Check your holds

What is a hold? 

Holds on your student account can prevent you from accessing University services, including class registration, transcripts and diplomas. 

Students with unpaid financial obligations — such as tuition and fees, parking fines, Health Center fees, Residential Life room damage charges, lost SUNY Card charges and Library fines — will have a financial hold placed on their account.

Holds can also be placed for non-financial reasons, such as missing vaccination records, documents or transcripts.

If you have a hold on your account, you’ll be notified through your Important Notices on MyUAlbany.
 

How can I prevent a hold on my account? 

Please pay your bills, or resolve non-financial holds, by the expected due dates to prevent holds being placed on your account. Consider authorizing the use of your financial aid to pay additional charges — including several of the fees and charges listed above — that are not automatically covered by financial aid. 
 

How can I remove a hold from my account? 

You must pay your balance in full before a financial hold can be removed. The hold will be automatically removed by the next business day after you pay your balance. 

Check your Important Notices on MyUAlbany for detailed information on any holds you may have. 

If you believe a hold was placed on your account in error, or you have questions about your hold, please contact Student Financial Services at [email protected] or 518-442-3202.
 

How do I appeal late fees? 

Late fees are automatically added to your student account if your outstanding balance is not paid by the respective bill’s due date. A maximum of four late fees can be applied to your account each semester. 

Late fees are calculated as follows: 
 

Balance Owed 

Late Fee 

Between $2.01 and $5 

Equal to the balance owed 

Between $5.01 and $20 

$5 

Between $20.01 and $100 

$10 

Between $100.01 and $1,000 

$30 

Between $1,000.01 and $2,000 

$40 

More than $2,000.01 

$50 

 

If there were extenuating circumstances beyond your control that prevented your payment from being made on time, please complete a Late Fee Appeal Form. Only students can complete this form. 

Please allow up to two weeks for a decision to be made regarding your appeal. 

 

What happens to unpaid balances? 

If you’re no longer enrolled at the University at Albany but still have outstanding charges on your account, please contact the Office of Student Accounts at [email protected] or 518-442-3202. 

Unpaid balances can result in your bill being referred to collection agencies or the New York State Attorney General’s Office — meaning you’ll be charged collection fees and interest. 

Students will receive a notice before their account is referred to a collection agency of the Attorney General’s office.  

However, once your account is referred, the University can no longer accept payment on campus for the balance and you’ll need to contact the office handling your account to resolve your balance. 

Information included in student notifications about unpaid balances

Failure to pay the debt described in the accompanying notice will result in an increase in your liability

The invoice accompanying this notification describes a debt currently due to the University at Albany as an agency of the State of New York. Your failure to pay this debt within thirty (30) days of the initial invoice will result in an additional assessment of the Late Fees or interest charges. Receipt of your invoice is presumed to be five (5) days after mailing. 

If interest is charged, it will be assessed from the date of your presumed receipt of your initial semester invoice, at the corporate underpayment rate set by the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance minus 4%. Interest will be compounded daily on the principal balance which is set forth in the accompanying invoice. 

To avoid the assessment of interest or additional late payment charges, you should pay the amount requested in full by the invoice due date. In addition, should you fail to pay this debt in full within ninety (90) days of your presumed receipt of your initial semester invoice, a collection fee of up to 22% of the amount then due, including interest, may be added to the amount which you owe. 

Please write your ID number on all checks or correspondence and make checks payable to the “University at Albany.” Please advise us of any change of name or address. 
 

State debt collection laws affecting all past due debts owed to the State of New York 

Certain state laws that became effective on January 1, 1993, have granted additional enforcement powers to New York State agencies for collection of non-tax debts. These laws have augmented those codes and regulations that previously existed within the State University of New York. If you have a current or outstanding debt with the University, you are strongly urged to settle this matter now. 
 

Important provisions

Interest or penalty on overdue non-tax debt: State agencies are authorized to assess interest or late payment penalty charges on overdue debts. (State Finance Law §18) 

Collection fee: State agencies or their representatives may charge collection fees to cover the estimated costs of processing, handling and collecting delinquent debts. The amount can be as much as 22% of the outstanding debt. (State Finance Law §18) 

Authority to hold transcripts and deny registration: No person shall receive credit or other official recognition for work completed satisfactorily, or be allowed to re-register, until all tuition, fees and all other charges authorized by State University have been paid or University student loan obligations have been satisfied. (Section 302.1 (f) of Chapter V, Title 8 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations) 

Referral of the debt to the tax department: State agencies are authorized to certify to the Department of Taxation and Finance that past due legally enforceable debts should be offset against any tax refunds, contracts or other State payments. (State Tax Law § 171-f) 

Returned item charge: State agencies are authorized to charge a returned item fee when a check is dishonored. (State Finance Law §19) 

If you wish to avoid these measures, you must resolve any outstanding debts as soon as possible. If you have questions regarding your debt, please contact the Office of Student Accounts at 518-442-3202.