How to Fill Out the FAMU Residency Form: Documents and Filing

The FAMU residency form is the Florida Residency Declaration Form you submit to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University so the school classifies you as an in-state or out-of-state student for tuition. You download it from the FAMU Admissions website, fill in your information and your claimant’s, attach documents proving twelve consecutive months of Florida residency, and send the complete package to the Registrar before the first day of classes.

The rules behind the form come from Section 1009.21 of the Florida Statutes, which every Florida public university applies the same way. What follows is what you need to gather, how to complete the form, and where to send it.

Figure Out Whose Residency Counts

Before you touch the form, decide who the “claimant” is, because the twelve months of Florida ties have to belong to that person.

If you can be claimed as a dependent on a parent’s federal income tax return, you are a dependent student for this purpose, whether or not you actually live with that parent. Your parent is the claimant, and it is your parent’s Florida residency the university will evaluate. If your parents are divorced or separated, either parent’s Florida residency will satisfy the requirement, regardless of which one claims you on taxes.¹

You are generally treated as an independent student if you are at least 24, married, a veteran or active-duty military member, a graduate or professional student, a former ward of the court or foster youth, or someone who provides more than half of their own financial support.² If you claim independence based on self-support, FAMU may ask for your tax return or W-2s.

Either way, the claimant must have established and maintained a legal Florida residence for at least twelve consecutive months before the first day of classes of the term you want in-state tuition for. Moving to Tallahassee the same month classes begin does not satisfy the requirement, no matter how quickly you collect Florida paperwork.

Documents You Have to Attach

Florida groups acceptable proof into two tiers. A complete package needs at least one Tier 1 document plus at least one more document from either tier. Every document must show the claimant’s name and a Florida address, and any dated document must show the twelve-month period was already complete before the term begins.

Tier 1

At least one item in your package must come from this list:³

Florida driver’s license or state ID card, issued at least twelve months before the first day of classes. This is what most students use.
Florida voter registration card, registered at least twelve months prior.
Florida vehicle registration, dated at least twelve months prior.
Proof of a permanent Florida home occupied as a primary residence by the claimant.
Proof of a Florida homestead exemption.
Florida high school transcripts covering at least two years of attendance, if the diploma or GED was earned within the last twelve months.
Proof of permanent full-time employment in Florida of at least 30 hours per week for twelve consecutive months.⁴

Tier 2

Tier 2 documents support a Tier 1 item but cannot stand alone:

Utility bills with proof of twelve consecutive months of payments. Only water and electricity bills count; cable, internet, and phone bills do not. Include both bills and payment receipts, and make sure both show the claimant’s name and address.³
Lease agreement with proof of twelve consecutive months of payments.
Florida declaration of domicile filed with the clerk of the circuit court.
Florida professional or occupational license.
Proof of Florida incorporation.
A document showing family ties to a Florida resident, as defined for tuition purposes.
Membership in a Florida-based professional or charitable organization.
Any official state, federal, or court document showing legal ties to Florida.⁴

The most common reason packages fail is a document dated correctly but carrying the wrong name. A utility bill in a roommate’s name, or a vehicle titled to a relative who is not your claimant, will not count. Check each page.

Filling Out the Form

Download the form from admissions.famu.edu. It is a PDF you can complete on screen or print and fill in by hand. It asks for your full legal name, FAMU student identification number, date of birth, and permanent address history. If you are a dependent student, you also enter your parent’s or legal guardian’s personal information, the Florida address, and the date they established Florida residency.

The certification section requires a signature, electronic or in ink, affirming that the information is true.⁵ If you are a dependent, the parent or guardian serving as the claimant confirms on the form that you are eligible to be claimed as a dependent under the federal income tax code.⁶

Write your student ID number on the form and on every page of your supporting documents. Loose pages without an ID number are one of the easiest ways to delay review.

Where and When to Send It

The form and every supporting document must reach FAMU before the first day of classes for the term in which you are seeking Florida residency status.⁵ Email is accepted at registrardocs@famu.edu.² If you would rather mail the package:

Florida A&M University
Office of Admissions and Recruitment
1735 Wahnish Way, CASS Building, Suite 207
Tallahassee, Florida 32310
Fax: 850-412-6604⁵

Scan every document at a legible resolution before sending. If you mail originals, keep copies. There is no filing fee for the declaration itself.

Already Enrolled as a Non-Resident? Use the Reclassification Form

If you started at FAMU paying out-of-state rates and have since built up twelve months of Florida residency, you file the Florida Residency Reclassification for Tuition Purposes Form instead. It is on the Registrar’s Office website, uses the same Tier 1 and Tier 2 documentation, and goes to the same email address, registrardocs@famu.edu.

Reclassification has its own filing window that closes before the term. For Spring 2026, submissions are accepted November 3 through December 12, 2025. For Summer 2026, the window runs March 2 through April 10, 2026.⁷ Miss the window and you wait a term.

The reclassification form also flags that your financial aid award may change once you move to Florida residency status.² Contact Financial Aid before you submit so you can compare numbers.

Categories That Skip the Twelve-Month Wait

Several groups qualify as Florida residents for tuition purposes without meeting the standard twelve-month timeline under Florida Statute 1009.21:⁸

Active-duty military members stationed in or residing in Florida at the time of acceptance, along with their spouses and dependents. Active drilling members of the Florida National Guard also qualify.
Active-duty members and their families attending a Florida institution within 50 miles of a military base in a county bordering the state.
Full-time instructional and administrative employees of Florida public schools and state institutions of higher education, plus their spouses and dependents.
Florida Prepaid College Program beneficiaries. Include a copy of your Florida Prepaid Recipient card.²
Spouses of legal Florida residents, with a marriage certificate and supporting residency documents.
Students who were classified as Florida residents at another Florida public college or university and transfer to FAMU within twelve months.

Students who attended a Florida high school for at least three consecutive years immediately before graduation may qualify for an out-of-state tuition waiver, even without meeting standard residency criteria, if they enroll at a Florida institution within 24 months of graduation and provide an official high school transcript.⁹

Non-U.S. citizens applying under any category must include documentation of legal immigration status issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.²

After You Submit

A residency reviewer checks whether your package satisfies the statute. If something is missing or inconsistent, say a driver’s license showing one address and a utility bill showing another, FAMU will contact you for more evidence. Respond quickly. Unresolved requests can leave you billed at the non-resident rate until the file is cleared.

Once approved, your tuition statement updates to the in-state rate for that term. If your application is denied, read the denial letter carefully. Most denials trace back to documents that do not cover the full twelve months, or to a claimant whose name does not line up with the dependency relationship stated on the form.

Florida law gives each institution the authority to make final residency decisions.⁹ If you believe your denial was wrong, contact the FAMU Registrar’s Office about the formal appeal process and the deadline for submitting additional documentation.

1
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 1009.21 – Determination of Resident Status for Tuition Purposes
2
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Florida Residency Reclassification For Tuition Purposes Form
3
University of Central Florida. Residency Documentation
4
Florida State University. Residency for Tuition Purposes
5
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. FAMU Florida Residency Declaration Form
6
Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code Annotated R. 72-1.001 – Residency for Tuition Purposes
7
Florida A&M University. FAMU Official Academic Calendar
8
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 1009.21 – Determination of Resident Status for Tuition Purposes
9
Florida Department of Education. Residency For Tuition Purposes