District Residency

District Residency while not new to community colleges across the state of Idaho, is a brand new process to the newly created College of Eastern Idaho. Any student who has previously attended College of Southern Idaho, College of Western Idaho or North Idaho College will be familiar with this policy and all that it entails.

Certificate of Residency Forms

What does District Residency Mean?

District Residency is not the same as State Residency. A student can have both In-State Residency and be an Out-of-District Resident. District residency is based on the student's county of residence. The CEI community college district is made up of the entire county of Bonneville. CEI is a part of the statewide community college district that includes CWI, CSI, and NIC. These college districts include permanent residents of the following counties:

Ada
Bonneville
Canyon
Jerome
Twin Falls
Kootenai

Homeowners in these counties pay an extra property tax to have a community college in their counties. Students whose permanent residence is in Idaho but outside of these six counties are charged Out-of-District fees instead of paying for the colleges with their property taxes.

Out-of-District fees are charged at a rate of $50 per credit up to $500 per semester in addition to tuition and fees. Any student who is considered Out-of-District will be billed at the beginning of the semester.

Please see https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title33/T33CH21/SECT33-2110A/ for more details.

How is District Residency Determined?

Residency status is based on information provided on the Application for Admissions. Filling out this form accurately and completely will ensure you are charged the correct fees for your classes. If this form is filled out incorrectly or is incomplete your residency status will automatically be considered Out-of-State and you will be charged according to the non-resident fees.

There are (3) types of residency:

In-State/In-District
Out-of-State/International
In-State/Out-of-District

In general, a student enrolling into College of Eastern Idaho shall not be deemed a resident of the community college district, or of a county, or of the State of Idaho, unless the student has established domicile primarily for purposes other than education within said district, county, or the State, for at least 12 continuous months prior to the beginning of the term for which the student enrolls.

How to Change Your County/District?

The student's district residency status remains unchanged unless the student submits a Residency Redetermination Form with the required documentation to the Registrar’s office on or before the dates listed below. Redetermination is made based on the documentation and evidence supplied.

To change your residency status you will need to:

Submit a Residency Redetermination Form to the Student Affairs office by the deadline
Fall Semester – before the 10th day of instruction
Spring Semester - before the 10th day of instruction

You must meet the in-district residency requirement in order for your residency redetermination to be approved. These requirements include:

1) Your permanent residence must be located within the boundaries of Ada, Bonneville, Canyon, Jerome, Twin Falls, or Kootenai counties.

2) You must have documentation proving that you have lived within the in-district county for at least 12 months prior to the start of the semester. All documentation* used to prove residency must have your name, your permanent Idaho address, and a date that is at least 12 months prior to the start of the semester.

*Acceptable documents include but are not limited to, an Idaho driver’s license, a copy of a utility bill, bank statement, voter registration card, Idaho State Tax Return for the previous tax year, proof of homeownership or a copy of a lease agreement.

For more information please visit https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title33/T33CH21/SECT33-2110A/.

What happens next?

Once the County Clerk receives all required documents they will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners, at which time they will either verify or deny a student’s residency claim within that county. If the student meets the requirements for county residency the Certificate of Residency will be returned to the CEI business office and the district fee will be removed from the student’s balance.

What happens if the form is denied?

There are two conditions on which a student will be denied for county assistance,

Does not meet requirements for county residency
- e.g. Students jump from county to county and fail to establish residency
The student does not submit the form by the deadline

If either of these situations occurs and residency is denied the student will be responsible for paying the additional charge. Any delinquent balance will be held to the same policies as any past due funds on their accounts set forth by College of Eastern Idaho as explained in the catalog.

Important items to note:

To reiterate, any student who is considered Out-of-District is required to submit a Certificate of Residency to their county office before December 1, of the Fall semester, and May 1, of the Spring semester.
Check with counties to confirm what individual county requirements are concerning how often they require that a Certificate of Residency be submitted per academic year.
Certificate of Residency Forms must be returned to College of Eastern Idaho by the appropriate county offices.
Please see the CEI catalog for county residency requirements.

More Information