Applicants file FCC Form 472, the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form, if they have paid the service provider in full for the services and want to be reimbursed for the discount amount.  Beginning on July 1, 2016 direct payments began being made to applicants, rather than service providers.  In order to send a payment directly to the applicant, online banking information must be on file at USAC.  This information is collected in a Form 498, which can be done within the EPC portal (see Related Actions).

USAC will review the invoice and process a payment to the applicant if payment is approved. Billed entities will receive payment directly to their bank account. In order to receive direct BEAR payments, the applicant must have completed an FCC Form 498 to obtain an applicant 498 ID.

Applicants must file BEAR Forms/Form 472 no later than 120 days after the last day to receive service or 120 days after the FCC Form 486 Notification Letter date, whichever is later.

Applicants and service providers may request and automatically receive a single one-time 120-day extension of the deadline to submit an invoice for the FCC Form 472 (BEAR Form) or FCC Form 474 (SPI Form). Invoice deadline extension requests must be submitted on or before the invoice deadline in order for the request to be considered timely filed.