Welcome to the E-Rate Helpdesk

E-rate Modernization = Unprecedented Opportunity for Applicants

The E-rate program offers $8 billion in category 2 discounts to K-12 schools and libraries over the 5-year budget cycle. Because of the E-rate Modernization Order and the additional funds, it is now possible for all schools and libraries that qualify for the E-rate program to use some funding for their digital initiatives.

Important Eligibility Information

Eligibility information on this site is subject to the following:

  • This data is applicable to Funding Year 2015 through 2023 only. For eligibility information for Funding Years 2014 and prior, please contact the Helpdesk.
  • The eligibility information on this site is valid for funding requests in the Category 2 funding categories only.
  • The eligibility information on this site is based on technical functionality of the components only. Applicant-specific deployment factors will determine final eligibility, including how a product is used, installation location, user population served, cost-effectiveness, and other E-rate regulatory requirements.
  • E-rate discounts can be provided on installed and operational components only - services for spare parts inventory or redundant/failover components are not eligible for discounts at this time.
  • Remanufactured products have the same eligible percentage as the new part. For part numbers ending in -RF, please refer to the part number of the new product for determining eligibility.

Cisco Services

Basic maintenance (Cisco CON-SW SKUs) is 100% E-rate eligible. However, services eligibility is dependent on the product eligibility for which the service covers. For example, a CON-SW SKU for a 90% E-rate eligible product would be 90% eligible.

Applicants who wish to purchase SMARTnet (CON-SNT) service for eligible products should be able to do so using a cost-allocation approach. SMARTnet (SNT) contains E-rate eligible and ineligible service parts. When preparing applications for E-rate funding, applicants should only request E-rate discounts on the eligible portion of SMARTnet services. A cost allocation worksheet, which provides the cost delta between Cisco basic maintenance service (CON-SW) and the various service levels of SMARTnet, may be found here: Hardware Replacement Allocations

If you have further questions regarding product eligibility or this cost allocation methodology, please use the “Questions” tab above. Cisco partners may also visit the Cisco E-rate Partner Central site for more information. For other questions, please send an email directly to the Cisco E-rate team. We’re here to help!