North Carolina Residency

The state of North Carolina partially subsidizes the cost of North Carolina public college and university tuition for all students whose domicile, or permanent legal residence, is in North Carolina. Residency determination establishes if students should have in-state or out-of-state tuition.

Because North Carolina residency status is governed solely by North Carolina statute, eligibility for in-state status in another state does not guarantee in-state status in North Carolina. The residency statute mandates only those who can demonstrate a minimum of 12 months of uninterrupted domicile, or legal residence, in North Carolina and meet additional statutory requirements are eligible for in-state tuition. The statute also places the burden of proof on the student to establish, by a preponderance of evidence, that he or she is a bona fide domiciliary rather than a mere resident of North Carolina.

All applicants must complete the online residency determination before they can apply to Wake Tech. Most will be required to complete only the Initial Consideration process. Upon completion of the residency determination process, students will be issued a Residency Certification Number (RCN) with an effective date that can be used at all public colleges in North Carolina. The RCN effective date is the date the student submitted the request in full.

Current students whose circumstances change or who believe their status is incorrect must complete the Reconsideration or Appeal process. It is the student's responsibility to notify Wake Tech of any change in classification. Upon the student's request, Wake Tech will update the student's record to the current classification made by RDS. Adjustments can be made to a student's tuition statement based on the RCN effective date.

Example: Fall semester is August 14, 2023, to December 13, 2023

Student completed a reconsideration with a RCN effective date of October 22, 2023 – student's tuition for the Fall semester can be adjusted to the in-state rate
Student completed a reconsideration with a RCN effective date of December 14, 2023 – student's tuition cannot be adjusted for the Fall semester, but will be effective for future semesters

All residency determinations will be made by Residency Determination Service (RDS), not Wake Tech. However, Wake Tech staff may be able to assist students with campus-based exceptions as allowed by the state.

Campus-based tuition exceptions

Some specific provisions in law may permit a campus to provide an exception for a student deemed to be a non-resident to be able to receive an adjustment and be billed at the in-state rate. Generally, these require that the student has established a domicile in North Carolina but has not yet met all requirements. Some of these exceptions are time-limited. These are different by sector and are handled at the campus once RDS makes a non-resident determination.

Campus-based tuition exceptions cannot be applied to previous semesters of enrollment.

If you believe that you are eligible for a campus-based tuition exception or have questions regarding residency, email [email protected].

Frequently asked questions

Students who receive this notification must provide Wake Tech with a valid Residency Certification Number (RCN). Log in to your Residency Determination Service (RDS) account and view your RCN expiration date. The RCN must be valid – not expired – on the first day of the term for which you are trying to register.

NOTE: Career and College Promise (CCP) students are not required to complete a residency interview through RDS and do not need to submit a Residency Update Request form. If you receive this message, email the CCP office at [email protected].
Any CCP student who is graduating high school and plans to continue as a Wake Tech student needs to complete all the general admissions steps, including submitting a high school transcript. CCP students who submit a Residency Update Request form will be redirected to Admissions to follow the general admissions steps. Email the Admissions Office at [email protected] if you have questions about the admissions process.

Don't have a valid RCN?

If you have never completed a residency interview with RDS or have an expired/expiring RCN, complete an online residency interview through RDS.

You will then be given an RCN – save this number. Submit documentation to RDS if requested. A pending validation residency classification is not a final residency classification. If the pending residency classification does not validate, the residency determination will revert to out-of-state, and any tuition charges will be re-billed at the out-of-state rate.

RDS does not notify Wake Tech of a student's change in residency status unless a residency determination does not validate. If your residency classification changes or extends, you must complete and submit the Wake Tech Residency Update form.