Third-Party Billing
Setting Up Third-Party Billing
If a qualified third party is paying your tuition and fees and requires an invoice in their name, your third-party payer must submit a billing authorization form and letter.1 Their sponsorship will not be applied to your account (which may prevent registration) until all required documents are received. After the documents are received and processed, “Deferred to Third-Party” will appear as a line on your student bill and your total amount due will be reduced by the corresponding sponsorship amount.2
If you’d like to grant your parent(s) or another individual access to your student account for the purpose of making payments, please see Delegates.
Fall invoices are typically sent to sponsors in the second week of August, while Spring invoices are sent in late December. Sponsors are not held to the due date listed on your Student Account.3 Instead, their invoices will note a due date within 30 days of the date of the invoice. You will receive a copy of this communication when it is sent.
Each school has specific instructions for setting up third-party billing.
1. For guidelines on the authorization letter, see Third-Party Billing Letter Guidelines.
Students who are sponsored by an organization that releases a Financial Guarantee (ex: Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission, The Cultural Office of the Kuwait Embassy, etc.) must provide a valid Financial Guarantee in place of the billing authorization form and letter.
2. Having a sponsor does not relieve any student of their financial obligations to the University. Third-Party Billing is offered as a courtesy to our students. The inclusion of sponsorship details on the Student Account does not constitute a contract between Harvard University and your qualified third party.
If the sponsor fails to pay any amount for any reason, the student will remain responsible for paying their student account balance to the University.
Except for Harvard College, housing and rent are not eligible for Third-Party Billing. Students must work with their sponsor directly if their sponsorship includes living expenses.
3. See Important Information for Students with Third-Party Sponsors