As a communications company providing landline telephone service, wireless/cellular telephone service, or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service in Maryland, you are required by State law to apply a surcharge to be paid by subscribers of such services. This surcharge, which is collected on behalf of the State, helps fund the Universal Service Trust Fund (USTF).

The USTF supports the operational and maintenance costs of the following essential programs:

• The Maryland Accessible Telecommunications (MAT) Program, which provides specialized customer telephone equipment to qualifying individuals with disabilities;
• The Newsline Reading Service; and
• The Maryland Relay Service, which ensures equivalent telecommunications access for individuals with hearing or speech disabilities.

The USTF is administered by Telecommunications Access of Maryland (TAM), a division within the Maryland Department of Disabilities. The surcharge amount for each fiscal year is determined by the Maryland Department of Disabilities Secretary in coordination with the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC).

Current Surcharge Rate – Effective July 1. 2025

The surcharge, as set by the Commission, remains $0.09 per month per account and must be applied to all active accounts billed for communications services within the State of Maryland. For clarification, “account" is defined as the same as “service address."

Service Address Definition:

1. The physical location of the subscriber's telecommunications equipment from which the call originates or terminates, regardless of where the call is billed or paid.
   
   
2. If the above location is unknown, the service address refers to the origination point of the telecommunications signal first identified by the seller's system or provided by a service provider.
   
   
3. For wireless/cellular services, the service address is the subscriber's billing address for the service.
   

Collection and Remittance:

All Maryland-based communications providers must act as collection agents for the surcharge, which should be clearly labeled as UNIVERSAL SERVICE FEE on subscriber bills. Proceeds must be remitted monthly to the Maryland Comptroller and are due by the 15th of each month for the previous month's service (e.g., January service is due by February 15th). Providers may retain 1.5% of the total surcharge collected to offset administrative expenses related to billing, collecting, and remitting the surcharge.

Submission Instructions:

Enclosed is the 2025–2026 remittance form​, which must be completed and submitted monthly — regardless of whether there is a surcharge to remit. The worksheet is also available online at www.mdrelay.maryland.gov or upon request.

Please mail the completed worksheet and remittance check to:

State of Maryland
 Comptroller of the Treasury
 P.O. Box 207
 Annapolis, MD 21404-0207

If you have any questions regarding the USTF or TAM services, please contact Telecommunications Access of Maryland at (410) 767-6960 or email more.info@maryland.gov.

Thank you for your continued cooperation.