Search Tools
Form 471 Search
Search Form 471 funding requests (FRNs) from USAC Open Data. You can filter by geography, status, service, equipment function, quantity, provider, discount and commitment. You can also describe what you want in plain English.
What is a Form 471?
A Form 471 is the funding application an E-Rate applicant files after choosing a vendor through the Form 470 bidding process. Each Form 471 contains one or more Funding Request Numbers (FRNs), one per requested service and provider.
How to use it
There are two ways to search:
- Filters — set filters in the panel on the left and click Search.
- Plain English — type a request in the box at the top and click Ask. For example: "Category 2 switches, 10 to 50 units, in Ohio". The AI turns your text into filters, fills in the panel and runs the search. A purple label under the box shows how your request was read. See Natural Language Search for details.
The search starts with these defaults:
- FRN Version = Most Recent (Current)
- Funding Years = the current year
- Funding Status = Funded
Clear All removes every filter and resets FRN Version to Most Recent (Current).
Filters
Geographic Filters
- States — one or more states. The list is searchable and has Select all.
- Entity Name — matches the applicant name or the application nickname.
- BEN — exact Billed Entity Number.
Application Filters
- Funding Years — one or more funding years, from 2016 on.
- Funding Status — Funded, Pending, Denied, Cancelled or As yet unfunded.
- FRN Version — Most Recent (Current) or As Filed (Original). See "FRN Version" below.
- Establishing Form 470 — the Form 470 application number the FRN was bid under.
Service Request Filters
- Service Category — Category 1 or Category 2. Picking a category narrows the Service Type and Function / Service lists to that category and drops any selections that don't belong to it.
- Service Type — one or more FRN service types (listed below).
- Function / Service — one or more line-item functions from the Form 471. The list loads live from USAC and is searchable.
- Quantity Requested — a min/max range of units on a line item. For one-time purchases this is the one-time quantity. For recurring services it's the monthly quantity.
The Service Type options are:
- Category 1: Data Transmission and/or Internet Access, Voice, Wi-Fi Hotspots Services and Equipment, Wireless School Bus Services and Equipment
- Category 2: Internal Connections, Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections, Managed Internal Broadband Services
Function / Service labels show the product, then the function in parentheses, for example Switch (Data Distribution), Access Point (Wireless Data Distribution) or Firewall Services & Components (Data Protection). Labels ending in (C1 network equipment), such as Switches (C1 network equipment), are equipment listed on Category 1 data transmission FRNs, which is different from the Category 2 equipment.
Function / Service and Quantity Requested look at the line items inside each FRN. An FRN matches when at least one of its line items meets both filters. Quantity is checked line by line, not summed across the FRN.
Provider & Commitment
- Service Provider — matches provider names that contain what you type.
- Discount (%) — a min/max range, entered as a percent from 0 to 100.
- Commitment ($) — a min/max range on the funding commitment request.
- Pre-Discount ($) — a min/max range on total pre-discount cost.
Entity Filters
- Applicant Type — School District, School, Consortium, Library System or Library.
- Contract Type — Any, Contract, Month-to-Month or Tariff.
FRN Version
USAC keeps two versions of each FRN. The search always uses one version, so each FRN appears only once.
- Most Recent (Current) — the decided FRN: Funded, Denied or Cancelled.
- As Filed (Original) — the FRN as the applicant filed it. FRNs still under review only exist here, with status Pending.
To find pending FRNs, set FRN Version to As Filed (Original).
Detail vs Summary
The Detail / Summary switch next to the AI box changes how results are shown. If you switch after searching, the search runs again in the new mode.
Detail
Detail shows one row per FRN, newest funding year first. The columns are FY, 471 App #, FRN #, Entity Name (nickname underneath), State, Status, Service Type, Provider, Discount and Commitment.
Click a row to expand it. You'll see:
- BEN
- applicant type
- service category
- establishing 470
- contract type
- bid count
- pre-discount cost
- service start
- pending reason
When Function / Service or Quantity Requested is in use, the expanded row also shows Matching Line Items (how many lines matched and their total quantity), and the results header says "with matching line items".
The expanded row also has these actions:
- Find linked 470s — opens Form 470 Search, filtered to this FRN's establishing Form 470.
- View 471 — opens the Form 471 PDF from USAC. The link is looked up when you expand the row, so you may briefly see Locating 471 PDF…. When USAC has no PDF on file, the row says No 471 PDF available.
Summary
Summary groups every matching FRN and shows totals for each group. Use the Grouped by menu to choose the grouping:
- Service Type
- State
- Funding Status
- Service Provider
- Applicant Type
- Funding Year
Each group shows # FRNs, # Applicants (distinct BENs), # Providers, Commitment and Pre-Discount. When you group by Service Provider, the # Providers column is hidden.
Groups are sorted by FRN count. When there are more than 1,000 groups, only the top 1,000 are listed. The Total row at the bottom always covers every group, with exact distinct counts.
Load more
Detail results load 250 FRNs at a time, and the header shows "Showing X of Y FRNs". To fetch the next page, click Load N more at the bottom (or Load more if the total is unknown).
Exports
Download Results (Detail)
Download Results saves form471-search-results.xlsx with every matching FRN, up to 50,000, including ones you haven't loaded on screen. Columns include:
- funding year, 471 app #, FRN #
- entity, nickname, BEN, state, applicant type
- status, service category, service type
- service provider, contract type
- discount, commitment, pre-discount
- establishing 470, service start, pending reason
Line-item searches add Matching Line Items and Matching Quantity columns. If more than 50,000 FRNs match, a note says the file was capped. If the full set can't be fetched, the file contains the rows already loaded and a note tells you so.
Download Summary (Summary)
Download Summary saves form471-summary.xlsx: the summary table as shown, including the Total row.
Searches that are too broad
Function / Service and Quantity Requested have to be matched against individual line items. If the other filters leave too many FRNs, you'll get a notice that the search is too broad to match line items exactly. Narrow it with a funding year, state, funding status, service category or service provider, then search again.
Tips
- From Form 470 Search, Find linked 471s opens this page filtered to that 470, so you can see every FRN filed against a bid.
- If you see No Form 471 records found, widen the filters. To look for pending FRNs, switch FRN Version to As Filed (Original).
- Questions like "how many switches were funded in Ohio last year" are easiest to answer with Function / Service in Detail mode, then Summary grouped by Service Provider or State.
Last updated on
Form 470 Search
Filter Form 470 competitive bidding requests from USAC Open Data by geography, application details, service requests and entity attributes.
SPIN Tracker
Look up E-Rate service providers by name or SPIN in the USAC provider registry, then open a dashboard of any provider's E-Rate activity.