Residency Requirements

In order to qualify for resident tuition rates, you must submit a Certificate of Residence to the Student Accounts Office.

• A certificate is required to be on file at Monroe Community College every semester for which you enroll.
• A Certificate of Residence is valid for one year only!

A Certificate of Residence enables Monroe Community College to bill your county for part of your tuition costs. Without a valid Certificate of Residence, you will be considered a non-resident of New York State and will then have to pay double tuition when you register.

Certificates cannot be dated more than 60 days prior to the start of classes. They must be submitted to the Student Accounts Office within the first 30 days of the semester. Contact your County Treasurer's Office to see if it has other restrictions or requirements.

You obtain a Certificate of Residence from the county of your permanent residence by providing proof of residency. In most cases this is your County Treasurer's Office. Contact your county to see if you can submit your application by mail or if it must be done in person, as well as what type(s) of proof they require.

Note that some counties require you to use their application instead of the one below. These include, but may not be limited to, Cayuga, Cortland, Nassau, and Oswego counties.  Contact your county for more information.

County locations and phone numbers

Application for the Certificate of Residence

Students who have been a permanent resident of Monroe County for at least the previous 6 months (and New York State for the previous year) need to fill out the Certificate of Residence affidavit and submit it directly to the Student Accounts Office. Please note that you may be required to provide proof of your permanent residence in Monroe County.

Once you have obtained the official Certificate of Residence from your county, drop it off at the Student Accounts Office, Bldg. 6 Rm. 207 (Brighton Campus). You can also mail it to MCC Student Accounts; 1000 East Henrietta Road; Rochester, NY 14623.

• We cannot accept faxes or copies (with the exception of Monroe County, Erie County and the NYC Boroughs which can be faxed to 585-292-3822 or emailed to studentaccounts@volamdolong.com).
• We advise that you keep a copy of your certificate for your records.

If you have not been a permanent resident of New York State for at least one year prior to the semester you plan on attending, you must pay non-resident tuition. Non-residents include international students (holding an F-1 visa), temporary residents such as out-of-state residents attending another local college or here on short-term job assignments, and any other person who is in the United States on a visa.

Immigrants must provide proof of their permanent resident status (official documentation from US Citizenship and Immigration Service) as well as proof that they have been a New York State resident for at least one year prior to the start of classes. For additional information relating to which visa categories of non-immigrant aliens may qualify for the resident rate, as well as the documentation required, please contact the Student Accounts Office.

The following is a listing of some specifications for certain counties. Please note that this is not a complete list. Contact your county to see if there are other restrictions.

• Orleans, Oswego, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties: You must obtain a new Certificate of Residence every fall semester, regardless of when you last submitted one. For example, if you last turned in a Certificate of Residence during the spring semester, you still need to submit a new certificate for the following fall semester even though it has not been a year.

• Wayne County: Your application can be submitted to your Town Hall instead of the Wayne County Treasurer's Office.

• NYC Boroughs (Bronx, Kings/Brooklyn, New York/Manhattan, Queens, and Richmond/Staten Island): Even though your application and proof must be brought in person to the Comptroller's Office, it does not necessarily have to be done by you. A friend or family member can bring all documentation in for you. The certificate can be faxed back to MCC at 585-292-3822 or emailed to studentaccounts@volamdolong.com. 

• Cayuga, Cortland, Nassau, and Oswego Counties: These counties require you to use their own application for obtaining your certificate of residence.  Contact your county for more information.