CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NONRESIDENT TUITION EXEMPTION
GENERAL INFORMATION
The California State University (CSU) Nonresident Tuition Exemption is available for certain nonresident students (including U.S. citizens, permanent
residents, and undocumented individuals) who have attended, graduated, or achieved the equivalent from a California school. These students may be
exempted from paying nonresident tuition but must remain classified as “nonresidents” for residence classification and financial aid eligibility purposes.
The exemption originated with the passage of Assembly Bill 540, Assembly Bill 2000, Senate Bill 68 and Senate Bill 1141.
ELIGIBILITY
The CSU Nonresident Tuition Exemption is open to CSU students enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students who are:
• U.S. Citizens
• Permanent Residents
• Undocumented Students (including TPS, DACA, asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile, VAWA, Humanitarian Parole [certain countries])
• T and U Visa Holders Only
MUST MEET THE EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS (Attendance and Graduation Requirements)
Attendance requirement (must meet one)
• Attended a high school (public or private) in California for three or more years, OR
• Attained credits earned in California from a California high school equivalent to three or more years of full-time high school course work and
attended a combination of elementary, middle and/or high schools in California for a total of three or more years.
• Attended or attained credits at a combination of California high school, California adult school, or California community college* for the
equivalent of (3) years or more.
*A year’s equivalence at a California community college is either a minimum of 24 semester units of credit or 36 quarter units. Full-time
attendance at a California adult school is a minimum of 420 hours of attendance for each school year.
Graduation/Degree Requirement (must meet one)
• The student must have graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent from a California high school prior to the start of
the term (for example, passing the GED or California High School Proficiency exam) or
• Completed or will complete (before the first term of enrollment at the CSU) an associate’s degree from a California community college; or
• Completed or will complete (before the first term of enrollment at the CSU) the minimum requirements at a California community college for
transfer to the California State University. The student must file an affidavit with the college or university stating that filed an application to
legalize their immigration status, or will file an application as soon as they are eligible to do so.
• The student must file an exemption request including a signed affidavit with the campus that indicates the student has met all applicable
conditions described above. Student information obtained in this process is strictly confidential unless disclosure is required under law.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
• Students eligible for this exemption who are transferring to another California public college or university must submit a new request (and
documentation if required) to each college under consideration.
• Nonresident students meeting the criteria will be exempted from the payment of nonresident tuition, but they will not be classified as
California residents. They continue to be “nonresidents.”
• The California Dream Act extends Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, Cal Grant C awards, Chaffee grants, and institutional financial aid
to students that meet these criteria as well as the applicable criteria for eligibility for specific types of financial aid.
• AB540 does not provide federal student financial aid eligibility for undocumented students. These students remain ineligible for federal
financial aid.
• Undocumented students who are eligible for AB540 will remain ineligible for federal financial aid.
• Students who take adult school or community college courses while concurrently enrolled in a CSU to qualify for the AB540 exemption will
continue to be charged out of state tuition as nonresidents until the exemption requirements are fulfilled.
• Students who already earned a high school diploma or the equivalent from another state may not take courses to obtain a California high
school diploma or the equivalent in order to be granted the exemption.
1 | Revised: September 2023
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