Unpaid invoices issued by the Universal Service Administrative Company (“USAC”) by a telecommunications service provider can result in burdensome sanctions for that carrier.

Under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (“DCIA”), USAC is required to impose interest on unpaid invoices, and inform service providers of the consequences of not paying outstanding debts to USAC since such debt is considered a debt owed to the United States government.

This document provides an overview of the process and general timeline of a USAC debt collection effort.