NYS Residency Required Documentation for Undergraduate Non-Degree Programs

A student must prove New York State residency to register for classes as a non-degree-seeking undergraduate student.

Residency Issues Should Be Resolved by the First Day of Classes

  • Admitted non-degree-seeking students are initially considered out-of-state residents for tuition purposes. To update this status, supporting documentation is required. 
  • All non-degree-seeking students will be billed out-of-state tuition until New York State residency documents have been provided to the Office of the Registrar for review.
  • All issues regarding residency should be resolved by the first day of classes. Exceptions may be made for certain circumstances.

NYS Residency Required Documentation

Proof of a New York State (NYS) permanent domicile is demonstrated by documents that support an applicant’s contention that their permanent home is located in New York State for purposes other than education.

Submitted Document Requirements

Any document submitted for NYS residency:

  • Must have the student's full name, issue/effective date and NYS address legible on all documents.
  • Must show all pages attached (e.g., if the document has a page counter such as "Page 1/4," all four pages must be submitted).
  • Can have personally identifiable information redacted (social security number, bank account number, etc.). However, documents must have the student's name, issue/effective date and NYS address visible for NYS residency.
  • Must support the claim to have resided in New York State for at least 12 consecutive months before the start of the application term and must be issued at least 12 months before the semester start date (e.g., if admitted in the spring or fall of 2024, documents must be issued on or before Jan. 31, 2023, or Aug. 31, 2023, respectively).
  • Must have a marriage certificate attached if the student's maiden name is shown in the document. Both the document and marriage certificate will only count as one document for NYS residency.

Options For Meeting Document Requirements

Option #1: New York State High School Transcript or GED

  • Non-resident students who attended a New York State high school for two or more years, graduated and applied for admission to the university within five years of receiving a New York State high school diploma can submit their transcript.
  • An applicable GED is also accepted.

Option #2: Three Documents from the Following List

Documents Not Accepted

The following documents are not accepted for New York State residency:

  • Department of the Treasury (DT) Form 1040.
  • Multiple service/utility statements with different statement dates from the same company.
  • IT-203 with Box 1H checked as “No.”
  • Pay stubs or bank checks.
  • U.S. Passport or Passport Card.
  • Birth Certificate.
  • W-2 tax form.
  • “Contract Statements” showing utilities, letters from the rental/leasing company, and letters from the landlord (stating that utilities are included in an agreement).
  • Documents related to the university, such as loan statements or billing statements.

Service Members, Veterans and Dependents May Qualify for Residency

Active/reserve, veterans and dependents of service members may complete the Residency Application for New York State Tuition Purposes - Military form.

More information regarding policy and eligibility requirements for active duty military, veterans and dependents can be found on the Student Accounts website.

Residency Application for New York State Tuition Purposes - Military Form
Information for Active Duty Military, Veterans and Dependents

Upload Documents Through the Applicant Portal

Students can access the status page in the Applicant Portal to begin uploading documents. This will become available within a few hours of application submission.

Applicant Portal