Affidavit of Residency

You can qualify for residency using the affidavit if you meet all the following conditions:

  1. You have received a high school diploma (or equivalent).
  2. You maintained a primary residence in Washington for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before your first term at the college determining residency. The Washington residence must be for purposes other than college. If you take any courses at another Washington college during the prior 12 months, you cannot have taken more than six credits in any given term. If you exceed that limit you must prove that you have a Washington residence for non-college reasons.
  3. You will affirm that you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or that you will file an application to become a permanent resident of the United States as soon as you are eligible to apply.

If you meet all the above requirements, you can use the updated Washington Higher Education Residency Affidavit (pdf) to request a change in residency status. Note that if you applied or will apply for state financial aid using the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WAFSA), then you do not need to submit this affidavit form separately. The affidavit is part of the WAFSA.

Submitting a Residency Affidavit

You must turn in your Residency Affidavit through the online submission portal for the quarter you are applying for. If the submission portal for that quarter is not yet open, you will need to wait until has opened to turn in your affidavit. We do not accept documents by email, postal mail, or any other method.

Non-UW Seattle students should review submission instructions for their campus on that campus’ webpage.
Students who apply to multiple campuses must submit an affidavit to each campus.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this webpage is current as of 06/02/2022. The University of Washington reserves the right to update or remove this page as necessary for clarity and/or to reflect changes to residency law or university policies. This website is intended as guidance only and students are advised to refer to the Washington state laws on residency for current statutes and additional information. See RCW Chapter 28B.15, WAC Chapter 250-18, and WAC Chapter 478-161.

The UW Residency Classification Office will administer residency determinations in accordance with the current law at the time of application.