One Per Household Rule (OPHR)
The SafeLink Wireless service (as any other Lifeline service) is supported by the FCC and only one phone per household is allowed. If the applicant or somebody else that lives on the same household already has a landline or another cell phone with Lifeline discounts on it, they will not be able to get another Lifeline benefit.
Customers can have other cell phones or landlines, but must not have any Lifeline benefit attached to them. If the applicant already has a Lifeline discount, the agent must inform that after applying for SafeLink Wireless the other benefit will be discontinued. If the other Lifeline benefit was requested less than 60 days ago, the applicant will not be able to apply for SafeLink at that moment.
What is a household?
A household is a group of people who live together and share income and expenses (even if they are not related to each other).
Examples of one household:
- A married couple who live together are one household. They must share one Lifeline benefit.
- A parent/guardian and child who live together are one household. They must share one Lifeline benefit.
- An adult who lives with friends or family who financially support him/her are one household. They must share one Lifeline benefit.
Examples of more than one household:
- 4 roommates who live together but do not share money are 4 households. They can have one Lifeline benefit each, 4 total.
- 30 seniors who live in an assisted-living home are 30 households. They can have one Lifeline benefit each, 30 total.
Take into consideration that the words household and address are not synonyms; therefore, there can be more than one household (and more than one Lifeline), under the same address.
Shelters and nursing homes are valid residential addresses
Household expenses
A household shares expenses. Household expenses include, but are not limited to, food, healthcareexpenses, and the cost of renting or paying a mortgage on your place of residence and utilities.
Income
Households share income. Income includes salary, public assistance benefits, social securitypayments, pensions, unemployment compensation, veteran’s benefits, inheritances, alimony, child
support payments, worker’s compensation benefits, gifts, and lottery winnings.