Skip to main content

SDLA Compliance Resource

Determine the Latest Viable FY2027 FCC Form 470 Date

A mathematical last-possible date, not a responsible procurement target: Form 470 must be certified at least 28 days before the Form 471 window closes.

  • E-Rate
  • Funding Year 2027
  • FCC Form 470
Date(s)Pending; derive only after USAC publishes the FY2027 Form 471 closing date
Applies toApplicants requiring competitive bidding for FY2027 eligible services or equipment

In Plain Language: Once USAC publishes the Form 471 close, identify its stated latest viable Form 470 date or calculate the minimum 28-day interval exactly. Use an earlier local deadline that allows needs development, RFP approval, bid questions, evaluation, contracting, and Form 471 preparation.

Why this matters

Treating the last viable date as the procurement plan leaves no recovery time for an incorrect service description, material RFP change, EPC access issue, governing approval, bid protest, or contract delay. A substantive correction may restart the 28-day clock.

Primary ownership

Primary owner: E-Rate procurement lead. Partners: technology, procurement, legal, fiscal, governing authority, site/library stakeholders, E-Rate consultant when used, and EPC authorized user.

From a USAC close date to a viable Form 470 date: the SDLA ITO workflow

The latest viable date is a mathematical floor, so plan a local date well before it. This SDLA ITO (Input, Transformation, Output) graphic shows how USAC's published Form 471 close, technology-neutral needs, and any RFP become the reverse calendar, the certified Form 470 and ACD, and the evaluation handoff.

SDLA ITO: eleven steps from USAC's published Form 471 close, technology-neutral needs, and any RFP, through the reverse calendar, needs and RFP approval, certification, and bid management, to the reverse calendar, the certified Form 470 and ACD, and the evaluation handoff.
Read down each column, then move to the next: Input identifies what to collect; Transformation covers the reverse calendar, needs and RFP approval, certification, and bid management; Output covers the reverse calendar, the certified Form 470 and ACD, and the evaluation handoff. Form 470 must be certified at least 28 days before the Form 471 window closes.

Open the full-size workflow graphic

Operational workflow

  1. Monitor USAC for the official FY2027 Form 471 close and Form 470 availability.
  2. Develop a technology-neutral needs statement, eligible-service categories, quantities, evaluation criteria, and any RFP through local approval.
  3. Certify Form 470 and upload the RFP; record the EPC posting and ACD.
  4. Manage bidder communications and substantive changes; determine whether a new 28-day period is triggered.
  5. After the ACD, evaluate bids with price primary, select/contract, and leave time to certify Form 471 before the window closes.

Implementation pathway

Official close
Needs/RFP
Certify Form 470
Wait/manage bids
Evaluate/contract/471

Evidence to retain

  • USAC date announcement and local reverse calendar
  • Needs assessment and approvals
  • Certified Form 470/RFP and ACD
  • Questions, answers, amendments, and waiting-period evidence
  • All bids and evaluation matrix
  • Selection, contract, and Form 471 handoff

Official guidance and help

Source review completed August 30, 2026. Verify current USAC, FCC, CRDC, EPC, funding-year, FRN, procurement, and local records before acting.