Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for controlling access and use of network resources and services by user equipment based on user equipment capabilities. In one aspect, a method for wireless communication by a network entity, includes: receiving, from a user equipment, a request to connect to a network, the request comprising a user equipment identifier and a reduced capability indication; determining a validity of the reduced capability indication based on at least one of: subscription data associated with the user equipment; or one or more capabilities associated with the user equipment; and making a connection decision based on the validity of the reduced capability indication.