Residency

As a resident of California, you will be charged much lower enrollment fees than non-California residents. When you apply to a community college, there will be a number of questions the college will use to determine your state of residency. This means you need to be sure to carefully read and answer all of the questions in the residency section of the application.

To be considered a California resident, you must have lived in California for at least one year and must provide proof of intent to become a permanent California resident. Some examples of proof include having a California driver's license, voter registration, or car registration. The residency portion of your application will ask about these and other items. The college will determine your residency based on all of the information you provide. No single document is necessarily conclusive proof. If you are under 18 and unmarried, then the residence of the parent or guardian with whom you live or lived most recently will determine your residency.

If you are a non-U.S. citizen, you must provide evidence [such as an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-551), an Arrival-Departure record (I-94), a visa or passport] of immigration status before your residence status can be determined.

If you are a member of the military with residence in another state, you may be granted resident status (for enrollment fee purposes) and have nonresident tuition waived. You must be assigned to active duty in California for other than educational purposes, and have proof of your active military status.

Each college term has a specific residency determination date. If your actions to establish residency occurred less than a year prior to the residency determination date, you will not be eligible for resident enrollment fees. Remember, if you have any questions about residency issues contact the campus staff responsible for residency determination.