As a Washington state public institution, Whatcom Community College is required to comply with all applicable state laws regarding residency classification (RCW 28B.15 and WAC 250.18).
State laws require that new residents of Washington change out-of-state driver's licenses and out-of-state motor vehicle registrations within 30 days of arrival in this state (RCW 46.16.028 and RCW 46.20.021). New residents should also change out-of-state voter registrations.
Students will be initially classified as "in-state" or "out-of-state" based on the information provided in the admissions application. This means that students who are classified as out-of-state will be charged out-of-state tuition. Students who are classified as in-state will be charged in-state tuition. Please see the Tuition & Fees page for a breakdown of tuition and fee costs.
Students who are requesting reclassification from out-of-state to in-state are required to provide proof of meeting the one-year residency requirement by submitting a Residence Questionnaire and supporting documentation including, but not limited to, driver's license, motor vehicle registration, voter registration, home purchase/lease agreement, verification of full-time employment, etc. The Residence Checklist will help you determine if you are eligible for in-state tuition and what supporting documents you will need to provide.
All requests to change from out-of-state to in-state must be received in the Admissions & Registration Office, Records department before the 30th calendar day of the quarter that the change is being requested.
In general, a student is considered a "resident" for tuition and fee purposes under the following conditions:
- The student is a U.S. citizen, or has permanent or temporary resident status, or holds "refugee-parolee" or "conditional entrant" status with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, or is otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law; and
- The student is financially independent for the current calendar year and the calendar year prior to which application is made (if the student is not financially independent, then his/her residency is based on whether one or both parents have met all residency requirements); and
- The student (or, if financially dependent, at least one of the student's parents) is in Washington primarily for reasons other than educational and has officially established Washington as his or her true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation for a period of at least one year prior to the start of the quarter of enrollment.
Other conditions which might qualify a student for resident status are:
- Members / dependents of the U.S. military or Washington National Guard (please see the Military Connected Student section of this page); or
- Students who spent 75% of their junior / senior years at a Washington state high school, graduated and immediately enrolled in a Washington state college, and whose parents were residents of Washington during that time; or
- Students who are not U.S. citizens and do not have permanent resident immigration status, but attended a Washington state high school for at least 3 years and graduated (please see the Undocumented student section of this page; or
- Members of certain American Indian Tribes (RCW 28B.15.0131)
Students who do not qualify for in-state tuition under any of the conditions listed above might qualify for a waiver of the out-of-state tuition differential (please see the Out-of-State Waiver section of this page).
Please contact the Records & Registration Office at 360.383.3038 or email records@whatcom.edu for questions regarding residency classification.
