Utah Residency Requirements
The following information and flow chart has been provided to assist you in understanding the residency law as passed by the Utah Legislature in May, 2007.
Residency status for tuition purposes is determined by the Admissions Office. Students are classified either resident or nonresident at the time the admission application is received. If there are questions regarding the residency status, individuals are classified non-residents.
Non-residents may have their status reclassified by meeting the state residency requirements and submitting a residency application along with supporting documentation. Applications are accepted thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the semester for which residency is desired. The deadline date for submitting the application is twenty-one (21) days from the time classes begin.
The University honors the residency status determined by other Utah colleges or universities unless the classification was obtained under false pretense.
Applicants who are denied Utah residency for tuition purposes may file an appeal to be reviewed by the Residency Appeal Committee. Applicants are notified in writing the decision of the Appeals Committee. Appeals must be filed within 21 days of the beginning of classes for which residency is desired.
You may qualify as a resident student for tuition purposes if:
- You are a United States citizen; or applied for or granted permanent resident, refugee, asylum, or temporary protected status.
AND one of the following
- Have lived in Utah for twelve (12) or more continuous months immediately preceding the term for which you are applying without leaving Utah for thirty (30) or more days. OR
- Marriage to a Utah resident. Applicants are required to submit a marriage certificate and documentation that their spouse was a Utah resident prior to the marriage. OR
- Dependent of a Utah resident. The Utah parent(s) must provide proof of Utah residency and the relationship to the student (birth certificate or tax return if claimed as a dependent). The student does not have to be claimed as a dependent on the Utah parent's tax return. OR
- U.S. military personnel on active duty in Utah, including National Guard. The spouse and dependents residing with such individual may also qualify for residency status. After terminating active duty, residence is determined using the same criteria for other students. OR
- Permanent full-time employment at least four month prior to applying for admission to a Utah college or university OR
- Military veteran or the dependent of a military veteran.
- Clients of a Social or Rehabilitation Service Agency in Utah. Individual must provide Utah documentation of domiciliary intent. OR
- American Indians who appear on the rolls of a tribe having at least some trust land within Utah or whose reservation or trust land has a border contiguous with Utah.
All applicants must provide:
- Students need to show objective evidence that they have established residency in Utah and aren't maintaining residency elsewhere. Students need to obtain the following items to verify their residency:
- Verification of length of residence in Utah by school attendance and/or employment (Rental agreement and/or utility bills do NOT constitute physical presence in Utah)
- Utah Driver License
- Utah Voter registration
- Utah vehicle registration (Utah registration required for all vehicles registered in the student’s name. Vehicles registered to persons other than the applicant need not be registered in Utah unless the application is based on a parent’s Utah residency or marriage to a Utah resident; however, a copy of the registration must be provided with the application.)
- Utah tax return(s) if a return was filed for the previous reporting year
- Declaration of Financial Independence - Applicants under 24 years old and not married must, in addition to submitting objective evidence of domicile, a person seeking resident student status following 12 months of continuous residence in Utah, also submit a declaration of financial independence, which must include, at a minimum, evidence that the person is not claimed as a dependent on the federal or state tax returns of any person who is not a resident of Utah. Institutional residency officers may require such documentation at the time of initial application for resident student status, and at any time thereafter to verify a student’s continued eligibility for resident student tuition. R512.4.8.
Please Note: WUE recipients will not be eligible to apply for residency for tuition purposes using the time spent receiving the WUE scholarship.
Frequent or extended absences (totaling more than 29 days), especially if the student establishes residency or domicile out of state (i.e. working out of state or returning to prior home of record for an extended time), may be regarded as evidence that residency requirements have not been satisfied.