Residency Determination Service (RDS)

The Residency Determination Service (RDS) allows for students to fill out the online interview to see if they qualify for in-state tuition, as well as state grants and scholarships. Both the student and the parent(s) need to fill out their information for RDS. RDS asks questions about employment, voter registration, vehicle registration, personal identifying numbers (ex. SSN, ITIN, USCIS), etc. to gather a picture of residency for the student in the state of North Carolina. Students must reside in North Carolina for at least 12 months prior to submitting RDS to be considered for in-state status. 

Once you complete RDS, you will be given an residency certification number (RCN) to include on college applications. This number will tell institutions if you qualify as an in-state student.

It is important to complete RDS as soon as possible, because you need to submit the RCN as part of your college applications. 

You can access RDS through CFNC: https://www.cfnc.org/apply-to-college/residency-determination/

See the worksheet below to prepare for filling out RDS! If you have any questions or do not have all of the items needed, please contact Ms. Kepley for help.

Why should you fill out the RDS?

Qualifying for in-state tuition can help you save thousands of dollars on a college education. Here are some examples of in-state versus out-of-state tuition estimates from public institutions in North Carolina.

"If you or your parents cannot provide a SSN, ITIN, I-94, ARN, or USCIS identification number, you will be considered a nonresident as part of your initial consideration. If you are unable to provide one of these identification numbers, RDS is unable to validate your information with federal and state agencies and you are considered a nonresident for tuition purposes. All students have the ability to appeal a nonresident decision and the ability to provide additional information to support their North Carolina residency. During an appeal, RDS will consider information pertaining to the student and parent(s). All students must have legal capacity to be determined a resident for North Carolina tuition and state grant purposes. In addition, RDS will require the student (if the student is self-sufficient) and parent(s) (if the student is not self-sufficient) to prove North Carolina domiciliary acts." -https://www.ncresidency.org/faqs/