North Carolina Residency Information

Forms

• Long 4-page North Carolina Residency Form
  Form used to claim residency for tuition purposes. Use the long form if you have lived in North Carolina for less than three years.
• Short 2-page North Carolina Residency Form
  This form is recommended for individuals who have lived in North Carolina for at least the last 3 years consecutively.
• Resident Status Supplemental Form
  Use this form if you are not a United States citizen.
• Military Tuition Benefit Form
  For military applicants, spouses or dependents.

North Carolina law requires that every student admitted to the university (initially or after a lapse in enrollment) be classified as either a resident or nonresident for tuition purposes for the term for which they are applying to enroll. To be classified as a resident for tuition purposes, you must furnish such evidence as the University may require to enable it to make such a classification. Applicants must download one of the forms above and mail it to us or if you are using the online application to the law school, there is a residency application there also.  The online residency application for graduate students on the university website cannot be used to apply for residency at the School of Law.

North Carolina law (G.S. 116-143.1) provides, "To qualify as a resident for tuition purposes, a person must have established legal residence (domicile) in North Carolina and maintained that legal residence for 12 months immediately prior to his or her classification as a resident for tuition purposes." The information requested on the North Carolina Residency Form must be supplied by every applicant for admission or readmission to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who claims to be eligible for the North Carolina tuition rate. If you claim to be a North Carolina legal resident for tuition purposes, please include a completed North Carolina Residency Form with your application.

Some applicants for admission will be required to complete a more detailed, four-page residency application. Enrolled students seeking a change from nonresident to resident status are required to complete the longer, four-page residency application.  Leaving any of the questions unanswered on the residency application or answering them vaguely will lead to a delay in processing both your residency application and your application for admission to the School of Law.

Important Residency Note

Because each year 75 percent of entering students are legal residents of the State of North Carolina, an applicant's residency status must be determined first before a final admission decision can be made. All applicants claiming North Carolina residency status must complete the short North Carolina Residency Form. If after review of your short Residency Form it appears that more information is needed, a long North Carolina Residency Form will need to be completed. Please be aware that having to review a long Residency Form to determine your residency status will delay your final admission decision. Below is a list of situations that can cause the Office of Admissions to request you to fill out a long Residency Form. This list is by no means exhaustive:

• currently attending school (undergraduate or graduate) outside North Carolina
• currently working outside North Carolina
• currently living outside North Carolina
• relocated to North Carolina within the past three years

Additional information about claiming North Carolina residency for tuition purposes can be obtained from the Office of the University Registrar.