Tuition Classification Regulations for the University of Colorado Boulder
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Read this to determine if you are eligible to apply for in-state tuition. There are two ways to read this. you can browse this page using the Index to help you navigate through it.

Index of Tuition classification information

Summary of Tuition Classification Regulations

These tuition classification regulations are explained in greater detail following this section.

  1. In-state status requires domicile (legal, primary residence) in Colorado for the year immediately preceding the first day of class.  The insert explains the exceptions to the one-year domicile requirement.

  2. Domicile is defined as your true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation.  Domicile is a legal characteristic that everyone has, and you can have only one domicile at any one time.  Your domicile is your legal, primary residence.

  3. If your parents are not Colorado domiciliaries, you must be a qualified person to begin the one-year domiciliary period.  A qualified person is someone who is either:  at least 22 years old, or married, or emancipated, or a graduate student.  Persons who are not citizens of the United States should read the section regarding aliens on page 3 for additional information.

  4. Unemancipated minors (students under age 22) are eligible for in-state tuition if a parent or court-appointed legal guardian has been domiciled in Colorado for one year.

  5. Emancipation requires that your parents cannot provide financial support of any nature for any purpose.  Parental support includes funds your parents may have previously set aside for your current support even if those funds are in your name.  Parents may provide reasonable incidental gifts consistent with emancipation but may not provide significant funds that would be characteristic of a continuing parent-child support relationship.

  6. To begin the one year domicile period, a qualified person must be residing in Colorado with the present intention to reside permanently in Colorado.  To demonstrate this intention, you should take all actions that would be expected of any permanent resident of Colorado in your circumstances.  These actions include severing from your former state of domicile such usual domiciliary connections as voter registration, driver’s license, vehicle registration, employment, and income tax filing, and establishing these connections in Colorado.

  7. Your in-state eligibility will be lost if you or your parents (depending on your age and parental support) maintain domicile outside Colorado for one year.  However, if you are an unemancipated minor, you may retain in-state status if your parents have lived in Colorado at least four years (see FOUR YEAR RULE, page 2).  Regaining in-state status requires a new one year domicile period.

During the one-year domicile period, you should comply with all legal obligations of a Colorado resident, despite being classified as out-of state, or nonresident, for tuition purposes. 

You may be enrolled in school and you may live in University housing during this time. 

You may leave the state for vacations or for other temporary reasons and need not maintain a residence in Colorado during a temporary absence.  To maintain Colorado domicile during a temporary absence, you should keep Colorado connections, particularly voter registration and declaration of any out-of-state income on your Colorado state income tax return.  On any other state tax return, you must file as a nonresident.  However, residing in your previous home state for a substantial period of time (including summer) is some evidence of continued domicile in that place, although such residence does not by itself disqualify you for in-state status.

Qualified Person

You must be a qualified person to be eligible to establish a Colorado domicile and begin the one year domicile period necessary to qualify for in-state tuition.  Adults, emancipated minors, and graduate students are qualified persons.

Adults

You are eligible to establish domicile and begin the one year domicile period if you are at least 22 years old, or are married, or are emancipated from your parents, or if you are a graduate student.  Persons not so qualified are unemancipated minors and assume the domicile of their parents or court-appointed legal guardian.

Adult students cannot qualify for in-state tuition through their parents, with the following exception:  Because in-state status is lost only after one year of domicile elsewhere, adult students less than age 23 may be able to qualify through their parents.  Consult the Tuition Classification Officer for additional information.

Emancipated Minors

You are an emancipated minor if you are less than 22 years old and if your parents have entirely surrendered the right to your care, custody, and earnings; and if they are no longer under any duty to support you; and if they have made no provision for your support.  This means that your parents cannot provide financial support of any nature for any ordinary or necessary expense.  Parental support includes, but is not limited to, gifts and loans (including PLUS loans) that you depend on for financial support.  Trust funds or other assets established by your parents before the one-year domicile period are regarded as evidence of nonemancipation if the funds or assets were intended, or could reasonably have been expected, to provide support for the period you claim to be emancipated.

If you are an emancipated minor granted in-state tuition status, you are subject to reclassification as out-of-state if your parents resume support.

Income Tax Dependence

If federal dependent requirements are met, your parents may claim you as an exemption for tax purposes if you are a resident of their home more than half the year.  For example, you would be judged emancipated as of July if Colorado becomes your permanent home and your parents cease support at that time, even though they claim you as a dependent for that year.  They cannot claim you as a dependent for following years.

Insurance

You may be covered under your parents' health and automobile insurance if you may be covered despite not being their dependent and if you pay all costs, such as additional premiums and deductibles, associated with your coverage.

Married Students

If you are married, you are emancipated regardless of parental support. 

Marriage to a Colorado resident does not by itself qualify you for in-state tuition status.  Although such a marriage may be considered some evidence of intent, you must maintain your own Colorado domicile for one year.

Unemancipated Minors

If you are less than 22 years old and depend on your parents for financial support, you are an unemancipated minor.
Unemancipated minors must qualify for in-state tuition through their parents or court-appointed legal guardians.  

As an unemancipated minor, you qualify for in-state tuition if either of your parents, regardless of custody, has been domiciled in Colorado for the one year prior to the first day of class, even if you reside elsewhere.  The parent-child or guardian-child relationship must also have been in effect for one year.

FOUR YEAR RULE

If your parents (or court-appointed legal guardians) maintain Colorado domicile for four years and establish domicile elsewhere, you will remain eligible for in-state tuition if:

a.  Your parents leave Colorado after your junior year of high school and if you enroll at a Colorado public college or university within three years and six months after your parents leave Colorado.

OR

b.  You maintain continuous Colorado domicile.  This provision will generally be met if you continue to reside in Colorado after your parents leave or if you reside outside the State only temporarily (for example, to attend college or for military service) while maintaining Colorado domiciliary connections such as voter registration and income tax filing (see “Colorado Domicile” on page 3.)

GUARDIANSHIPS

You may qualify for in-state tuition through the domicile of a Colorado guardian only if your guardian has legal custody as defined by Colorado Revised Statutes §19-1-103(73).  The court appointing the guardianship must certify that the primary purpose of the appointment is not to qualify the student 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 one year.

Aliens

Persons who are lawful permanent residents or who are admitted as refugees are eligible to establish domicile for tuition purposes.

Nonimmigrant aliens who are residing in Colorado for purposes other than education may qualify for in-state status after one year of Colorado residence.  The nonimmigrant categories subject to this provision are determined by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.  Nonimmigrants in the following categories cannot qualify for in-state tuition:  F-1, F-2, H-3, H-4 (if the visa holder is the spouse or child of an H-3), J-1 and J-2 (if the J-1 visa holder is a student or trainee), M-1, and M-2.

 

Military Personnel

MILITARY EXCEPTION
  1. Active-duty members of the armed forces of the United States and Canada on either PCS or TDY orders in Colorado and their dependents (as defined by military regulations) are eligible for in-state status, regardless of domicile or length of residence in Colorado.  The military member must have reported to a duty station in the State, as certified by their military command, by the first day of class of the applicable academic term.  Members of the Colorado National Guard who maintain their sole legal residence in Colorado and their dependents also qualify for in-state tuition regardless of length of residence.

  2. If the parent was on active duty in Colorado at any time during the student’s senior year of high school in Colorado, the student retains in-state status if the parent retires and remains in Colorado or is transferred outside Colorado.  The student must enroll in a public institution of higher education in Colorado within 12 months of graduation, but cannot have attended college outside Colorado.  Military dependents continuously enrolled in a Colorado college continue to qualify for in-state tuition if the military member is transferred outside Colorado or retires and remains in Colorado.

  3. Unless the student meets the requirement for domicile in Colorado for one year as detailed above, this eligibility expires as of the first term that begins after retirement or loss of dependent status, except as provided by item 2, above.

MILITARY MEMBERS DOMICILED IN COLORADO

To retain domicile during an absence from Colorado due to military orders, military personnel must maintain Colorado as their state of legal residence for tax purposes, and voters must maintain Colorado voter registration. 

Military personnel may retain legal residence in their original state, or they may establish a new legal residence in a state in which they reside due to military orders.  They may not establish domicile in Colorado while residing elsewhere or while being physically present in the State only on a temporary basis.

Persons domiciled in Colorado for one year who enter active duty military service, and who return permanently to Colorado within 6 months of discharge, and their dependents, qualify for in-state tuition regardless of changes of domicile while on active duty.

VETERANS

Honorably discharged members of the Armed Forces moving permanently to Colorado qualify for in-state tuition.

Evidence of Domicile

You can establish domicile in Colorado only if you are residing in Colorado with the present intention to reside permanently in the state.  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.  See, for example, the time periods required for driver’s license and vehicle registration, below. 

Note:  If the classification officer judges that you did not regard Colorado as your permanent home when you first came to Colorado, the one year domicile period cannot begin until these actions are taken, absent other clear and convincing evidence of Colorado domicile.

COLORADO DOMICILE

The Tuition Classification Officer considers the following evidence, as specified by law, and any additional relevant information, when evaluating requests for in-state tuition. 

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

  • 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 into Colorado.  For subsequent years, you should file a full-year resident Colorado return and a nonresident return for any other state in which you are required to file.  For additional information, contact the Colorado Department of Revenue, 1375 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80203; telephone 303-238-7378.

  • 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 are employed) or within 120 days (if unemployed).  If you do not drive, you must obtain a Colorado identification card.  These documents are available from the Driver's License Division, located in Boulder at 28th Street and Iris Avenue; telephone 303-442-3006.  For the identification requirements for a Colorado license or ID, see http://www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/wrap.asp?incl=faqdrli/faqdrli1

  • Colorado vehicle registration.  If you operate a motor vehicle, you must register it in Colorado within 90 days of moving to Colorado (if you are employed) or within 180 days (if unemployed).  This law applies to any vehicle you have, whether or not you are the registered owner.  Contact your county clerk for vehicle registration.  Boulder County vehicle registration information is available from the County Clerk, 1750 33rd St.; telephone 303-413-7710.

  • Voter registration in Colorado. You may register to vote with your county clerk, or when you obtain your Colorado driver’s license, as soon as you move into the State.  Boulder County voter registration information is available from the County Clerk, 1750 33rd St.; telephone 303-413-7740.

  • Permanent employment or acceptance of future permanent employment in Colorado.

  • Ownership of residential real property in Colorado that is your primary residence.  Ownership of vacation or income property is not an indication of domicile.

  • Graduation from a Colorado high school.

  • Continued residence in Colorado during the summer or during other periods when not enrolled as a student or during periods between academic sessions.

  • Other factors particular to your situation may be considered also, and should be documented.
NON-COLORADO DOMICILE
  • The following items are evidence indicating domicile outside 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, as well as failure to file a Colorado state income tax return if your income is sufficient to be required to do so.

  • Return to your former state of residence for a substantial period of time during the summer or during other periods when not enrolled as a student or between academic sessions. 

  • 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. If your parents live in Colorado and if you reside outside Colorado for less than three years, this factor is not weighed against you. However, if you reside outside Colorado for one year or more, other factors may support a judgment that you have lost in-state status.

  • Any other factor particular to your situation that indicates non-Colorado domicile. Examples include applying for a loan or receiving college financial aid from another state where domicile in that state is a condition for receiving funds, and voting or registering to vote in another state.
Other Matters

Your initial tuition classification is determined from information you supply on your application for admission to the University.  You may file a petition if you wish to contest out-of-state classification status or if you subsequently become eligible for in-state status.  If the Tuition Classification Officer denies your petition, you may appeal to the University Tuition Classification Review Board.

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 statute places the burden of proof on you to provide clear and convincing evidence of eligibility.

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.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE ONE-YEAR DOMICILE REQUIREMENT

The following chart indicates the exceptions to the one-year domicile requirement and whether the individual, a child dependent, or spouse qualifies.  Also indicated is whether the exception provides for Colorado Opportunity Fund (COF) eligibility and if the student is eligible for resident financial aid programs.  Consult tuition classification staff to apply for these exceptions.

.

 

In-state
eligible

child
dependent
qualifies

spouse qualifies

COF eligible

resident financial
aid eligible

Colorado National Guard member (Colorado residents only)

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

Active Duty military stationed in Colorado PCS

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

Active Duty military stationed in Colorado TDY

YES

YES

YES

NO

NO

Active Duty military not stationed in Colorado

NO

YES1

YES1

NO

NO

Returning active-duty member2

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Canadian military active duty in Colorado

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

Veterans3

YES

YES4

YES4

YES

NO

Economic Incentive Program5

YES

YES

NO

YES

NO

New faculty at Colorado state-supported college

NO

YES

NO

YES

NO

Western Regional Graduate Program6

YES

NO

NO

*

NO

Three year resident7

YES

NO

NO

YES

YES

*COF does not apply to graduate programs

1Must have completed two years of high school in Colorado in the past five years.

2A returning active duty member is a person domiciled in Colorado one year immediately preceding entering active duty who does not maintain Colorado domicile continuously while on active duty and who returns permanently to Colorado within 6 months of discharge.

3Honorably-discharged member of the Armed Forces moving permanently to Colorado.

4Must have completed two years of high school in Colorado.

5Employee moving to Colorado as a result of employer relocating to Colorado due to an incentive from the Colorado Office of Economic Development.  Employee must have been employed by the employer prior to the relocation.

6See http://wrgp.wiche.edu/ for qualifying graduate majors.

7U.S. citizen; Colo. high school graduate attending high school in Colo. 3 years immediately preceding enrollment or Colorado GED and resides in Colo. 3 years immediately preceding enrollment.

Last Updated March 5, 2013

Important Legal Notes
  1. 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 statute places the burden of proof on you to provide clear and convincing evidence of eligibility.

  2. 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.

  3. 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 Colorado does not have discretion to make exceptions to the rules as established by state law.