Documents for Proving Residency

Hello everyone. I am about to start college again in about 2 months, and I have to prove my residency to WA state. For some background info, i’m 22. I’ve lived on my own and have been financially independent for about 3.5 years, 2 years of that i’ve been living in WA state. My parents live in Texas. I have been working full time and am just getting ready to go back to school.

I have to have several documents to prove my residency. So far I have: my WA state driver’s license, WA state voter registration card, copies of both my leases from my time in WA, a voided check showing my local branch is in my town in WA(also shows my current WA address) , a piece of mail addressed to me at my current address, copies of my W2s showing i’ve been working in WA, and copies of my parents W2 showing I have not been claimed as dependent. I do not own a car so I don’t have vehicle registration.

This is all the documentation my school requires, but I was just wondering if there is anything else I should include. Also, i’ve heard rumors about getting in state tuition that say it is almost treated like a ‘scholarship’, in that not everyone who petitions for it receives it, even if they qualify. Is this true?

are you trying to prove to U of Washington that you are entitled to instate status for tuition purposes? That could be a challenge.

Even if you get this status, you will still likely need to include your parent financial information on the FAFSA form.

@thumper1 My parents are on my fafsa form- i’m not trying to prove that i’m independent in regards to FAFSA, just proving that i’m entitled to in state tuition. Would it still be a challenge even with all my documentation?

https://registrar.washington.edu/students/residency/residency-requirements/

It sounds like you are on the right track…but i don’t believe you can take support from your parents for college.

@thumper1 Thanks…and yes i’m aware. My parents don’t support me financially in any way, education or otherwise.

I think you meant a copy of your parents’ tax return, not the W2. W2 only show the transaction between your parent and his employer, and it doesn’t matter if the employee takes one dependent (exemption) or 10.

You are correct that financial aid independence and qualifying for instate tuition are two different things. If State of Washington says you need to live there for 2 years and you can prove that through the leases and work records, you should be good.

@twoinanddone Yes, sorry i mean tax return ! And for WA state it’s one year for tuition purposes. I’m mainly just trying to see if theres anything else I should add to my documentation.

Do you have any document that shows when you started working, like an offer of employment? You tax return for 2016 would show how much you made, but not when it was earned (jan or july or december). Or you could ask your HR department for a short letter confirming your dates of employment.

@twoinanddone Good idea! I’ll ask them for one.