Residency

What is Residency?

Residency refers to whether a student is an in-state Florida resident or an out-of-state resident, and this classification determines the rate of tuition. Florida residents pay less in fees per credit hour than non-Florida residents.

Florida state statute Section 1009.21 defines the requirements for in-state status. Generally, a person is considered a Florida resident for the purpose of paying taxes, voting or other legal purposes after residing in the state for a designated length of time.

However, state statute specifies additional requirements for a student to be classified as an in-state resident for tuition purposes. Most importantly: Living in or attending school in Florida will not, in itself, establish legal residence for tuition purposes. The petitions process is available for students to request a waiver of a university regulation or deadline.

Your Residency Classification

The Office of Admissions determines a student’s initial residency classification when the student applies to UF. Failure to provide all relevant information and required documentation in the residency section of the admission application could result in a non-Florida or out-of-state resident classification for tuition purposes.

Students have until the last day of classes in the first term to request the Office of Admissions to re-evaluate residency status by providing additional documentation not submitted previously.

Documentation Needed

A student claiming in-state residency status must have established and maintained a legal Florida residence for at least 12 months prior to the first day of classes in the semester for which in-state residency status is sought. The 12-month qualifying period requires documentary evidence of residence. At least two of these documents can help in establishing in-state residency.

In addition to the claimant's requisite 12-month residency in the state of Florida, an independent student claiming residency for tuition purposes must also show that his or her presence in the state was not merely temporary or incidental to enrolling at the institution of higher education.

Dependent Students

A student, whether or not living with his or her parent or guardian, who is eligible to be claimed by his or her parent under the federal income tax code shall be classified as a dependent student. In most cases a copy of the most recent federal income tax return indicating that the student was claimed as a dependent will be required. With very few exceptions, a dependent student is considered to be a legal resident of the same state as the student's parents. A 'parent' is defined as either or both parents of a student, any guardian of a student, or any person in a parental relationship to the student.

If the student is a dependent, the parent is the claimant and will need to complete the Florida Residency Declaration and may be asked to provide documents in support of their claim as a Florida resident.

Residency Exceptions

In special cases, the Florida statute provides accommodation for a student to receive classification for in-state tuition purposes when supporting documentation is submitted. A student should only request residency classification using one of these categories if they do not qualify as either an independent or dependent student.

Requesting a Residency Change

Students who have completed the first term at UF can request a reclassification of residency status with the Office of the University Registrar. Students can monitor the progress of the petition at ONE.UF.

The deadline to submit the Request for Residency Change form and supporting documentation is the standard fee payment deadline for the term in which you are applying. Residency reclassification can take up to six weeks for a decision because of the evaluative process required. Residency reclassification cannot be applied retroactively to prior terms.

Appealing a Residency Decision

In cases where the applicant expresses a desire to appeal the residency classification decision and submit a formal residency appeal, the matter will be referred to the University Residency Appeals Committee through the Office of the University Registrar. The written appeal and any additional supporting documentation must be submitted within 30 days of the denial. Applicants will be notified online of the decision following the final review. The decision of the University Residency Appeals Committee is final for the term.