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Plymouth State University
MSC 11
17 High Street
Plymouth, NH 03264-1595
Qualifying for New Hampshire residency
The following information is based on the residency rules of the University System of New Hampshire and is intended as an aid to those considering an application for reclassification. It is not a complete statement of the system residency rules, and in any issue of interpretation only the official regulations apply. The complete rules may be consulted on our website or at the office of the residency officer.
Q. I have been accepted for admission to Plymouth State University as a non-Resident, but I believe I am entitled to resident status. What should I do?
A. When you apply for admission (or readmission) to the University, the determination of residency status is made by the Office of Admissions (or by the appropriate Graduate Office for graduate students). Until you have actually enrolled at the University, you should contact Admissions with any questions about your residency status. After you are in attendance, you should contact the residency officer in the Office of the Registrar.
Q. I have been attending Plymouth State for a year. How can I get reclassified to in-state?
A. You must complete a formal application and be approved by the residency officer before you are eligible to pay tuition at the in-state rate. Your application will not be approved unless you satisfy the regulations of the University System of New Hampshire. For instance, it is not enough simply to be a student at Plymouth State for a year. If you are dependent on your parents for support, then you and your parents must have established domicile in New Hampshire for a year before you are eligible for reclassification. Applications must be filed by September 1 for Fall term and by January 1 for Spring term.
Q. What does domicile mean?
A. Domicile means a person’s true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where the person intends to remain and to which he or she expects to return when he or she leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere. A person can have only one domicile at a time, so to establish domicile in New Hampshire, he or she would have to abandon a domicile elsewhere.
Q. My family has just moved to New Hampshire. When do I qualify for resident tuition?
A. You and your parents must have established domicile in New Hampshire for twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the term for which in-state Status is sought. You should file an application with the residency officer by September 1 for Fall semester and by January 1 for Spring semester. The year of domicile in New Hampshire must be completed before those deadlines; otherwise your reclassification must wait until the next semester.
Q. What sort of evidence must I present to prove that my parents have established domicile in New Hampshire?
A. Any sort of evidence relating to permanent residency will be considered, but here are some of the types of evidence that an applicant may be asked to submit: payment of tax levied on persons resident or domiciled in the state or a political subdivision; residence reported on tax returns; registration of automobiles; state issuing driver’s license; voting residence; place and date of employment; place and date of home purchase or rental; and the like. The documents must also show that permanent residency began at least twelve months prior to the term for which instate status is sought.
Q. My parents own a house in New Hampshire and pay real estate taxes here. Doesn’t that automatically make them New Hampshire residents, and don’t I qualify for in-state tuition?
A. No. For university system purposes, your parents must be domiciled in New Hampshire. See the definition of domicile above. Owning property or paying taxes is not enough to establish domicile in the state.
Q. I have a New Hampshire driver’s license; my car is registered in New Hampshire; and I have registered to vote here. Doesn’t all that entitle me to resident tuition?
A. No. For dependent students a crucial factor is where their parents are domiciled. The student and parents must be domiciled in New Hampshire for twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the term for which in-state status is sought. For students claiming independence (emancipation), the rules are more complicated. Independent students must demonstrate both financial independence from parents and residence in New Hampshire for some purpose other than the temporary or primary one of obtaining an education. See the later questions regarding students claiming an independent status.
Q. My parents are divorced. My father lives in New Hampshire, and my mother lives out-of-state. Do I qualify for resident status?
A. It depends. The system rules stipulate that in the case of separated or divorced parents, parent shall mean either a parent with legal custody or a parent providing more than one-half of a student’s total financial support. If the parent with legal custody is domiciled in New Hampshire or the parent providing more than onehalf of your total financial support is domiciled in New Hampshire, then you probably qualify for resident status.
Q. I am independent of my parents, who live outside New Hampshire and who don’t claim me as a dependent on their income tax. I have been in University at Plymouth State for a year. Don’t I now qualify for resident tuition?
A. Probably not. The establishment of an emancipated (independent) status is complicated. The system rules stipulate, basically, that a student is not emancipated unless his or her parents have entirely surrendered the right to the care, custody and earnings of the student and are no longer under any legal obligation to support or maintain the student and have ceased to support or maintain him or her. The student must meet all the following tests:
- lack of financial support by the parents
- lack of contribution to the parents of earnings or other income received by the student;
- failure of the parent to claim the person as a dependent on the parent’s income or other tax forms;
- establishment by the student of a domicile separate and apart from parents; and
- failure of the student to return to the home of the parent during vacations and other recesses from school.
Q. What is a matriculated student?
A. A matriculated student is one who has been admitted to the University through the Office of Admissions as a degree-seeking student, either full- or part-time. Matriculated students have a class and can have a major. In contrast, nonmatriculated (Continuing Education) students are not in a class or major and must attend part-time.
Q. As a student claiming independence (emancipation), what must I do to show that I am not in New Hampshire for the temporary or primary purpose of obtaining an education?
A. You could demonstrate this most easily by being domiciled in the state for one year prior to enrolling in Plymouth State. If you are already attending Plymouth State, you cannot be reclassified to in-state while attending continuously as a matriculated student. You must return, so to speak, to the condition of a person living in the state for a year before attending a state system University. You must interrupt matriculated enrollment for a year, though during that year you may attend as a Continuing Education (non-matriculated) student.
Q. What is involved in interrupting enrollment as a matriculated student?
A. You must formally withdraw from the University. In any case, during the following year you may not attend a University System University as a matriculated student. During the following year, you must be domiciled in New Hampshire, you may attend a system University only as a part-time non-degree-seeking student, and you may take no more than 11.5 credits per term. During this time you must pay tuition at the non-resident rate per credit hour carried. Withdrawals are handled by the office of the Dean of Student Affairs, Speare 305.
Q. If I am claiming independent (emancipated) status, what sort of evidence must I submit to support my claim of independence?
A. You must submit a complete, notarized application which includes, among other items, a detailed accounting of your expenses and sources of income for the last calendar year, as well as expenses and income expected for the coming year. Your sources of income must be supported by tax and bank records. In addition, you may be asked to provide the dependents portion of your parents’ most recent federal income tax return.
Q. What is the effect on my financial aid if I attend as a non-matriculated student?
A. If you withdraw or take a leave of absence and subsequently attend as a Continuing Education (part-time, non-matriculated) student, you do not qualify for financial aid for that term. If you have questions regarding financial aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid, Speare 108, for assistance.
Q. If I interrupt my continuous matriculated enrollment, what do I do next?
A. You must apply for readmission through the Office of Admissions. You should contact them about three months before the term in which you wish to re-enroll as a matriculated student. At about the same time you should file your application for reclassification and supporting documents with the residency officer. The deadlines for the reclassification application are September 1 for Fall term and January 1 for Spring term, but you should contact the residency officer two or three months in advance of these deadlines.
Q. Whom do I contact if I have questions about the residency requirements?
A. Until you have actually enrolled, contact the Office of Admissions (or for graduate students, the appropriate Graduate Office). After enrollment, contact the residency officer in the Office of the Registrar.
Q. If I’m an enrolled student, where do I get an application for reclassification?
A. From the residency officer at this address: Residency Officer Office of the Registrar, MSC 7, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, New Hampshire 03264-1595 (603) 535-2345 Or you can download an application (PDF 60kb) and mail it in to us.
