The residency petition process requires 12 months of documentation. We call this the petitioning period. Your petitioning period begins 12 months prior to the semester that you are wanting to petition for Missouri Residency.

In other words, if you wish to apply for residency in the Fall Semester, you’ll need documentation from August to August. If you’re going to apply for residency beginning in the Spring Semester, the documented period is from January to January. The Summer Semester documentation period goes from June to June. See the application for specific dates.

There is an application you’ll need to fill out to accompany your required documents. There is also a non-refundable $250 processing fee that will be added to your student account when you apply for residency.

As part of the application you will upload your required documents as attached files. Use the Spring 2025 Residency Checklist to track your progress and make sure you have everything you need to apply.

After you’ve applied

Once you’ve petitioned for residency, there is a waiting period for the Office of the Registrar to make a decision based on the documentation you provided. This can take up to three weeks.

Continue to check your MU email during this time. Your residency decision will be sent to that email address.

If your petition is approved and you’re granted residency, your tuition rate will be reassessed by the Cashiers Office. If your bill had been paid in full before, and if there’s now an over-payment as a result of your tuition rate changing, then you will be credited for the difference. You will see this change in your myZou Student Services Center 7-10 business days after your decision email from the Office of the Registrar.

Appeals

We are here to help you through the residency process. The requirements are outlined on the checklist and for this reason, most students who petition for residency are accepted.

A small percentage of students have their application denied. If that happens, you can appeal the decision. Ask your campus residency officer to submit your application to the Committee on Residency for Tuition Purposes for review. They’ll hear your appeal. If the Committee denies your appeal, you can make a final appeal to the Chancellor.

Student Athletes

If you are a student-athlete, you must notify the Athletic Compliance Office that you are petitioning for Missouri residency. Obtaining Missouri residency status may result in an athletic scholarship adjustment based on in-state costs.

Financial Aid

If you receive financial aid or scholarships, contact the Office of Student Financial Aid to determine how a change in residency may affect your aid package.

One thing to note: if you are going to attend Mizzou for a fifth year, you may not be able to make use of scholarships you may have received in prior years. If you are currently an out-of-state student, you might want to consider applying for Missouri residency for your fifth year in order to lower tuition costs. For more information, view automatic scholarship information on the Student Financial Aid website.

Talk to the Student Financial Aid staff for information about the details of your scholarship or aid package.