Missouri Residency Fact Sheet
University of Missouri - St. Louis
In order for you to file a Petition for Missouri Resident Status, you must have applied to the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Each petition from an applicant or accepted student is reviewed individually and in accordance with the Residence & Educational Fee Rules; therefore, it is important that the petition be completed accurately and all required and supporting evidentiary material be submitted with the petition. It is required that all materials be received by the Campus Residency Officer by the end of the eighth week of the current/future Fall or Winter/Spring Semester (by the end of the first week of the current/future Summer Session) for which Missouri Resident Status is sought. Petitions and/or evidentiary material arriving after the above deadline will be considered only for a subsequent semester. For a student to establish residency for fee purposes, the following criteria must be met in the 12 months prior to the academic term for which residency is requested*:
- Cannot be claimed as a dependent in another state. Provide a copy of parent's Federal Income Tax form.
- Reside in Missouri continuously for the 12 months prior to the academic term for which residency is being requested. Provide a copy of lease or contract for proof of rent and dated paycheck stubs indicating employment. Provide paycheck stubs to cover time periods when not in class attendance.
- Have significant taxable earned income in Missouri during the 12 months prior to the academic term for which
residency is requested. Provide a copy of dated paycheck stubs
and/or W-2 and a letter from your employer (on company
letterhead) verifying beginning date of current employment and
hours worked per week. If you have filed a Missouri Tax form
within the past 12 months, submit a copy.
- Have a valid Missouri Driver's License, a Missouri Voter Registration Card, and, if a car is registered in the student's name, proof of its registration in Missouri.
- Permanent Resident Alien Card (non-U.S. citizens only) must be presented to the Campus Residency Officer in person for verification.
- Complete a Petition for Residency Status and submit it with the necessary photocopied or non-returnable original documents (with the exception of the Permanent Resident Alien Card, which will be returned) upon completion of the 12-month period. Click here to open and print the Petition for Missouri Resident Status in Portable Document Format (PDF). This document is four pages in length and may take several minutes to load. It can be viewed with version 4.0 of the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader software.
Optometry Students
In addition to the documentation required of all students seeking to change their residency status, two additional documents are required of Optometry students:
- A signed statement from the student of intent to make
Missouri his/her permanent state of residence.
- A written job offer from a licensed practicing Missouri optometrist or ophthalmologist for a position immediately following graduation and licensure..
The decision of the Campus Residency Officer will not affect the University refund policy nor any other University fees unrelated to residency.
Because the burden of proof of Missouri residency lies with the student, it is important to answer fully all applicable questions and to provide as much supporting material as possible to the Campus Residency Officer at the following address:
Dennis Saunders
Campus Residency Officer
University of Missouri - St. Louis
351 Millennium Student Center
8001 Natural Bridge Rd
Saint Louis, MO 63121-4499
Office: (314) 516-6948
dsaunders@umsl.edu