The California Telephone Access Program (CTAP) is a California State mandated program administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The primary goal of the Program is to provide specialized telephone equipment and services to Californians who may have difficulty using a standard telephone. CTAP phones make it easier for these individuals to connect with friends and family, conduct business and access medical and safety services.

The Program is funded by a small surcharge that appears on all telephone bills in California. The money collected from this surcharge pays for both the California Telephone Access Program (CTAP) and the California Relay Service (CRS). This surcharge appears on your phone bill as "CA Relay Service and Communications Devices Fund."

CTAP offers a wide range of specialized products including:

• Amplifiers
• Ring Signal Devices
• Speech Devices
• Switches
• Specialized Telephones
• Cordless Telephones
• Braille TTYs
• Headsets
• TTYs
• Fax Machines
• Accessories (including mobile accessories)

The equipment is free of charge to eligible customers approved in our Program.

To be eligible to receive free specialized telephone equipment through our Program, you need to meet these criteria:

• Live in California
• Have telephone service
• Be certified as having one or more of the following impairments:

• Difficulty Seeing
• Difficulty Moving
• Difficulty Speaking
• Difficulty Hearing
• Difficulty Learning or Remembering

There is no age or income requirement.

The certification section of your application form must be signed by an authorized Certifying Agent verifying your need for a specialized phone. Authorized Certifying Agents certify only those individuals whose impairment(s) make it difficult to use a standard telephone.

Certifying Agents Authorized by legislation and/or the CPUC are:

• Licensed Medical Doctor (MD) - can sign for people with any type of impairment.
• Licensed Physician Assistant - may sign for people with any disability.
• Licensed Nurse Practitioner - may sign for people with any disability.
• Department of Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC or RCD) - can sign for their clients and can certify all disabilities.
• Licensed Optometrist - can sign only for people who are partially-sighted or blind.
• Licensed Audiologist - may only sign for people who are hard of hearing or deaf.
• Licensed Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) - May approve applications for applicants with speech disabilities.
• Superintendent or school audiologist at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside and Fremont - May only sign for current students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Licensed Hearing Aid Dispenser - Dispenser must have the customer record on file, and may only sign for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

If you don't have one of these available, we can help you find a professional Certifying Agent to sign your form.

Click Here to Find a Certifying Agent.

No. California Phones are available to all eligible Californians, regardless of their age.

There are no income requirements to be eligible for a free California Phone.

You can obtain an application form in any of the following ways:

• Click here for the Apply Now page where you can download application forms in different languages.
  
  
• Call our Contact Center and request an application form.
  
  
• Contact Center hours of operation are:
  Monday - Friday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
  
  
• Visit any one of the thirteen CTAP Service Centers Service Center Locations
  
  
• Click to find out about a CTAP Outreach Event near you.
  

1. Please call, email, or Web chat with the Contact Center. In conversation with you, the Customer Advisors at the Contact Center can often determine the best phone for you and send it to you. If necessary, they can assess your eligibility for a Field Visit.
   

• A customer who may be eligible for a Telebraille or a Remote Control Telephone
• A customer who requires specialized training and is not able to come into a Service Center
• First-time equipment users of complicated equipment such as programmable memory

There is no cost for a Field Visit.

No. A customer certified in our Program is eligible to receive only one amplified telephone, TTY, or specialized telephone equipment for use at home. However, if there is more than one certified individual in the home each person can get their own phone.

California non-profits, state agencies, and some educational institutions may be eligible to receive TTY equipment only to make their offices accessible as a whole. Federal, City and County funded agencies and for-profit businesses do not qualify for any equipment. However, we can provide the names of companies that sell equipment similar to what we offer. Under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, many employers are responsible for providing this equipment to their employees.