Lifeline Discounts on Cellular Plans - Total Wireless

If your household is eligible, the national Lifeline program, together with us, provide the following discounts:

• $10 per month on any monthly smartphone, hotspot, or tablet plan with at least 4.5GB of data
• Up to $35 per month on any monthly smartphone, hotspot, or tablet plan with at least 4.5GB of data on qualifying Tribal Lands

An “economic household” is defined as any individual or group of individuals, related or unrelated, who live together at the same address and who contribute to and share the household income and expenses.

• An adult is any person eighteen years or older. 
• If an adult has no or minimal income, and lives with someone who provides financial support, both people shall be considered part of the same household. 
• Children under the age of eighteen living with their parents or guardians are part of the same household as their parents or guardians

You may qualify for Lifeline if you (or someone in your economic household) participate in one of these programs:

• Medicaid
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA)
• Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
• Tribal Assistance Programs
• Economic household income (135% or less than the Federal Poverty Guidelines)

You may qualify for Lifeline if you (or someone in your economic household) participate in one of these programs in California:

• Medicaid/Medi-Cal
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Federal Public Housing Assistance or Section 8
• CalFresh, Food Stamps
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC)
• National School Lunch Program (NSL)
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Tribal TANF
• California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
• Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)
• Stanislaus County Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (StanWORKs)
• Welfare-to-Work (WTW)
• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
• Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
• Federal Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit Program

You can get Lifeline if your income is 135% or less than the Federal Poverty Guidelines (see the table below), based on your economic household size and state:

Total Wireless offers Lifeline in the following States:

AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NV, OH, OK, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY

You may qualify for the enhanced Lifeline Tribal Lands discount, if you reside on Tribal Lands and you (or someone in your economic household) participate in:

• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
• Head Start (only households meeting the income qualifying standard)
• Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tribal TANF)
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations

To see if you qualify for Lifeline, click on the APPLY NOW button to apply for Lifeline.

If you are a current Total Wireless customer who received the ACP benefit, go to www.mygdpbenefit.com/tbv and click on “My Service” in the upper right hand corner to apply for Lifeline.

Lifeline is only available to subscribers who can prove their eligibility. When you apply for Lifeline, you must show proof of participation in a qualifying program or proof of income. You may need to provide a card, letter or official document as proof that you participate in one of the above government programs when you apply for the discount. The National Verifier (NV) will check an applicant’s identity and eligibility against federal and state electronic databases. If the NV is unable to validate your eligibility, applicants will need to provide proof of eligibility. You will be provided with instructions on what documentation is needed during the application process

Lifeline is a federal program available to economic households who participate in a qualifying government program or who are eligible based on their household's income.

There are a few restrictions:

• Lifeline is limited to one discount per economic household and only eligible customers may enroll.
• Only one discount per economic household is allowed. An economic household is not allowed to receive more than one Lifeline discount.
• An economic household receiving a Lifeline discount may TRANSFER their benefit to Total Wireless from another provider.
• The Lifeline discount may not be transferred to another person
• An economic household must notify Total Wireless within 30 (thirty) days if they no longer qualify for the benefit.

If you fail to make your Lifeline copayment and are placed on a no-cost plan, the Lifeline program rules require you to use your service every 30 days to keep your benefit, in addition to complying with all other rules for the Lifeline program.

Yes, Lifeline may be combined with other available discounts on an account such as Multiline and Auto Pay.

Yes. If your economic household was approved for the Lifeline discount, you can keep your current device (smartphone, hotspot or tablet) and your current phone number by contacting Total by Verizon at 1-833-333-9227 and an agent will be happy to help you. Just call from a different phone and have your account number and password handy.

When you first enroll, and once every year that you have Lifeline. You may lose eligibility for Lifeline if:

• Your income has increased
• You no longer participate in a qualifying federal benefit program
• Someone in your economic household starts receiving the Lifeline benefit

If you become ineligible, you must contact Total by Verizon immediately to de-enroll from the program. Otherwise, you may be subject to penalties.

After you have applied, you can check the status of your application online by visiting www.totalbyverizon.com/GDP and click on “My Service” in the upper right hand corner, select "Account Detail" from the dropdown menu and enter your information to login and check enrollment status.

You will receive an email notification from Total Wireless stating that your application has been approved, and your discount will be applied to your account [within 1-2 billing cycles]. Once the discount has been applied to your account, you will receive confirmation from Total Wireless by email. The primary account holder will receive all email notifications associated with the discount. If no primary account holder is established on the account, the billing party responsible will receive the email notifications.

Yes. You can change your number and still retain the Lifeline discount. There are processes in place to verify if a phone number changes. Total Wireless will need to connect your new phone number to your Lifeline discount, which may delay application of the discount to your new phone number for a brief period.

We’re here to help. You can text HELP to 611611 from your Total Wireless phone for fast answers to questions like how to add airtime or check your balance, and to reach an agent. If you need help with our website or service, you can also call us at 1-833-333-9227. If you have any concerns or questions about potential fraud or other misconduct associated with our discount program, our parent company's Verizon Compliance Hotline is available at 1-844-894-8433. By texting keywords to 611611 you are consenting to receive response messages. Message and Data rates may apply.