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Home Information & Resources Residency for Tuition Purposes State and Federal Residency Exceptions

State and Federal Exceptions

These are the residency requirements, deadlines, and everything you need to know about residency for tuition purposes for students participating with Utah state social and rehabilitation services, Utah Job Corps or Foreign Service Members here at the U.

The requirements for each exception are listed, and the student must meet ALL requirements.  In all cases, the Residency Division of the University of Utah Admissions Department is the determining body for all residency exceptions.

Follow all the steps in “Steps to Apply” found below.

State and Federal residency exception policies are for:

  • A person who has been determined to be a Utah resident for purposes of receiving state aid to attend a USHE institution by:
    • Utah governmental social or rehabilitation services agency
    • Or by Utah Job Corps
  • An inmate in the Utah Department of Corrections who is enrolled in University of Utah courses, or a former inmate who was released within the prior 12 months at the time of applying for a residency exception.
  • A Foreign Service Member, as well as their spouse and/or dependent children, is eligible to apply for resident student status under the Foreign Service Family Act of 2021.
  • A D.O.D. Civilian Employee, as well as their spouse and/or dependent children, is eligible to apply for resident student status under Utah SB 17.

Other types of Residency exceptions:

  • Military or veteran exceptions
  • Olympic exceptions
  • USHE transfer student exceptions
  • American Indian exceptions
  • House Bill 118
  • House Bill 144

Steps to Apply

  • Step 1: Read

    Utah state law (USHE R512, Resident Student Status 5.2.3) says:

    “The burden is on the student to prove that they are eligible for [residency]…“,

    …and as such, we expect all students to learn about their options, and make choices based on that learning.  Please learn your obligations regarding residency:

    1. Please read the “Mandatory Reading” to learn about the legal rules regarding residency in Utah.
    2. Please read through the different residency options, including:
      • Reclassification policies for Undergraduate or Graduate students
      • Military Exceptions
      • American Indian Exceptions
      • Olympics Exceptions
      • Transfer Students from other Utah schools
      • State and Federal Exceptions
      • Tuition Waivers

  • Step 2: Choose

    Choose the residency application policy that best meets your personal situation. You must meet ALL of the criteria for the policy you choose, so choose the right one for you! These policies are explained in the “State of Utah or Federal Exceptions” section below, which include:

    • Utah state Social or Rehabilitation Services Agency Assistance Recipient
    • Utah Job Corps Student
    • Current or former Inmate with Utah D.O.C.
    • Foreign Service Members and/or their immediate family members
    • D.O.D. Civilian Employee and/or their immediate family members

  • Step 3: Apply

    1. Apply for the semester you want to become a resident student as soon as you can, starting on the Applications Open date, found here.
      1. Work on your residency reclassification only begins with an application, so submit one as soon as possible.
      2. Applications received* by or before the All Application Deadlines listed here, and are later on completed, will be guaranteed a decision by the first day of the semester.
    2. You don’t need to have all the required documents at the time you apply.  You can submit those documents once you have them ready, up until the Census Deadline.

    *Please note: Successful submission of the reclassification application will return you to the Main Residency webpage. Once your application has loaded into our system, you will receive a confirmation email with additional instructions. Please allow up to two business days for this process to occur.

    Residency Reclassification Application

  • Step 4: Submit Required Documents

    Once your application is submitted, submit all the required documents that your application needs. You can do this with the link below. You can send those in as soon as you have them ready, up until the last day to work on applications, Census Deadline.

    Application Status Portal

    YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL THE CRITERIA, INCLUDING ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION.

  • Step 5: Follow Up

    The Residency evaluator working on your application will be emailing you about additional steps needed, such as to remind you of what documents are still needed.

    Check your UMail account often to find out what your application status is.

    If you’re not receiving Residency emails, contact us to update your email addresses for Residency communications.

    Visit us:

    Student Services Building,
    201 S 1460 E,
    Salt Lake City, UT 84112

    Office Hours (All times are Mountain Time Zone):
    Monday through Friday – 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
    Closed Tuesday from 8:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. for Staff Meetings

    Call us: 801-581-8761, Option 5
    Email us: residency@utah.edu

    Join us on Zoom

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State of Utah or Federal Foreign Service Exceptions

  • The following criteria is required:

    1. Exceptions Certification Form application
    2. Letter from the requesting student’s Social Services counselor providing official verification that the agency is covering all education expenses.

  • The following criteria is required:

    1. Exceptions Certification Form application
    2. Official letter verifying the requesting student’s current participation in Utah Job Corps.

  • This exception is for:

    • Current inmates who are enrolled for courses at the University of Utah, OR
    • Former inmates who were released within the prior 12 months at the time of applying for a residency exception

    The following criteria is required:

    1. Exceptions Certification Form application
    2. A letter from your Utah Department of Corrections facility verifying your time of incarceration

  • The following criteria is required:

    1. Exceptions Certification Form application
    2. Official appointment documentation, from either the White House or Secretary of State, verifying the participation as a Foreign Service Member* for these qualifying positions:
    3. Either one of the following:
      • A statement from the foreign service member’s current commander, or equivalent, stating that the foreign service member is assigned in Utah; or
      • Evidence that the foreign service member is domiciled in Utah with one of these Utah Domiciliary Ties, click here.

    For immediate family members, of a Foreign Service Member, who is applying, the following criteria is required:

    1. Exceptions Certification Form application
    2. Official appointment documentation, from either the White House or Secretary of State, verifying the participation as a Foreign Service Member* for the qualifying positions detailed in the list above
    3. Either one of the following:
      • A statement from the foreign service member’s current commander, or equivalent, stating that the foreign service member is assigned in Utah; or
      • Evidence that the foreign service member is domiciled in Utah with one of these Utah Domiciliary Ties, click here.
    4. A copy of the foreign service member’s most recent filing from most recently completed tax year verifying they claimed the applying student as a married filing tax signee or a tax dependent

  • The following criteria is required:

    1. Exceptions Certification Form application
    2. Copy of current United States Department of Defense identification card; AND
    3. Either one of the following:
      1. Statement, on letterhead, from the DOD civilian’s current commander, or equivalent, stating that the DOD civilian is assigned in Utah; OR
      2. Evidence that the DOD civilian is domiciled in Utah by means of ONE of the following:
        • A current Utah voter registration card
        • A current Utah driver’s license or identification card
        • A current Utah vehicle registration
        • A copy of the most recently filed tax year’s Utah TC-40 income tax return, marking them as Full-Yr Resident, from the DOD civilian or their spouse
        • Proof that the DOD civilian or their spouse own a home in Utah with a Utah property tax notice from the most recently filed tax year

    For immediate family members of a D.O.D. Civilian Employee, the following criteria is required:

    1. Exceptions Certification Form application
    2. Copy of the DOD Civilian’s current United States Department of Defense identification card; AND
    3. Either one of the following:
      1. Statement, on letterhead, from the DOD civilian’s current commander, or equivalent, stating that the DOD civilian is assigned in Utah; OR
      2. Evidence that the DOD civilian is domiciled in Utah by means of ONE of the following:
        • A current Utah voter registration card
        • A current Utah driver’s license or identification card
        • A current Utah vehicle registration
        • A copy of the most recently filed tax year’s Utah TC-40 income tax return, marking them as Full-Yr Resident, from the DOD civilian or their spouse
        • Proof that the DOD civilian or their spouse own a home in Utah with a Utah property tax notice from the most recently filed tax year
    4. A copy of the foreign service member’s most recent filing from most recently completed tax year verifying they claimed the applying student as a married filing tax signee or a tax dependent

Residency Application Timeline

Residency applications open several months ahead of the semester you are applying for, and will remain open until the tuition deadline for that semester.

For all precise dates for every upcoming semester, see our Residency Calendar.

  1. Please submit your residency application by the due date.
    • Applications submitted on time are guaranteed to receive a decision by the first day of the semester.
    • To be complete, an application needs to have all the required documentation submitted.
    • The last day to submit the application is tuition deadline.
  2. Submit all required documents as soon as possible, no later than the semester's census deadline.
  3. Applications submitted between the due date and the semester's tuition deadline are late.
    • We will work on these applications until the census deadline; we cannot guarantee a decision by the first day of the semester.
    • All incomplete applications are removed after the census deadline.

Full Residency Calendar

Please see USHE R512.5.2.1 Application Deadline: Students must meet institutional application deadlines for each term.

  • Late Application Submissions

    An application is considered late if it is submitted after the deadline (see “Residency Application Timeline” 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 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.

  • Some students may qualify to have their nonresident tuition portion waived through nonresident tuition waivers House Bill 144 or House Bill 118

    Information on House Bill 144 & House Bill 118 tuition waivers, as well as the application, are available here.

Have Questions?