Residency Information for Current Students

If you're under the age of 23, unless you meet the criteria as a qualified person below, you must use the domicile information of a parent or court-appointed legal guardian to determine residency status. Your parent is considered the qualified individual for your residency determination.

You are a qualified individual and eligible to establish domicile separate from your parents if, at the beginning of the 12-month domicile year, you were one of the following:

• 23 years of age or older
• Married
• Active or veteran member of armed forces, exceptions apply
• A graduate student
• Emancipated minor

You are eligible to establish domicile and begin the one year domicile period if you are at least 23 years old, are married, or are emancipated from your parents. You must be a qualified person for at least one year preceding the beginning of the term for which in-state classification is being sought in order to be eligible to establish a Colorado domicile on your own and begin the one year domicile period necessary to qualify for in-state tuition.

Adult students, 23+ years of age, generally can't qualify for in-state tuition through their parents.

Each person, male or female, must qualify based on his or her own legal connections with the state. Marriage to a Colorado resident does not automatically qualify a student for in-state tuition. Colorado has passed a State Equal Rights Amendment to the Colorado Constitution, which means that each person is treated equally.

The requirements for establishing residency for tuition purposes are defined by Colorado law (Colorado Revised Statutes 23-7-101 et. Seq), and the tuition classification statutes apply to all state-funded institutions in Colorado. Institutions are bound by the provisions of this statute and are not free to make exceptions to the rules. The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) also has information regarding the residency classification rules.

Domicile is used to describe the place where an individual has demonstrated intent to make a permanent home and legal residence. Colorado residency requires a domicile in Colorado for 12 continuous months on or prior to the first day of classes of each semester.

In order to demonstrate Colorado Domicile, you first must demonstrate physical presence in the state. Physical presence refers to the place where a person lives. Proof of physical presence may include several items. 

• Home ownership
• A lease agreement
• Rent receipts
• A notarized statement from a landlord

Having a domicile in Colorado involves more than mere physical presence in the state. In addition to demonstrating physical presence, you must also demonstrate intent to make Colorado your permanent home.

Evidence of intent to make Colorado your permanent home and legal residence is demonstrated by giving up all your legal ties with any prior state and establishing them with Colorado for at least 12 continuous months. Intent is demonstrated by completing all applicable actions to legally tie yourself to the State as would be expected of any other Colorado resident.

There is no formula or checklist to follow in establishing domicile. Generally, physical presence plus one connection with the state will not be sufficient to establish domicile. Several kinds of connections are necessary, and the more connections that are made, the more assurance a person has of qualifying for residency.

• Colorado driver's license or valid Colorado ID
• Colorado motor vehicle registration
• Colorado voter registration
• Permanent employment in Colorado
• Permanent, full-time, off-campus employment and payment of Colorado State income taxes are considered highly persuasive evidence of intent to make Colorado one's permanent home. Student employment or temporary work is not considered persuasive. It is the actual official acceptance of employment that forms the connection with the state.
• Payment of Colorado state income taxes as a Colorado resident
• Ownership of, and residence in, a residential property in Colorado
• Graduation from a Colorado high school and/or continued presence in Colorado during periods when not enrolled in college, or during periods between academic sessions

Bank accounts, seeking dental or medical care, and marrying or divorcing in the state are matters of convenience because one happens to be present in the state and are therefore not the kinds of connections with the state that show intent to make Colorado one's permanent home.

Any connections maintained with any other state during the 12-month period for establishing domicile may be viewed as negative intent to make Colorado one’s permanent home. A variety of evidence can indicate domicile outside Colorado.

• Failure to pay Colorado state income tax, if your income is sufficient to be taxed
• Filing a Colorado state income tax return as a non-resident or filing with an out-of-state address
• Failure to obtain a Colorado driver’s license or Colorado ID
• Residing in another state between academic terms or when not enrolled as a student
• Maintenance of a home in another state
• Prolonged absence from Colorado, except for military or civilian government service or for temporary absences required by an employer
• Being registered to vote in another state
• Any other factor particular to your situation that indicates non-Colorado domicile

The requirements for establishing residency for tuition purposes are defined by Colorado law (Colorado Revised Statutes 23-7-101 et. Seq), and the tuition classification statutes apply to all state-funded institutions in Colorado. Institutions are bound by the provisions of this statute and are not free to make exceptions to the rules. The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) also has information regarding the residency classification rules.

Students who graduated from a Colorado high school or completed GED prior to September 1, 2013 and were not admitted into Colorado university or college within 12 months of graduation but meet ALL other eligibility criteria may qualify for in-state tuition by providing documentation to the school proving that the student has been physically present in Colorado for eighteen months prior to enrolling.

Students granted in-state tuition under this provision are not eligible for state financial aid.

The dependent child of a new faculty member, but not the faculty member or the spouse, at a state-supported institution of higher education is eligible for Colorado residency for tuition purposes. A faculty member is defined as academic faculty with regular and special appointments of 50% time or greater. A dependent child is an unmarried undergraduate student under the age of 23 on or before the first day of class.