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 in addition to the residency form if you are not a United States citizen and are eligible to apply for North Carolina residency.
• 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 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 either download one of the forms above and mail it with the application or, if using the online application, may fill out the form there. 

Please note: 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.

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.

Important Residency Note

Each entering class is usually comprised of 75 percent in-state students and 25 percent out-of-state students. Therefore, each applicant's residency status must be determined 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. You may be asked to fill out the long residency form if you are in any of the following situations -- but this list is by no means exhuastive: 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.