Refunds

Overview

Refunds will be issued to students when the account has an eligible overpayment from personal funds or financial aid. Please refer to the 'My Finances' page in CalCentral for a current account balance and list of refunds.

Personal Payments

Overpayments from personal funds are released for refund 15 days from the date of payment posting. Refunds of $10,000 or greater require additional review which may delay the refund process. Credit Card refunds will be issued after the add or drop deadline.

Financial Aid

If your financial aid payments exceed your charges, the extra funds will be issued to you as a refund about one week after payments are posted. Refunds are issued as early as one week before the beginning of each term. The actual timing of your refund depends on when your financial aid was applied to your account. Please check CalCentral to monitor your aid payment dates so that you can estimate the date of any expected refund.

You will get an email letting you know when your refund is available either via direct deposit or as a paper check.

Recommendation

We strongly recommend you sign up for direct deposit since that is the fastest and safest way to receive your funds.

If you do not have direct deposit, then a paper check will be mailed to your local address within 10 business days. Please make sure you review and update your local address information in Cal Central.

Please Note

UC Berkeley does not require that students open an account with any financial institution. Students may choose to receive credit balances, or refunds, through any US banking institution of their choice or via a paper refund check.

Direct Deposit

  • Refunds, graduate student stipends, and any non-payroll university payments to students (except Emergency Loan checks) can be directly deposited to your bank account
  • Some outside agency payments may be processed via direct deposit, while some may not
  • Student employees can have their paychecks deposited automatically to their bank account each payday
    • Please contact your hiring department for a special form and more information

For more information about direct deposit, please visit our Direct Deposit Frequently Asked Questions page.

Direct Deposit Frequently Asked Questions

To add, change, or cancel your Direct Deposit information online, please visit the Direct Deposit Enrollment for Students secure website.

Direct Deposit Enrollment for Students