How to Fill Out and Submit the LIRR Student Discount Form

To use the LIRR student discount form, download Form SPS-18 from the MTA, fill in the student’s name, home address, school, and the two stations they travel between, then have an authorized school administrator sign it and stamp it with the school’s raised seal. The completed original goes to a staffed LIRR ticket office in person; the discount is up to one-third off the regular monthly fare.¹

Who the Form Is For

The student ticket is limited to riders under 21 who attend an accredited public or private elementary or secondary school and are pursuing a general educational course. Elementary means grades 1 through 8, secondary means grades 9 through 12, and junior high schools covering grades 7 through 10 also qualify.²

Several groups are specifically excluded: college and university students, business or commercial school students, and high school work-study participants. The form also bars students at specialty schools focused on a single discipline, giving dancing, swimming, riding, dressmaking, music, and art studios as examples.² Teachers and staff cannot use the form either.

The application has no separate provision for home-schooled students. Because certification requires the signature and seal of an authorized official at an accredited school, home-schooled students without formal enrollment at a qualifying institution do not have a clear path through this form.

Where to Get Form SPS-18

The School Ticket Application is a downloadable PDF on the MTA website.¹ Paper copies are available at any staffed LIRR ticket office. Some schools participate in the LIRR Ticket Services for Schools program and order in bulk through their own portal, but individual families should use the standard paper application.

Filling In the Student Section

The form is a single page, and every field matters. Provide:

The student’s full legal name, exactly as it appears on school records.
The student’s permanent home address, which establishes the origin station.
The full name and campus address of the accredited school, which determines the destination station.
The boarding station and the alighting station for the daily commute.

Check the two station names carefully. The ticket will be valid only between the exact stations listed on the certified form.

The School Certification: Seal and Signature

This is where most applications get rejected. An authorized school official must sign the form to certify that the student is currently enrolled, and must affix the school’s raised seal or official stamp directly on the application.¹ A signature without the seal will be turned away at the ticket window.

Who Can Sign

The LIRR restricts authorized signers to specific administrative titles: Principal, Superintendent, Director, Headmaster, President, Registrar, Bursar, Recorder, Treasurer, or Dean. Titles prefixed with “Vice,” “Assistant,” or “Associate” also count, along with officers in a secretarial capacity or anyone whose title indicates they are in charge of the school.² A classroom teacher’s signature does not qualify. When in doubt, ask the principal’s or registrar’s office to handle it.

Before you leave the school office, look at the form and confirm you can see or feel the raised seal or ink stamp. If it isn’t there, the trip to the ticket window will be wasted.

Submitting the Form and Buying the Ticket

Take the original signed and sealed form to a staffed LIRR ticket office.¹ The agent will review the certification before selling the ticket. Student monthly tickets cannot be purchased at a vending machine or through the TrainTime app, because the physical seal has to be verified in person.

Not every station has a staffed window, and hours vary, so confirm on the MTA website before heading out. The ticket is issued in the student’s name, is non-transferable, and is valid only between the two stations listed on the application.¹

What the Ticket Costs

A student monthly ticket saves up to one-third off the regular monthly fare, with the exact price depending on the fare zones between the origin and destination stations.¹ Look up the current price for the specific route on the MTA fare tables before you go to the window so you know what to expect.

Avoiding a Rejected Application

The two most common problems are a missing seal and a signature from someone whose title is not on the LIRR’s list. Both send you back to the school office to redo the form. Beyond those, a few practical points help:

Submit early in the month. Lines at ticket offices grow at the start of a new monthly cycle, and smaller stations have limited hours.
Get the form done at the start of the school year. Many families keep the certified application on hand and simply return each month to buy the next pass at the ticket window.
If the student transfers schools during the year, get a new form signed and sealed by the new school. The original certification is tied to the previous institution and will not be accepted for future purchases.

1
Metropolitan Transportation Authority. LIRR and Metro-North Fares
2
MTA Long Island Rail Road. Application for School Ticket (Form SPS-18)