Residency

If you’re under 23 and your parents provide your financial support, you’re considered an unemancipated minor for tuition purposes.

That means you’ll need to qualify for resident tuition through a parent or court-appointed legal guardian.

You can qualify for in-state tuition if either parent (no matter who has custody) has lived in Colorado for at least one year before the first day of the term — even if you live in a different state.

Not sure where you stand? We’re here to help you figure it out.

Yes! You’re considered a qualified individual and can establish your own domicile (independent residency) if, at the start of the 12-month residency period, you were:

• 23 years or older
• Married
• Emancipated (100% financially independent)
• A graduate student

If one of these applies to you, you may be eligible to qualify for in-state tuition on your own. Have questions? We’re happy to help!

You’re considered emancipated if you meet all of the following:

• You’re under 22 years old
• Your parents have fully given up the right to your care, custody, and earnings
• They have no legal responsibility to support you
• They’ve made no financial arrangements to support you in any way

Key Reminder: To be eligible to establish your own Colorado residency, you must be completely self-supporting. That means no financial help from your parents—not even for regular or necessary expenses.

What counts as parental support?
Parental support includes (but isn’t limited to):

• Gifts
• Loans (including Parent PLUS Loans)
• Trust funds or assets created by your parents before the 12-month residency period
• Co-signed loans (you’ll need to provide documentation)

Even if you’re covered under their health or auto insurance, that’s okay only if:

• You pay the full cost (like premiums and deductibles), and
• The plan doesn’t require you to be claimed as a dependent

What about taxes?
Your parents can claim you as a dependent for the year your emancipation begins.

Example: If they stop supporting you in August, you may still be listed as a dependent on that year’s taxes.
But — they can’t claim you in future tax years if you want to keep your resident status.

Important: Reclassification can happen.
If your parents resume any financial support after you’ve been granted resident status as an emancipated minor, you could be reclassified as a nonresident.

Ready to claim emancipated status?
You’ll need to:

• Show all of your expenses
• Prove how you’ve paid for them independently
• Complete the Tuition Classification Petition

You carry the full responsibility to prove emancipation to the Tuition Classification Officer—but we’re here to guide you through it.

Let us know how we can help!

Yes — but only under very specific conditions.

To qualify for resident tuition through a Colorado legal guardian, the following must be true:

• The guardian must have legal custody as defined by Colorado Revised Statutes §19-1-103(73)
• The court must certify that the guardianship was not created just to qualify for in-state tuition
• The court must also certify that your parents do not provide substantial financial support
• The guardianship must be in effect for at least one full year

A Power of Attorney signed by your parents does not count as legal guardianship.

If you think you may qualify this way, we recommend reaching out early to confirm your eligibility and make sure the correct documentation is in place. We’re here to help guide you through it!

Domicile (Physical Presence and Intent to Reside): Domicile is defined as your true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation and is made up of two components:

1. Physical presence within the state, and
2. Intent to reside in Colorado permanently.

Evidence of Colorado domicile includes actions that in your circumstances would normally be expected of, or that would be characteristic of, any permanent resident. For example, vehicle registration is relevant only if you have a motor vehicle. You are expected to take appropriate action on all factors relevant in your circumstances.

New residents are allowed a reasonable period of time after first coming to Colorado to take appropriate actions consistent with domiciliary intent.

The Tuition Classification Officer considers the following evidence, as specified by law, and any additional relevant information, when evaluating Petitions for Tuition Classification:

• Colorado driver’s license – If you have a driver’s license from another state, you must apply for a Colorado driver’s license within 30 days of moving to Colorado. If you do not drive, you may obtain a Colorado identification card.
• Motor vehicle registration – If you operate a motor vehicle, you must register it in Colorado within 90 days of moving to Colorado. This law applies to any vehicle you have, whether or not you are the registered owner.
• Voter registration – You may register to vote with your county clerk, or when you obtain your Colorado driver’s license. Although voting is not required by law, it is nonetheless an indicator of one’s intent to create a domicile.
• Permanent employment or acceptance of future permanent employment in Colorado.
• Payment of Colorado state income tax (if your income is sufficient to be taxed). All taxable income accrued after you move to Colorado, regardless of source, must be reported to the Colorado Department of Revenue. You should file part-year resident returns for each state of residence for the year you move to Colorado. For subsequent years, you should file a full-year resident Colorado return.
• Ownership of residential real property in Colorado that is your primary residence. Ownership of vacation or income property is not an indication of domicile.

Other factors which are specific to your situation may be considered also, and should be documented.

Because domicile is defined as true, fixed, and permanent home, persons who are physically present in Colorado only on a temporary basis cannot establish domicile merely by taking the above actions. Establishing a new domicile requires actual residence on a permanent basis.

The following items are evidence of maintenance of domicile outside of Colorado:

• Failure to pay Colorado state income tax (if your income is sufficient to be taxed). Income earned in another state by a resident of Colorado is taxable in Colorado. Filing a nonresident Colorado tax return is persuasive evidence of domicile outside Colorado.
• Failure to comply with any law imposing a mandatory duty on a permanent resident of Colorado. Examples include failure to register a motor vehicle and failure to change your driver’s license to Colorado within the statutory periods.
• Maintenance of a home in another state.
• Prolonged absence from Colorado. Examples include residing in another state when not enrolled as a student or between academic terms.
• Any other factor which are specific to your situation that indicate non-Colorado domicile.

Determination of domicile is a subjective decision requiring analysis of each petitioner’s individual evidence of domicile, not a checklist or formula to be blindly followed. A change in tuition classification will be made when the University official is convinced that domicile has occurred at least one full year prior to the start of the semester for which the applicant is petitioning.

Because Colorado residency status is governed solely by Colorado regulations, lack of eligibility for in-state status in another state does not guarantee in-state status in Colorado. The tuition classification statutes place the burden of proof on you to provide clear and convincing evidence of eligibility.

The state statutes do not allow the Tuition Classification Officer to be flexible with the established dates in determining whether or not a domicile has been established for residency status for any given semester. There is no provision in the state statutes for retroactive compliance.

Information submitted to qualify for in-state classification is subject to independent verification. Individuals submitting false information or falsified supporting documents are subject to both criminal charges and University disciplinary proceedings.

The only authorized information regarding residency for tuition purposes comes from the Tuition Classification Officer at the University, and the Officer is not bound by any misinformation given by other persons.

Tuition classification is governed by state law (Colorado Revised Statutes §23-7-101, et. seq.) and by judicial decisions that apply to all public institutions of higher education in Colorado.

The University of Northern Colorado does not have discretion to make exceptions as established by state law.