Residency Determination

Residency for admission and tuition purposes at a public college or university in Texas is not the same as residency for voting or tax purposes. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Legislature established the rules that govern Texas residency for tuition purposes.

Students and applicants are assigned a residency status based on the answers provided on the admission application. Classifications will be either Texas resident (in-state) or nonresident (out-of-state).

A United States citizen or permanent resident who does not meet the required criteria will be classified as a nonresident for tuition purposes. A non-citizen who is not a permanent resident of the United States and has not been permitted by U.S. Congress to adopt the United States as their domicile while in this country will be classified as a foreign (international) student.

Follow these steps:

  • Complete and submit the Residency Reclassification Form below
  • You will be contacted via your student email regarding documents you are required to submit

Out-of-state residency change

If you live in Texas solely to attend school and reside out-of-state for the rest of the year, you are a resident of that state and are not eligible for Texas residency for tuition purposes.

Individuals or parent/court-appointed legal guardians attempting to establish their residency in Texas must physically reside in the state and establish domicile in Texas, by one of the four factors listed below, at least 12 months prior to the semester requested. It is the student’s responsibility to provide documentation in support of their claim of domicile.

Criteria for Establishing Domicile

The following factors occurring throughout at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding your term of enrollment may lend support to your claim of establishing and maintaining a domicile:

  1. Sole or joint marital ownership of residential real property in Texas; having established and maintained principal, permanent residence at that address.
  2. Ownership and customary management of a business while residing in Texas which is regularly operated without the intent of liquidation in the foreseeable future.
  3. Gainful employment that provides for at least one-half of the individual’s expenses or employment of at least twenty hours per week. Employment conditioned upon your status as a student such as work-study, student assistant employment, receipt of stipends, financial aid refunds, fellowships, teaching assistantships, etc. does not qualify as gainful employment.
  4. Marriage to a person who has established and maintained a domicile by one of the above three methods. The marriage must have taken place at least 12 months prior to the term of enrollment.

The cost of attendance benchmark for gainful employment is based on the undergraduate cost to attend. We take the total undergraduate Texas Resident tuition and divide it in half.  

Refer to the Rules and Regulations on the My Texas Future website for additional information.

Additional Pathways to Residency

Eligibility Through High School

Undergraduate students that meet all the following criteria qualify as a Texas resident for tuition purposes:

  • Graduated from a public or accredited private high school in Texas or received the equivalent of a Texas high school diploma in the state AND
  • Lived in Texas for the 36 months immediately preceding the date of high school graduation AND
  • Lived in Texas the 12 months preceding the census date of the academic semester in which the student enrolls at Tarleton State University

Financially Independent Student

  1. An individual who provides more than one-half of their own financial support and is not eligible to be claimed as a dependent for income tax purposes AND
  2. Has established and maintained their domicile in Texas for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the academic semester in which they enroll at Tarleton State University
  3. Has maintained a residence continuously in the state for the 12 months immediately preceding the census date of the academic semester in which the person enrolls in the institution

We may request 12 months of pay stubs from all employment to support the student’s claim of Texas residency for tuition purposes. Multiple jobs are permitted as long as they qualify under the rules for gainful employment above in Criteria for Establishing Domicile.

Financially Dependent Student basing Residency on Parent

  1. An individual whose parent or court-appointed legal guardian claims the student as a dependent for federal income tax purposes (or provides more than half of the student’s financial support for those not subject to US federal income taxes) AND
  2. Has established a domicile in Texas not less than 12 months before the census date of the academic semester in which they enroll at Tarleton State University AND
  3. Has maintained a residence continuously in the state for the 12 months immediately preceding the census date of the academic semester in which the person enrolls in the institution.

We may request the most recent 1040 tax form showing the student is claimed as a dependent and proof of parental employment over the previous 12 months to support the claim of Texas residency for tuition purposes.

Military Student or Dependent

The following information is provided for members of the United States Armed Services and their spouses or dependents. Students can qualify as Texas residents in one of these two ways:

  1. The service member’s Home of Record with the military is Texas
  2. The service member’s Home of Record is not Texas, but their taxable state has been Texas for at least 12 consecutive months prior to enrollment.

Documents we may request include:

  • The service member’s Officer/Enlisted Records Brief
  • The last 12 months of Leave and Earnings Statements showing Texas as the taxable state
  • Form DD-214 if the service member has separated from the military
  • If the student is a dependent of the service member, we will also require the most recent 1040 tax form showing the student is claimed as a dependent or a copy of the student’s military dependent ID card

Non-Citizens Who Attend a Texas High School

In order to qualify as a Texas resident for tuition purposes, ALL of the following criteria must be met:

  • Graduated or will graduate from a public or private high school in Texas or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in the state
  • Lived in Texas for the 36 months immediately preceding the date of high school graduation (10th, 11th, and 12th grades)
  • Lived in Texas the 12 months preceding the census date of the academic semester in which the student enrolls Tarleton State University

Deadlines

The deadline is the 12th class day for the Fall and Spring terms. The deadlines vary for Summer semesters.

Questions

If you are an undergraduate student, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Undergraduate Admissions:
254-968-9125
admissions@tarleton.edu

If you are a graduate student, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions.
Graduate Admissions
254-968-9104
grad-docs@tarleton.edu