Carrier Information

Wyoming’s Telecommunications for the Communications Impaired Act (Enrolled Act No. 110, W.S. 16-9-201 through 210, specifically W.S. 16-9-209(c)(d)) establishes a special fee to fund relay services for individuals who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech impaired.

Who Pays

• Every customer of a local exchange company or radio communications service provider is responsible for this fee.
• For radio communications service customers, the fee only applies if their primary use location is in Wyoming, following the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act (4 U.S.C. §§ 116–126).
• Companies are not responsible for uncollected fees and have no obligation to take legal action to collect unpaid charges.
• Maximum fee limits:
  • Local exchange company customers: up to 100 access lines per account
  • Radio communications service customers: up to 100 service numbers per account

Setting the Fee

The Telecommunications Relay Advisory (TRS) Committee determines the annual fee, capped at $0.25 per access line per month, based on costs for intrastate message relay service under Section 401 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) and administrative costs. The Committee meets each September and notifies the Public Service Commission. The annual surcharge history from 1991 to present is available below:

Remittance Rules

• Fees are normally remitted monthly, no later than the last day of the month following collection.
• Companies may remit quarterly or annually if total fees do not exceed $50.
• Approval is required from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) by emailing dws-wyrelay@wyo.gov.

How Fees Are Collected and Remitted

• Carriers bill clients for the access fee.
• Clients pay the fee to the local exchange company or radio communications provider.
• Carriers complete the monthly reporting form.
• Carriers make checks payable to Wyoming State Treasurer.
• Send checks to:
  Wyoming Relay, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
  444 West Collins Drive, Suite 1200
  Casper, WY 82601
  Attn: Fiscal Section
• DVR delivers checks to the State Treasurer’s Office for deposit.

Administrative Fee

Carriers may retain 1% of the total collected charges to cover administrative costs. Indicate your election on the remittance form.

Special Notes & Clarifications

• One-way paging services are exempt from access fees.
• All Radio Common Carriers must collect the special fee from their subscribers.
• The Federal Act Section 225 requires common carriers providing intrastate communications (wire or radio) to participate; compliance is achieved through Wyoming’s program.
• Local exchange companies only collect fees for access lines used by Radio Common Carriers in their business; lines made available to the public are not double-billed.
• Radio Common Carriers collect fees based on the number of channels and access lines provided to subscribers.

For questions about regulations, forms, fee remittance, or the Relay Service, contact:

Lori Cielinski, Program Consultant
Phone: (800) 452-1408
Email: lori.cielinski@wyo.gov
or dws-wyrelay@wyo.gov