BMCC Immunization Form: Requirements, Proof, and Submission

To register at Borough of Manhattan Community College for six or more credits, you need to download the BMCC immunization form from the Health Services website, complete all three parts, attach proof of your MMR vaccinations or immunity, and submit the packet to the Health and Wellness Services office in Room N-380. Until the office verifies your records, a registration hold sits on your CUNYfirst account and blocks you from enrolling in classes.¹

Who Has To Submit the Form

The requirement applies to every student registering for six or more credits (or the equivalent) in a semester, regardless of degree program, age, or residency. Two groups are carved out:

Students born before 1957 are not required to meet the MMR requirement under Public Health Law § 2165, but they still have to submit the meningococcal response.²
Students enrolled exclusively in online courses who will never set foot on campus or attend fieldwork in person do not need to submit records at all.

International students and transfer students are not exempt. If you are taking six or more credits and any of them meet in person, the form is required.

What the Form Asks For

The BMCC Immunization Record is a two-page PDF with three parts. Download it from the Health Services website and fill it out carefully, because blank fields and missing attachments are the most common reasons records bounce back.

Part 1: Your Information

You complete this part yourself. Enter your last name, first name, middle initial, date of birth, and EMPL ID. The EMPL ID is your eight-digit CUNYfirst number, visible in your Student Center once you log in.³

Part 2: MMR History

Part 2 captures your dates of vaccination or your titer results for measles, mumps, and rubella. For each disease you have two options: list the dates of each vaccine dose, or check the titer box and attach a dated lab report showing positive immunity. A healthcare provider typically completes and signs this section based on your medical records. If you rely on titer results, the lab report must physically accompany the form; checking the titer box with nothing attached will not clear the hold.³

The standard proof under Public Health Law § 2165 is two doses of live measles vaccine (the first given no more than four days before your first birthday, the second at least 28 days after the first) plus one dose each of mumps and rubella vaccine.⁴

Part 3: Meningococcal Response

Part 3 is on the reverse side of the form and every student taking six or more credits must complete it.³ You do not have to get the meningococcal vaccine, but you do have to formally respond. The college needs one of the following on file:⁵

A vaccine record showing at least one dose of meningococcal ACWY within the last five years, or a complete MenB series (no response form needed).
A signed response form with a vaccine record attached.
A signed response form stating you will get vaccinated within 30 days.
A signed response form declining the vaccine.

You can also complete Part 3 electronically through CUNYfirst. In your Student Services Center, click the Meningitis Acknowledgment link in your to-do list. If you select the declination option, that specific hold drops from your account immediately.⁶

What To Attach as Proof

Your form will not clear review on its own. Acceptable supporting proof of MMR immunity includes:

Official vaccination records from a healthcare provider, showing the date of each dose.
A titer lab report that is dated and shows positive immunity for measles, mumps, and rubella.³
Military discharge papers dated within ten years of your application to the college, which count as a temporary certificate under PHL § 2165 while the school waits for your actual service immunization records. If a health risk arises on campus before the records arrive, you can be removed from the institution until proper immunization is confirmed.²

If Your Records Are From Outside the United States

Foreign vaccination records must be translated into English before submission. Untranslated records will delay you. CUNY recommends international students send their records in three to four weeks before their registration appointment.⁷ If your overseas records are incomplete or impossible to retrieve, the fastest route to compliance is often a titer blood test at a U.S. lab. The lab results work as standalone proof of immunity regardless of where you were originally vaccinated.

Exemptions

Two exemptions can change what you need to submit.

Medical. If a licensed physician or nurse practitioner certifies in writing that a vaccination would be detrimental to your health, you can qualify for a medical exemption, either temporary or permanent depending on the condition.² The statement must identify the specific immunization that is contraindicated and how long the contraindication is expected to last.⁴ During an outbreak, medically exempt students may be excluded from campus for their own protection.

Religious. New York’s 2019 law ending religious exemptions applies to day care and K–12 under PHL § 2164, not to college students.⁸ Subdivision 9 of PHL § 2165 still exempts post-secondary students who hold genuine and sincere religious beliefs contrary to vaccination.² Personal or philosophical objections do not qualify. For either exemption, contact Health and Wellness Services to request the correct paperwork before the registration deadline.

How To Submit

BMCC accepts the completed form and attachments through several channels:⁶

In person at Health and Wellness Services, Room N-380, 199 Chambers Street.
By email to healthservices@bmcc.cuny.edu. Put your full name, date of birth, and CUNYfirst ID in the body of the message so staff can match the attachment to your account.
By fax to (212) 220-2367.
Through the Student Medical Records App, accessible from the Immunization Requirements page.

For the meningococcal response alone, you can skip the paper form entirely and use the Meningitis Acknowledgment link in your CUNYfirst to-do list.

After You Submit

Check your CUNYfirst Student Center to see whether your immunization hold has been lifted. The meningococcal portion clears immediately when you complete the CUNYfirst acknowledgment, including a declination. The MMR portion takes longer because staff have to review your attached documentation.⁶

BMCC does not publish a specific grace period after classes start. Other CUNY campuses administratively withdraw noncompliant students 30 days into the semester (45 days for international students),⁷ so the safest approach is to have everything in before your registration appointment. CUNY’s tuition refund schedule is based on when you officially withdraw, meaning a late administrative withdrawal can leave you liable for the full tuition bill with no refund.

If a hold stays on your account past a reasonable processing window, call Health and Wellness Services at (212) 220-8256, email healthservices@bmcc.cuny.edu, or stop by Room N-380.

1
Borough of Manhattan Community College. Immunization Requirements
2
New York State Senate. Public Health Law 2165 – Immunization of Certain Post-Secondary Students
3
Borough of Manhattan Community College. BMCC Immunization Record
4
New York State Department of Health. Immunization Handbook for New York State Post-Secondary Institutions – Section I – Requirements
5
New York State Department of Health. Information for College/University Student Health Services
6
Borough of Manhattan Community College. Immunization Requirements
7
Hunter College. Immunization Requirements
8
New York State Department of Health. NYS School Vaccination Requirements