Certificate of Residence

The Community College program in the State of New York was intended to permit students who are residents to pay a reduced tuition rate.  Each community college has a local sponsor, generally a county, which provides a share of the costs allocable to the resident students.  A student who attends a community college outside their county of residence must obtain a certificate of residence in order to be eligible for the lower in-state tuition rate.  The local sponsor (county) then reimburses its share of the costs of the student's tuition to the community college.  A Certificate of Residence verifies that you have been a New York State resident for one year prior to registration or the start of classes and a resident of Cayuga County for six (6) months prior to the start of classes.  

The Certificate of Residence is effective for one academic year.  You must apply for and submit a new Certificate of Residence to your community college once a year.  Additionally, certificates are issued for a specific school.  You must apply for and submit a Certificate of Residence for each community college in which you are enrolled outside Cayuga County.

In Cayuga County, the reimbursement costs of student's tuition to the community college is apportioned to the Town or City of Auburn in which students reside.  As such, the Towns and City of Auburn verify residency and then the Cayuga County Treasurer issues the certificate to qualified residents living within the County of Cayuga.  Residency of less then six months will be prorated.

Please note: since the Towns and City of Auburn verify residency prior to the Cayuga County Treasurer issuing a Certificate of Residence, Cayuga County has it's own Application for Certificate of Residence.  Please use the below application rather than the application provided by your community college.

Application for Certificate of Residence (PDF)