Admissions And Records

Non-California Residents: Students who do not meet the California residence requirements as of the day immediately preceding the first day of the term are required to pay the non-resident tuition fee in addition to the enrollment fee paid by all students. This includes:

1. Minors (under 18 years of age and not married) will be required to pay the non-resident tuition fee if their parent(s)/legal guardian(s) reside outside the state even though such minors may have lived in the State of California for one year or more.
2. Students who are financially dependent on their parent(s)/legal guardian(s) will be required to pay non-resident tuition if their parent(s)/legal guardian(s) reside outside the state even though such students may have lived in the State of California for one year or more.
3. Students holding visas that preclude them from establishing residency in the United States may be restricted in their enrollment and will have to pay non-resident tuition. In addition, students who are citizens and residents of another country are required to pay an additional per unit capital outlay fee. See the class schedule for the amount of the fee.

Exceptions authorized by the State of California:

• Active military personnel are exempt from the non-resident tuition fee provided they are in California for a purpose other than attending a state-supported institution of higher learning
• Dependents of military personnel stationed on active duty in California are given a waiver of non-resident fees
• Non-resident students who have completed three years of high school in California and graduated in California (or equivalency) may qualify for a waiver of non-resident fees by filing an affidavit. (need to develop a pdf link for the AB-540 form)

How can a non-resident student establish CA residency?

A student who wishes to change status from non-resident to resident for tuition purposes must prove both physical presence in California for one year and one day prior to the 1st day of the term for which CA residency is being sought, and intent to make California the permanent home for the past year (California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 54024). Presence and intent may be manifested in many ways—no one factor is controlling. If you believe you are eligible to establish California residency per the residency requirements, you must provide the necessary documents listed below, for determination of your residency status. Persons generally ineligible to establish California residency include: students under age 18, students dependent on out-of-state parents/guardians and students with certain visa or citizenship statuses.

Note: Students who are in the process of requesting a change of residency status must provide the required documents by the posted Residency Reclassification Date for the term they seek reclassification. These dates are available in the printed class schedule for each term and in the Academic Calendar.

Listed below are items that may be presented as evidence of presence and intent. A student must present a minimum of two proofs from two different categories numbered below. All official documents presented must be valid, readable, dated at least one year and one day prior to the residence determination date and be properly identified with respect to the student’s name and California address.

1. Bring one of these two documents to the Office of Admissions and Records during normal business hours:
• Current California driver’s license or Department of Motor Vehicles documentation of California driver's license. State law requires a resident driver to obtain a California driver’s license within 10 days from the date residence is established
• California Identification card
2. California Motor Vehicle registration—California Registration Certificate
3. Establishing and maintaining active California bank accounts—bank statement or letter of verification from bank with a California address
4. Records of Income:
   • Documentation of employment—check stub, letter from employer on company letterhead, or company identification
   • California Resident State Income Tax Form 540NR (required by law of any part-year, taxpaying resident of California), or 540 or 540A, from previous year. If the end of the tax year does not fall one year and one day prior to the residence determination date, one of the following documents so dated is also required: check stubs, letter from employer on company letterhead, or other verification
   • Federal Income Tax Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ from previous year with California address. If the end of the tax year does not fall one year and one day prior to the residence determination date, one of the following documents so dated is also required: check stubs, a letter from the employer on company letterhead, or other verification.
5. Verification of California Voter Registration—Voter Registration Card
6. Documentation of purchase and occupancy of residential real estate in California—loan papers, tax receipts, escrow papers or documentation of a residential lease covering the required period
7. Selective Service registration with California permanent address—Selective Service Registration Card
8. Maintaining permanent military address or home of record in California while in armed forces—DD-214
9. Documentation of the student as a California resident having received rehabilitation, unemployment, welfare, or other California State Services—service receipts or agreements of certification by the appropriate agency showing the student as recipient
10. Petition for a divorce in California—legal document
11. License from California for professional practice—legal document
12. Documentation of active resident membership in California professional, service, or social organization—school organization not accepted

As per California Code of Regulations Section 54026 the burden is on the student to demonstrate clearly both physical presence in California and intent to establish California residence. Conduct inconsistent with a CA residency claim includes but is not limited to:

• Driver’s license and/or vehicle registration in another state
• Being a petitioner in a divorce or lawsuit as a resident in another state
• Attending an out-of-state educational institution as a resident of that state
• Declaring non-residence for California income tax purposes
• Presence in the United States as a citizen of another country with a nonresident visa

**VISA STUDENTS ONLY: You must comply with visa regulations, in addition to proving intent.**