Submit a Florida Residency Declaration Form and documentation to show proof of Florida residency. For students under the age of 24 years, your parent or guardian's residency documentation must be provided in addition to their signature on the Declaration Form.
The Florida Residency Declaration Form must be received no later than the 100% refund date for the session/term in which Florida residency is being requested. Otherwise, the Florida classification for tuition purposes will be effective the following term.
Two documents supporting a minimum of 12 months residency in Florida must be presented. The most common types of residency documentation are:
PDF scanned copy of documents and completed/signed Declaration Form may be uploaded or emailed to the Office of Admission and Registration at any campus.
The Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes policy is based upon state statute, rules of the two higher education governing boards in Florida, and statewide guidelines developed by college and university administrators in conjunction with the Statewide Residency Committee and the Florida Department of Education.
All students who are admitted to a public College or University in Florida must complete an affidavit and provide proof of residency for tuition purposes in accordance with state law in order to pay “in-state” tuition.
Section 1009.21, Florida Statutes, outlines the broad legal parameters for establishing residency for tuition purposes in Florida public higher education institutions. It is the highest level of authority regarding residency as established by the Florida Legislature. This statute also provides authority for the Department of Education to establish rules related to residency for tuition purposes.
The policy regarding residency for tuition purposes in Florida is composed of several layers, including state statute, rules of the two higher education governing boards in Florida, and statewide guidelines developed by college and university administrators in conjunction with the Statewide Residency Committee and the Florida Department of Education.
This Residency Guidelines document was adopted by the Articulation Coordinating Committee to assist college and university administrators in implementing Section 1009.21, Florida Statutes; Rules 6A-10.044 and 6A-20.003, Florida Administrative Code; and the Board of Governors (BOG) Residency Regulation. The guidelines, as maintained by the Statewide Residency Committee, are used to determine residency status for tuition purposes in public colleges and universities.
Section 1009.21, F.S., Determination of resident status for tuition purposes, was amended during the 2010 legislative session. View a copy of the amended section of law (see lines 248-457).
The Florida Residency Guidelines for Tuition Purposes were adopted by the Articulation Coordinating Committee September 6, 2006 and last updated October 27, 2010.
Students who are admitted to public-supported postsecondary educational institutions in Florida, including Miami Dade College (MDC), must complete a declaration and provide proof of “Florida residency for tuition classification purposes,” in accordance with state law. Applicable state laws on this subject are 1009.21, Florida Statutes (F.S.) and 6A-10.044, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.).
The following information serves as a summary of the Florida Residency requirements.
The tuition amount due for the classes in which you enroll is determined by your residency classification. Florida residents pay a much lower tuition rate than out-of-state residents.
All students who apply online will be admitted as non-Florida residents until each student provides the required declaration form and supporting documentation needed to prove Florida residency. You will be charged out-of-state tuition if you do not provide this information to an MDC campus Admissions and Registration Office before the first day of the term.
Living in or attending school in Florida will not, in itself, establish legal residence for tuition classification purposes. Your residence in Florida must be based on establishing a permanent home unrelated to college enrollment. Students who depend on out-of-state parents for support are presumed to be legal residents of the same state as their parents. Additional determinations, such as immigration and dependent/independent status may affect Florida residency for tuition classification. The documents required to establish initial classification and reclassification are explained below.
Non-U.S. citizen students and/or their parent(s)/guardian must provide evidence of eligible legal immigration status in the U.S. before they may be considered for Florida resident fees. Please check with an MDC campus Admissions and Registration Office for more specific information on the non-U.S. citizen categories that are eligible to be considered for Florida resident fees.
A Florida resident for tuition purposes is an independent person, or a dependent person’s parent, who has established and maintained legal residency in Florida for at least 12 consecutive months before the first day of the term. Listed below are the definitions of “independent” and “dependent” statuses, as applicable to Florida residency for tuition classification purposes.
All documents supporting the establishment of Florida residency for tuition classification purposes must:
Unacceptable documents–the documents below cannot be used to support Florida residency classification for tuition purposes
Students who claim Florida residency for tuition purposes must provide the following:
Except as otherwise stated, a student who is classified as a nonresident for tuition purposes may become eligible for reclassification as a Florida resident for tuition purposes by presenting a minimum of three (3) documents, one of which must be from the first group of documents, and the other two documents may be from either of the two groups identified earlier in this document that convincingly demonstrate the establishment of permanent legal residence in Florida other than for the sole purpose of pursuing a postsecondary education. In addition, documentation must demonstrate that students—or, for dependent students, their parent—maintained legal residence in Florida for at least twelve (12) consecutive months prior to their request for reclassification; examples of such documentation are proof of full-time permanent employment for the prior twelve (12) consecutive months or proof of purchase of a home in Florida and proof of having lived there for the prior twelve (12) consecutive months while not enrolled in an institution of higher education.
An Out-of-State Fee Waiver for select Florida high school graduates became effective on July 1, 2014 for eligible students who do not qualify as Florida residents for tuition purposes. See the Out-of-State Fee Waiver requirements if you believe you may be eligible for this waiver.
Effective July 1, 2014, and applicable Fall Term 2014 and thereafter, House Bill 7015 [amended section (s.) 1009.26, Florida Statutes (F.S.), fee waivers] created the Congressman C.W. Bill Young Veteran Tuition Waiver Program, which authorized an out-of-state fee waiver for honorably discharged veterans of the United States (U.S.) Armed Forces, U.S. Reserve Forces or the National Guard who physically reside in Florida. See the Out-of-State Tuition Waiver for Veterans requirements if you believe you may be eligible for this waiver.
The above information serves as a summary of Florida law and related policies/procedures applied by Miami Dade College in determining eligibility of Florida residency for tuition purposes.
Effective June 15, 2012, certain individuals who meet specific guidelines may request consideration of deferred action from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Individuals who receive deferred action will not be placed into removal proceedings or removed from the United States for a specified period of time unless terminated. If you receive deferred action, you may be eligible for employment authorization.
Note that deferred action does not provide an individual with lawful status and is irrelevant to proving Florida residency for tuition purposes. All newly admitted and re-admitted students must complete the required affidavit and provide valid proof of Florida residency to qualify for in-state fees.
All information is subject to change without notice.
Revised July 1, 2024
You can now complete and submit your Florida residency declaration for tuition purposes online.
If you already started filling out your form and saved your progress you may continue here.
