Documentation Guidelines & Forms

Documentation submitted to the DRC must provide the following information:

1. Qualifications of Clinician/Provider: Documentation must be dated and signed by a qualified professional who is licensed or certified in the area for which the diagnosis is made. Name, title, and license/certification credentials must be stated and shall not be family members or others with a close personal relationship to the individual.
2. Diagnosis & History: A diagnostic statement identifying the disability: including ICD or DSM classification along with any relevant personal, psychosocial, medical, developmental and/or educational history.
3. Diagnostic Methodology Used: Information on the evaluation methods, procedures, tests, dates of administration, clinical narratives, observations and specific results.
4. Current Symptoms & Functional Limitations: A description of how the condition currently impacts the individual in an academic and/or residential setting. Information provided should detail any substantial limitations to major life activities/bodily functions, including but not limited to severity, frequency and duration of symptoms.
   1. Expected Progression or Stability of the Disability (optional): In cases where the disability is variable, provide information on expected changes in the functional impact of the disability over time and context.
5. Recommended Accommodations: Recommendations accompanied by a rationale that is directly linked to the impact, functional limitations or medication prescribed to control symptoms associated with the disability are welcomed and considered. However, the DRC makes the final determination of the eligibility and appropriate academic adjustments necessary to provide equal access for participation.
6. 1. Any Current & Past Accommodations, Services or Medications (optional): Information on relevant medications including side effects, previously used auxiliary aids, assistive devices, support services and accommodations, including their effectiveness in addressing functional impacts of the disability.

For your convenience, we have added a Disability Verification Form below.

Requests for ESA’s require signed documentation, from a doctor or other medical professional, or a reliable third party who is in a position to know about the individual’s disability. Documentation from the internet (i.e. from websites that sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee) is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an ESA.

In addition to the documentation guidelines listed above, appropriate documentation should: 

• provide information regarding the animal,
• speak to an existing and continuing diagnostic and therapeutic relationship,
• include the providers confirmation that the ESA has been deemed to be a necessary component of treatment in order for the student to reside on campus,
• include a clear description of how the animal mitigates functional limitations and,
• any concerns regarding the student's ability to care for the animal in a university setting.

For your convenience, we have included a Disability Verification and Emotional Support Animal Verification form below.

In addition to the documentation guidelines listed above, requests for housing accommodations due to a disability-related need should include:

• student's current or future living assignment, if available,
• substantial limitations specific to housing,
• a complete description of the desired accommodation,
• why the accommodation is necessary including why the needs cannot be met without, and
• possible alternatives.

Any requests submitted after the housing application deadline are subject to availability. 

• Visit Applying for Housing to see application deadline information for your applicant level.  

For your convenience, we have included a Disability Verification and Housing Request Form below.

The DRC does not diagnose impairments, assess their severity or identify the current impact and/or functional limitations of a disability, therefore, office medical records, medical chart notes or prescription pad notations are generally not sufficient for determining eligibility and by submitting it could prolong the decision process.

Information based solely on a self-report questionnaire is not a clinically valid assessment. A clinician might appropriately use them to identify areas needing to be explored in more depth; however, they are not diagnostic tools and they do not form an adequate basis for recommending treatments or accommodations.

Documentation guidelines vary from one institution to another.  The DRC documentation guidelines are designed to meet the needs of UNCW.  If the student plans on attending a different institution or taking a standardized test administered by an outside agency, the student is responsible for researching those documentation policies and requirements.  Due to the differences of documentation requirements, it may not be appropriate for DRC staff to complete paperwork certifying eligibility for standardized tests. In such instances, the DRC staff member will explain why completing the eligibility paperwork is not appropriate.

See below for a list of Disability Resource Center forms. If you can not find the form you are looking for or need a different format, call 910.962.7555 or email DRC@uncw.edu for assistance.

All forms are fillable PDFs that can be completed electronically or printed out as a hardcopy to be completed by your provider.  If completing electronically, please save the form to your desktop or laptop computer first.

You and your provider(s) are asked to provide complete answers for all questions on the form(s) you are planning to submit.  Incomplete documentation will delay the registration and review process.

Disability Verification Form

• If you do not have documentation that meets the guidelines listed above, we have a Disability Verification Form you can have your treating provider complete.

Emotional Support Animal (ESA) Verification Form

• If you are requesting an ESA for on-campus housing you need to enroll with our office.
• All four pages of the documentation contained within the above link need to be completed by your treating provider. 
  • Pages 1-2: Disability Verification Form
  • Pages 3-4: Third Party Emotional Support Animal Form

Housing Request Form

• If you are requesting a housing accommodation due to a disability-related need, you need to enroll with our office. 
• All four pages of the documentation contained within the link above need to be completed by your treating provider. 
  • Pages 1-2: Disability Verification Form
  • Pages 3-4: Housing Request Form