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Become a Washington State Resident


It's easy to become a Washington State resident. To become a resident of the state of Washington, simply take some action that proves you intend to live in the state on more than a temporary or transient basis.

Examples of actions you can take:

Voting Rights

For information about residency and voting rights, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on the Secretary of State website.

Social and Health Services

There may be additional residency requirements in order to be eligible for certain social services and/or health services. See the Residency Requirements section of Department of Social and Health Services website for more information.

College Tuition

To qualify for resident tuition, state law requires that you be a state resident for 12 months. The University of Washington has a guide to help determine eligibility at http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/residency.html. More information about residency requirements that apply to students in the state of Washington is available at the Higher Education Coordinating Board's Student Residency website.

Taxes

The Department of Revenue has also established a definition of residency for sales and use tax purposes which can be viewed at http://dor.wa.gov/content/contactus/con_residdef.aspx.

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (MSRRA)

The MSRRA is primarily intended to ensure that a service member's spouse has the right to retain residency in his or her (the spouse's) home state for voting and tax purposes. To view the details of this act, and for more information, please refer to the following links: