Missouri Residency
It is possible for MU law students to gain residency in Missouri after their first year of law school. If Missouri residency is granted after the first year of law school, students would not be required to pay the out-of-state tuition for their second and third year of law school.
Residency Requirements
If you wish to establish Missouri residency for the purpose of paying in-state fees, you must meet specific criteria.
- Complete a Petition for Residency Status (available from MU's Residency Office) and submit it with photocopies of the necessary documentation upon completion of the 12-month period.
- You may apply for a current semester only during that semester. (Most students will apply in August for Fall semester) Each petition is reviewed individually. It's your responsibility to provide copies of the requested information.
Questions? Contact the Residency Office, 123 Jesse Hall, Columbia, MO 65211
- Phone: (573) 882-3852 or toll-free in Illinois (800) 225-6075
- E-Mail:
Summary of Residency Requirements
(The Residency Office has the full official residency requirements.)
If an adult student ("Adult Student" shall mean any student having attained the age of twenty-one (21) years), not a resident, shall present sufficient proof of the establishment of a domicile within the State of Missouri, said student shall be granted resident status at the first enrollment following the establishment of said domicile.
(CBHE Rule) Attendance at an institution of higher education shall be regarded as a temporary presence within the state of Missouri; therefore, a student neither gains nor loses resident status solely by such attendance.
(CBHE Rule) The burden of proof of establishing eligibility for Missouri resident status shall rest with the student.
(CBHE Rule) In determining resident status for the state of Missouri, either of the following shall be sufficient proof of domicile of a person and their dependents within the state of Missouri:
Presence within the state of Missouri for a minimum of twelve (12) immediate past, consecutive months coupled with proof of an intent to make the state of Missouri a permanent home for an indefinite period; or Presence within the state of Missouri for the purposes of retirement, full-time employment, professional practice or to conduct a business full-time.
(CBHE Rule) In determining whether a student holds an intent to make the state of Missouri a permanent home for an indefinite period, the following factors, although not conclusive, shall be given heavy weight: continuous presence in the state of Missouri during those periods not enrolled as a student; presence within the state of Missouri upon marriage to a Missouri resident and the maintenance of a common domicile with the resident spouse; substantial reliance on sources within the state of Missouri for financial support ($2,000 to $3,000 of earnings in one year); former domicile within the state and maintenance of significant connections while absent; and ownership of a home within the state of Missouri. The twelve - (12) month period of presence within the state, as stipulated in paragraph p.3.a. of this rule, in and of itself, does not establish resident status in the absence of the required proof of intent.
(CBHE Rule) The following factors indicating an intent to make the state of Missouri a permanent home for an indefinite period shall be given less weight than those in subsection D.4. above and include: Voting or registration for voting; part-time employment; lease of living quarters; a statement of intention to establish a domicile in Missouri; automobile registration or operator's license obtained in Missouri; and payment of income, personal and property taxes in Missouri. The factors listed in this subsection have applicability only as they support the intent to make the state of Missouri a permanent home for an indefinite period.
If a student was a Missouri Resident prior to their undergraduate career and the students parents are residents of Missouri and have been claiming the student on their tax return as a dependent while the student was in undergraduate school out-of-state, and the student has paid out-of-state tuition during their undergraduate career, they could be considered a Missouri Resident.
A student is no longer a Missouri resident who attended an undergraduate university outside the state of Missouri and claimed residency in that state to then pay in-state tuition at their undergraduate college.
A student who transfers to a University of Missouri campus from another campus of the University or from another Missouri public college or university without an interruption in enrollment, except for a summer term, and who possessed resident status at the prior institution shall be granted resident status at the University of Missouri campus.
