Home > Library Development > Buying and Funding > E-Rate > Practice Forms

Practice forms 470, 471, 486, 472

If you wish to practice filling any of the forms before you actually fill one out to submit, you may use this link http://sldtraining.usac.org/menu.asp. You can practice filling any of the forms and the data you enter will disappear at the end of the day. During the course of the day, you can start and stop at anytime and go back to the form. This is a great way to train new staff too.

Training Billed Entity Number (BEN) and general information

In order to use all of the features of this site, we recommend that you file under the entity that was specifically created for training (Brad’s School). By using this entity you can file any type of application and certify any online form on the training site. For example:

• You can file an application as an individual school, a school district, a library, or a consortium.
• You can use any contact person name and contact information.
• You can add any entities you choose to a Form 471 Block 4 worksheet.

We recommend that you disable popup blockers in order to receive all of the reminders and warning messages that guide you through the online application process and help prevent you from making many common errors.

Also, do not bookmark any of the internal pages on the training site. Otherwise, you may accidentally file a form on the training site when you meant to file it on the Apply Online site.

Form 470 and Form 470 Interview

No special data are necessary to file a Form 470 on the training site. If you wish, you can use data you are familiar with to file the form – your BEN, your address, your contact person. However, you cannot certify the form unless you use Brad’s School as the Block 1 entity.

Form 471 and Form 471 Interview

Form 471 for a funding year is not available online until the Form 471 application filing window opens. However, we have activated Form 471 on the training site so that users will have access to all forms for training and practice.

In order for users to experience reminders and warning messages for the Form 471, USAC had to first set a Form 471 application filing window closing date. The date we chose is January 17, 2008.  The actual opening and closing dates of the FY2008 filing window have not yet been established, so keep in mind that any messages you receive about window deadlines are calculating from this January 17 date for training purposes only.

To complete the data entry of a Block 5 funding request, you must enter the Form 470 Application Number of a Form 470 that has been posted for at least 28 days. The training site was refreshed recently with data from the Apply Online site, so you can use a Form 470 Application Number from a Form 470 you filed last year if you wish. If you do not have a form number, you can use the Search Form 470 function to locate one.

Again, if you file using Brad’s School as the Block 1 entity, you can create worksheets appropriate for schools, libraries, or consortia, and you can complete the online certification process just as you can on the Apply Online site using the above PIN.
Once you have filed a Form 471, you can use your Form 471 Application Number and Security Code to file an Item 21 Attachment online on the training site as well.

Form 486 and Form 486 Interview

Form 486 can only be filed once for each Funding Request Number (FRN). Without additional action by USAC, this characteristic would limit the usefulness of the training site for this form. Consequently, USAC is providing a list of training FRNs for Form 486 – 100 FRNs, 25 for each of the four categories of service – that are re-created every morning. This means that if you file a Form 486 on the training site for a particular FRN today, you can file a Form 486 for the same FRN tomorrow (assuming another trainer doesn’t use it first – remember that this list is available to everyone). If the FRN does not work because someone has already used it that day, you can just choose another FRN from the list. All of the FRNs must be filed using FY2007 as the funding year.

BEAR Form 472

To begin filing a BEAR Form, you must first provide a BEN, a PIN, a valid email address, and the last name of the person authorized to use the PIN. The system checks to make sure these four entries match and then allows you to continue. As with the Form 486, USAC provides a list of training FRNs for BEAR Forms. Because you can file multiple invoices on an FRN, this list does not have to be re-created each morning.

Keep in mind that this is a practice site only. USAC will not act on any forms or data filed or certified on the training site.

top of page