The Graduate Policy applies to most graduate students who have started their graduate programs and are looking to reclassify their residency status at the University of Utah, except for medical, law and dental students (see below and the Institutional Policy for specific policies for these schools.)

The Graduate Policy supersedes all other policies except for:

• Military exceptions
• American Indian exceptions
• House Bills 118 and 144.

To qualify for this policy, the student must meet ALL of the following requirements and submit an application and all necessary documentation by the specified deadlines.

• Students must complete at least 40 graduate credit hours prior to the requested term of reclassification.
  • All hours must be graduate credit hours, and must be completed at the University of Utah.
  • Withdrawn, failed or dropped courses will not count towards the 40 credit requirement.

• Utah Domiciliary Ties: driver’s license, voter registration, vehicle registration
  • Students must relinquish domiciliary ties (driver’s license, voter registration, and vehicle registration) held in any other state and establish them in Utah by the Utah tie deadline.
  • Students must submit a valid Utah driver’s license.
  • Students must submit proof of active Utah voter registration via their voter registration card or a certified letter from the County Clerk’s office. Students with granted permanent resident status are exempt from this requirement and can submit a secondary Utah tie.
  • If the student has a vehicle registered in their name, it must be registered in Utah and the student must submit valid and unexpired vehicle registration.

See Domiciliary Tie Deadlines here

• Verified documentation of the student’s tax independence
  • Students under 24 years old and not married must submit verification of tax independence showing that they are not claimed as a dependent on the federal tax return of any person who is not a resident of Utah.  They can submit:
    • The first two pages of the student’s federal tax return 1040 for the most recent tax year verifying that they were not claimed as a tax dependent by out of state parents/guardians.
    • Or students who did not file their own federal taxes must submit a copy of their out of state parents’ or guardians’ federal tax return(s) for the most recent tax year verifying that they did not claim the student as a dependent.
  • All tax documents must be verified for submission to the IRS.  Tax returns submitted must be signed by the taxpayer to verify submission to the IRS.
    • If the taxes were electronically filed, proof of an e-signature is required
    • If tax returns do not have a signature, other means of verifying submission of the tax return to the IRS will be required

• Proof of physical presence in the state of Utah for 12 continuous months 
  • Students must submit proof of their physical presence in the state of Utah for at least the 12 continuous months immediately prior to the first day of class for the academic term they wish to be considered a resident student, with no more than 29 days total with presence unaccounted for or outside of the state of Utah.  ALL SUBMITTED DOCUMENTATION is subject to review.
  • Documents used must have 3 pieces of information per document:
    1. Student’s name
    2. Exact date or dates
    3. Event location
  • Please review the list of accepted methods of proof here.
  • Please review the list of documents that CANNOT be used to demonstrate proof of physical presence (this list is not exhaustive) here.
  • Any form of proof of physical presence in Utah submitted is subject to review; acceptance is not guaranteed.
  • Students are expected to report any days they leave the state of Utah.
  • Any days that a student cannot prove their presence in Utah by one of the accepted methods will count against the 29 day total.

School of Medicine Residency for Tuition Purposes

Residency status for tuition purposes will be determined at time of acceptance to the SFESOM. All residency information will be verified upon admittance to the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine by the Office of Graduate Admissions. Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the School of Medicine Residency Policy. Guidelines are subject to change without notice.

Applicants who meet the requirements for House Bill 144 or House Bill 118 non-resident tuition waivers or who qualify for military/veteran exceptions or American Indian exceptions may be eligible to receive in-state tuition.

If an accepted student believes they may meet the requirements for one of the tuition waivers or exceptions above, it is their responsibility to complete the appropriate certification form by the deadlines provided by the Office of Graduate Admissions. Information regarding residency exceptions and institutional policy can be found here.

Accepted students wishing to appeal their first-year residency status must request a status change with the Residency office. All reclassification requests and documentation must be submitted by the domiciliary tie establishment deadlines set by the Office of Graduate Admissions. Change of status is not guaranteed, even with approval from the School of Medicine.

For more information about residency for tuition purposes by legal state of residence on the AMCAS application, click here.

Utah Residents

Residency Reclassification

The School of Medicine residency reclassification policy applies to students in the MD and MD-PhD programs who enrolled on or after June 1, 2020.

The School of Medicine policy supersedes all other policies except for military exceptions, American Indian exceptions, and House Bills 118 and 144.

Residency status may be changed or updated based on information conveyed from the School of Medicine, regardless of any reclassification requested by the student.

Students who indicated residency in Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming are not eligible for residency reclassification.

Students must meet ALL of the following requirements and submit an application and all necessary documentation by the specified deadlines.

• Students must hold
  • U.S. citizenship
  • Granted permanent residency
  • Granted asylum or refugee status
  • Special Immigrant Visa
  • Humanitarian Parole
  • Temporary Protected Status
  • Or good faith evidence of a submitted application for refugee status, humanitarian parole, temporary protected status, or asylum under United States immigration law
    • Status cannot be expired, or removed.
    • “Good Faith Evidence” requires verified documentation
    • Students with granted permanent residency, granted asylum or granted refugee status must submit valid and unexpired documentation.
    • Students on other types of visas not listed above are ineligible for residency reclassification but may qualify for a tuition waiver if they have 3 years and completed graduation in a Utah high school.
• Students must complete at least two full time consecutive terms of enrollment at the School of Medicine.
  • All hours must be completed at the University of Utah.
  • Withdrawn, failed or dropped courses will not count towards residency requirements.
• Utah Domiciliary Ties: driver’s license, voter registration, vehicle registration
  • Students MUST relinquish domiciliary ties (driver’s license, voter registration, and vehicle registration) held in any other state and establish them in Utah by the Utah tie deadline.
  • Students must submit a valid Utah driver’s license.
  • Students must submit proof of active Utah voter registration via their voter registration card or a certified letter from the County Clerk’s office. Students with granted permanent resident status are exempt from this requirement and can submit a secondary Utah tie.
  • If the student has a vehicle registered in their name, it must be registered in Utah and the student must submit valid and unexpired vehicle registration.

See Domiciliary Tie Deadlines here

• Students must submit verification of financial independence showing that they are not claimed as a dependent on the federal tax return of any person who is not a resident of Utah.
  • Students who are under the age of 24 and not married must submit the first two pages of their federal tax return for the most recent tax year verifying that they were not claimed as a tax dependent by out-of-state parents or guardians.
  • Students who did not file their own federal taxes must submit a copy of their out of state parents’ or guardians’ federal tax return(s) for the most recent tax year verifying that they did not claim the student as a dependent.
• Proof of physical presence in the state of Utah for 12 continuous months 
  • Students must submit proof of their physical presence in the state of Utah for at least the 12 continuous months immediately prior to the first day of class for the academic term they wish to be considered a resident student, with no more than 29 days total with presence unaccounted for or outside of the state of Utah.  ALL SUBMITTED DOCUMENTATION is subject to review.
  • Documents used must have 3 pieces of information per document:
    1. Student’s name
    2. Exact date or dates
    3. Event location
  • Please review the list of accepted methods of proof here.
  • Please review the list of documents that CANNOT be used to demonstrate proof of physical presence (this list is not exhaustive) here.
  • Any form of proof of physical presence in Utah submitted is subject to review; acceptance is not guaranteed.
  • Students are expected to report any days they leave the state of Utah.
  • Any days that a student cannot prove their presence in Utah by one of the accepted methods will count against the 29 day total.

Students admitted to the College of Law as non-residents are not eligible for residency reclassification once they begin their studies at the College of Law.

The only exceptions to this policy for non-residents is in situations where the applicant meets the requirement for a military, American Indian, or permitted Utah high school graduate exception.

However, if admitted candidates are initially classified as non-residents and will qualify for Utah resident status under any policy prior to the start of their law studies, they may apply for residency reclassification prior to the start of their law studies but may not do so after courses have commenced.

For dental students, residency status is determined by the state/province of residence as indicated on the AADSAS application.

Dental applicants who indicate Utah as their legal state of residence on AADSAS must qualify for Utah residency through the institutional policy for residency for tuition purposes to be eligible for resident tuition.

Students who indicate any state/province other than Utah as their state of legal residence on AADSAS are not eligible for residency reclassification, except in situations where the student meets the requirement for a military, American Indian, or permitted Utah high school graduate exception.

If you are requesting residency for a spring term, all of the above documentation is required.

For the federal tax return requirement, the you can submit:

• The first two pages of your federal tax return for the most recent tax filing year verifying that you were not claimed as a tax dependent by out-of-state parents or guardians.
• Copy of your out of state parents’ or guardians’ federal tax return(s) for the most recent tax filing year verifying that they did not claim you as a dependent.
• A signed and dated letter on letterhead from a licensed CPA with contact information, verifying that you will not be claimed on federal taxes for the previous year as a dependent by out-of-state parents or guardians.
  • Example: If you are applying for residency for Spring 2024, you can submit either your or your parents’/guardians’ filed federal tax return for 2022 federal taxes verifying that you were not claimed as a dependent by out-of-state parents or guardians, or a signed and dated letter on letterhead from a licensed CPA with contact information, verifying that you will not be claimed on federal taxes for the 2022 tax year as a dependent by out-of-state parents or guardians.

Please note that per the Board of Regents and University of Utah Institutional Policy, no time spent during the 12 months prior to the term for which resident student status is being sought* on the following programs can be used towards Undergraduate One Year Rule or Graduate Policy residency reclassification requirements:

• Western Undergraduate Exchange
• Western Regional Graduate Program
• Professional Student Exchange Program
• Utah Tech Good Neighbor Program
• International Student Exchange
• Alumni Legacy Scholarships
• Other programs as specified by the state or institution
• More information can be found in the mandatory reading of the University of Utah Institutional Policy and the Board of Regents Policies, R512.

*Any student wishing to reclassify as a resident for tuition purposes after completing 12 months of residence in Utah must not have spent time during the same 12 months on any of the above programs.

Late Application Submissions

An application is considered late if it is submitted after the deadline (see “Residency Reclassification Application Deadline by Semester” above).

The hard late deadline for application submission is the tuition deadline. No application will be accepted after the tuition deadline for the requested term of reclassification.

Late applications must be submitted with a late petition explaining why you did not submit by the deadline, and there is no guarantee of application acceptance nor a decision by the tuition deadline for the requested term of reclassification.

Late Documentation

Required documentation (proof of physical presence documents, submission of Utah ties, proof of tax independence documents, etc.) will be accepted through the census deadline of the requested term of reclassification at the latest.  Documentation should be submitted as soon as possible prior to this deadline.  No documentation will be accepted after the census deadline for the requested term of reclassification.

Students submitting documentation must have a residency reclassification application on file that was submitted by the hard application deadline.