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Good morning! This message is for E-Rate participants who file BEAR forms. Just sending along some information about the upcoming change to the BEAR form filing process (specifically, the removal of the PIN requirement) and the new BEAR Access Tool. From USAC's Newsbrief on June 11th, please note: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Update on Removal of BEAR PIN Requirement Next month, USAC will remove the requirement for applicants to use a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access the FCC Form 472 (Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form). We refer to our new system for granting access to the BEAR Form as the BEAR Access Tool. This is an internal tool that will process requests for BEAR Form access more efficiently, communicate our decisions more quickly, and also eliminate the need to maintain a record of a USAC-issued PIN. BEAR Form filers will still access the form in One Portal, USAC's multi-factor authentication<https://www.usac.org/service-providers/resources/multi-factor-authentication/> (MFA) platform. After we deploy the new BEAR Access Tool, BEAR Form filers who choose the BEAR Form option on their One Portal dashboard will be able to access the BEAR Form login screen, enter their Billed Entity Number (BEN), and then go directly to the BEAR Form. We will transfer the login credentials for current BEAR Form filers to the new BEAR Access Tool. For most BEAR Form filers, this means that you will not need to take any action in advance of the deployment to have access to BEAR Forms for all your current BENs. * Note, however, that BEAR Form filers who currently log in to the BEAR Form with an email address that is different from their One Portal email address (their One Portal username) will need to request BEAR Form access under their One Portal username. We will send a notice next week with more information to all of these email addresses that appear in the current BEAR system but not in One Portal. After we deploy the BEAR Access Tool, users who need to file a BEAR Form for a BEN they do not already have access to will request that access by completing a request template and attaching it to a customer service case in EPC as they do now. However, we will be able to process their request and communicate the result more quickly - and there will be no PIN to remember. We will continue to provide regular updates on this change until it is deployed. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Liz Thigpen Schreck | Director Ocoee River Regional Library State E-rate Coordinator for Public Libraries Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett 718 George St., NW, Athens, TN 37303 P. (423) 745-5194 - office; (423) 649-1583 - direct Regional Toll Free - (855) 692-8186 Fax (423) 649-1501 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> This electronic mail may be subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §10-7-503 et seq. Any reply to this email may also be subject to this act. The mission of the Office of the Secretary of State is to exceed the expectations of our customers, the taxpayers, by operating at the highest levels of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and accountability in a customer-centered environment. Secretary of State Social Media Links: www.facebook.com/TennesseeSecretaryofState<http://www.facebook.com/TennesseeSecretaryofState> www.facebook.com/TNStateLibraryArchives/timeline<http://www.facebook.com/TNStateLibraryArchives/timeline>