to undocumented migrants, taking free government cell phones away from citizens and legal residents

11 things you need to know about the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

Q Link Wireless raided by FBI, IRS, US Post Office, Sheriffs

Limited time only: Free unlimited talk, unlimited text AND unlimited data

Q Link F ups continue: Company makes it easy to access private customer info

Were our readers right? Are free government cell phones hacked before they’re activated?

Crisis in free government cell phone program: Will new demands kill off service providers?

WTF? Assist Wireless screws up, exposes tens of thousands of customer IDs

Number of free government cell phone customers drops by two million in last three years

Leading industry analyst calls for universal broadband and free government cell phones for everyone who needs them

Latest Reader Comments

  • Free Government Cell Phones on Which Lifeline/ACP companies allow you to make international calls?: “Yes, international texting from a foreign country to the US is possible as long as both parties have active mobile…” Feb 4, 08:37
  • Clueless on Which Lifeline/ACP companies allow you to make international calls?: “I understand that international calls/text work while you are in the US. But, does it work if you went abroad…” Feb 4, 06:52
  • Free Government Cell Phones on Question of the day: Is there a website with all the dates and times of places where you can get a free government cell phone?: “Don’t we all?” Feb 4, 04:59
  • Henry on Indiana: Free government cell phones (with Internet) from Lifeline and ACP: “Xfinity is not offering a tablet connected to the ACP benefit. “Is Comcast participating in the device subsidy portion of…” Feb 3, 17:17
  • Argelis Gomez on Question of the day: Is there a website with all the dates and times of places where you can get a free government cell phone?: “I want a free phone 📱” Feb 3, 14:41
  • Monica Christman on Indiana: Free government cell phones (with Internet) from Lifeline and ACP: “I have the same problem but I am trying to recive my free government tablet with my acp through Xfinity…” Feb 2, 20:37
  • Free Government Cell Phones on 11 things you need to know about the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP): “Sorry, Jerry, but we are not your service provider. This is an independent informational website that is NOT affiliated with…” Feb 2, 18:53
  • Free Government Cell Phones on Q Link Wireless raided by FBI, IRS, US Post Office, Sheriffs: “We still have no idea what was behind the raids because there ain’t nobody sayin’ nothin’.” Feb 2, 18:52
  • Sierra on Q Link Wireless raided by FBI, IRS, US Post Office, Sheriffs: “My guess is human traffic trafficking embezzlement something along those lines other than that qlink has been good to me…” Feb 2, 17:40
  • Jerry Davis on 11 things you need to know about the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP): “What the heck’s going on with my phone and why can’t I get a hold of you guys it’s not…” Feb 2, 15:50
Copyright 2022 FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net. | Privacy Policy | Contact