The Undergraduate Policy applies to most students looking to reclassify their residency status at the University of Utah.

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, or granted asylum or refugee status.
  • Status cannot be expired, removed or in-process.
  • Students with granted permanent residency or granted asylum or refugee status must submit valid and unexpired documentation.
  • Students on visas are not eligible for residency reclassification but may qualify for a tuition waiver.
• 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.
• 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/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.
• 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 fewer than 29 days total unproven/out-of-state.
  • Accepted methods of proof include the following:
    • In-person enrollment at the University of Utah or another Utah institution through transcripts
    • Employment with a Utah employer through dated pay stubs for each date range the student wishes to prove, or through a signed and dated employer letter on letterhead specifying the dates of employment
    • Bank or credit card statements in the student’s name only showing a purchase made in person, in the state of Utah, every six days or fewer for the date range the student wishes to prove
    • Physical Presence Check-Ins at the Residency office once every six days or fewer for the date range the student wishes to prove, during Office of Admissions business hours only
      • For this method, the student must be admitted and eligible to enroll
      • The student requesting resident status must bring two forms of photo ID
        • The first form of ID must be a UCard with the requesting student’s name, photo and UNID
        • The second form of ID can be one of the following provided that it has the requesting student’s name and photo:
          • Valid and unexpired driver’s license
          • Valid and unexpired state ID
          • Valid and unexpired permanent resident card
          • Valid and unexpired passport
    • Gym records in the student’s name and with the name and contact information for the gym, showing visits to a Utah gym in person every six days or fewer for the date range the student wishes to prove
    • In some cases, a signed and dated letter on letterhead from a religious, volunteer, or educational leader or a coach, doctor or therapist specifying the dates of presence in Utah may be used (subject to review)
  • The following CANNOT be used to demonstrate proof of physical presence (this list is not exhaustive):
    • Utah utility bills
    • Utah leases or rental agreements
    • W-2s
    • Presence of Utah property
    • Personal statements
    • Letters from friends/parents/landlords
    • Records from apps such as DoorDash, UberEats, Uber, Lyft, Venmo, etc
    • Photographs or images of people/locations
    • Social media posts
  • 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.

Late Submissions

An application is considered late if it is submitted after the deadline.

The hard late deadline for application submission is the Friday prior to the start of the requested term of reclassification (for example, the hard late deadline for Fall 2023 residency reclassification applications is Friday 08/18/2023.)

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.

Required documentation (proof of physical presence, submission of Utah ties, etc) will be accepted through the Friday of the first week of classes of the requested term of reclassification at the latest (for example, the hard documentation submission deadline for Fall 2023 residency reclassification is Friday 08/25/2023).

Documentation should be submitted as soon as possible prior to this deadline.

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

No documentation will be accepted after the first week of classes of the requested term of reclassification.

Spring Semester Tax 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.

Non-Resident Tuition Waiver Specifications

Please note that per the Board of Regents and University of Utah Institutional Policy, no time spent on the following programs can be used towards 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.

Most of these exceptions are for qualifying students who have not met the requirements of the Undergraduate Policy.

You will need to show eligibility under the Undergraduate Policy if you:

• Are an undergraduate student or incoming graduate student
• Have completed at least a 12 month period of residence in Utah
• Are requesting to reclassify

The requirements for each policy or exception are listed, and you must meet ALL requirements and submit the documentation by the term deadline.

If you have already submitted your residency application form and have additional documents you wish to turn in for evaluation, please attach the documents using the Post Submission form.

Non-citizens that have been granted permanent U.S. resident status or have obtained asylum or refugee status under U.S. immigration law are classified for purposes of resident status according to the same criteria as U.S. citizens.

These students must submit verification of status with their residency application.

Residency reclassification will not be granted to non-citizens without proof of permanent resident, asylum, or refugee status in the United States.

Information on special tuition waivers for non-citizens and other non-residents can be found in Board of Regents Policy R513.

• The House Bill 144 Non-Resident Tuition Waiver is explained in R513-13 Exemption for Certain Students with Utah High School Graduation. .
• The House Bill 118 Non-Resident Tuition Waiver is explained in R513-14 Exemption of Nonresident Tuition for Certain Foreign Nationals.

Information on House Bill 144 & House Bill 118 is available here.

Residency Office Contact Information

(801) 581-8761, Option 5
residency@utah.edu