Office of the University Registrar

Medical Student Applicants

As part of the admissions process, the UW School of Medicine Admissions Office requires some applicants to verify their Washington residency through our office.

The information on this page is for UW School of Medicine applicants only.

Residency Affidavit

School of Medicine applicants who meet the following requirements are eligible to submit the Washington Higher Education Residency Affidavit to verify residency status.

  1. You must have received a high school diploma (or equivalent).
  2. You must have maintained a primary residence in Washington for at least 12 consecutive months immediately prior to your first admitted quarter at the University of Washington Seattle. The Washington residence must be for purposes primarily other than postsecondary education. If you take any courses at another Washington college during the prior 12 months, you cannot have taken more than six credits in any given term. If you exceed that limit you must prove that you have a Washington residence for reasons other than postsecondary education. For 2025 Medical School applicants, this means you must have established your primary residence in Washington on or before June 22, 2024.
  3. You must affirm that you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or that you will file an application to become a permanent resident of the United States as soon as you are eligible to apply.

If you meet the preceding requirements, download the Washington Higher Education Residency Affidavit (pdf), fill in the applicant information and sign the form, then submit it to us via the special Medical Applicant submission portal.

Residence Questionnaire

School of Medicine applicants who do not meet the requirements of the affidavit can submit a Residence Questionnaire. There are two ways to verify residency using the Residence Questionnaire:

  1. If you are claiming residency because you are financially dependent on a parent or court-appointed legal guardian who is a resident of Washington State, please go to our page for Financially Dependent Students for information about how to complete the Residence Questionnaire as a financially-dependent student, and what information and documentation you will need to provide.
  2. If you are claiming residency because you are a current resident of Washington State who is financially independent and attending school or working out-of-state, please go to our pages for Financially Independent Students and Washington Residents Absent from State for information about how to complete the Residence Questionnaire as a financially-independent student, and what information and documentation you will need to provide.

Note: Medical Applicants submitting Residence Questionnaires will need to provide physical presence documentation for the 12 months prior to the date you submitted your application, not the first day of the quarter you would be admitted for.

To verify residency using the Residence Questionnaire, the completed questionnaire, documentation checklist, and copies of all required supporting documentation must be submitted via the special Medical Applicant submission portal.

When completing the questionnaire, the term of application is summer quarter of the year you will begin medical school (current year +1). Applicants should mark the categories “New,” and “Professional,” and enter “UWSOM” in the blank line next to “School.” In the “ID number” field, applicants should provide their AMCAS number. Please provide a valid and legible email address as this is the only form of communication between the applicant and the Residency Classification Office.

The information on this page is for applicants verifying their legal residency; not the School of Medicine Residency and Clinical Fellowship Programs.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this webpage is current as of 06/06/2024. The University of Washington reserves the right to update or remove this page as necessary for clarity and/or to reflect changes to residency law or university policies. This website is intended as guidance only and students are advised to refer to the Washington state laws on residency for current statutes and additional information. Review RCW Chapter 28B.15, WAC Chapter 250-18, and WAC Chapter 478-161.The UW Residency Classification Office will administer residency determinations in accordance with the current law at the time.