1. Check the rule for your segment
Startups: less than two years old and either under $1M raised or accelerator-backed. Nonprofits: registered in your country. Open-source projects: a public repository under an OSI-approved license, monitoring the project's own infrastructure. The full wording is on the program page, and it is what the reviewer judges against.
2. Apply with a link to your evidence
The form takes the email of the account the discount should apply to (or the address you will sign up with), your segment, an http(s) link that shows you meet the rule (a registry entry, accelerator cohort page, funding announcement, or repository), and an optional note.
3. Wait for the decision by email
A person on the RealUptime team reads every application. Approvals and declines both arrive by email, usually within a few business days; a decline names the rule and, when there is one, the reviewer's note, and you can reapply with better evidence.
4. Choose Growth; the discount is already attached
On approval, any live Growth subscription on the account gets the coupon from its next invoice, and a new Growth checkout shows the discount on Stripe's page before you pay. It lasts 12 months from the first discounted invoice, then Growth bills at list price. Scale and MSP are not discounted.
Go deeper
The full reference lives in the docs: Discount program terms and application. Error codes named above are each explained in the error-code reference.