What to file to homeschool, by state
What you file, to whom, by when, what to keep and what testing the law asks, for every state, each row linked to the law.
In 12 of the 49 states we have checked, you file nothing, or filing is optional. Most of the others ask for a notice, once or every year, and 20 ask for a test or an evaluation in some years. Find your state below; its page has the same rows with the situations (starting, continuing, leaving a school).
Laws data checked October 31, 2026. Information, not legal advice. Download the table (CSV)
| State | File | To | By | Keep | Test | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | On the church school route: an enrollment and attendance form, countersigned by the church school. § | Local public school superintendent (county or city). § | The law gives no date. § | An attendance register showing enrollment and every absence of half a day or more. § | None found for church schools. § | |
| Alaska | Nothing on this route. We found no notice, registration or approval rule for a parent educating a child at home. § | No one required. § | No date. § | We found no record-keeping rule for a child educated at home by a parent or guardian. § | We found no testing or evaluation rule for a child educated at home by a parent or guardian. § | |
| Arizona | An affidavit of intent, once. Not again unless homeschooling stops and restarts. § | County school superintendent. § | Within 30 days of starting; tell them within 30 days if homeschooling ends. § | No record-keeping rule found. The affidavit is the paperwork the law names. § | None required. A child who later enrolls in school is tested for grade level. § | |
| Arkansas | A Notice of Intent to Home School, every year; one form covers the family. § | Superintendent of your resident school district (online or on paper). § | August 15 each year (accepted from June 1). Filed later for a child in school: a five-school-day wait. § | Nothing beyond the notice. The department lists attendance, a portfolio, grades and a transcript as optional. § | None, unless you take Education Freedom Account money. § | |
| California | A Private School Affidavit each year, on the private-school-at-home route most families use. § | California Department of Education (online). § | Between October 1 and October 15 each year; a new school can file from August 1 to June 30. § | An attendance register showing every absence of a half day or more, and a copy of the affidavit. § | None found for private schools. § | |
| Colorado | A written notice: each child's name, age, residence and hours of attendance. § | Any school district in Colorado. § | At least 14 days before you start, then each year. § | Attendance, test or evaluation results and immunizations, kept permanently. 172 days, averaging 4 hours. § | In grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11: a standardized test or a qualified person's evaluation, sent to the district. § | |
| Connecticut | No notice in the statute. The department asks you to give notice to your district's central office. § | Local public school district central office. § | No date. § | None required. The department suggests an attendance log of days and hours and a portfolio per child. § | None found. § | |
| Delaware | A notice, every year. To homeschool you open a nonpublic school with the Department of Education: get an EdAccess account, apply for a nonpublic school in the Department's online system, enroll your children, and print the Acknowledgement Letter (a public school will not withdraw your child without it). § | Delaware Department of Education, Nonpublic School system § | Register before withdrawing from public school; report attendance by July 31 and enrollment by September 30 each year § | The only reports the law requires are the annual attendance report (by July 31) and enrollment statement (by September 30). § | We found no testing requirement. § | |
| District of Columbia | A notice, every year. Complete the Notification of Intent to Homeschool online with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) at least 15 business days before the first day of home instruction. § | Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) § | At least 15 business days before starting; continuation by Aug. 15 each year § | Keep a portfolio for each child with evidence of current work, such as writings, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials and assessments, across a range of subjects. § | The regulation titled Voluntary Participation in Standardized Testing lets a homeschooled child take, free of charge, the regularly scheduled standardized tests given in the public school the child is eligible to attend. § | |
| Florida | A written, signed notice of intent, once. A notice of termination when you stop. § | District school superintendent of your county. § | Within 30 days of starting; the termination notice within 30 days of ending. § | A portfolio: a log made at the time naming reading materials, plus work samples. Keep it 2 years. § | An annual educational evaluation, filed with the superintendent: a teacher's portfolio review, a test, or another listed way. § | |
| Georgia | A Declaration of Intent, online or by email, fax or mail. § | Georgia Department of Education (not the local district). § | Within 30 days of starting, then by September 1 each year. § | An annual progress report per student in five subjects, kept 3 years, plus test scores. Teach 180 days of at least 4½ hours. § | A nationally standardized test every three years from the end of grade 3. Scores stay with you. § | |
| Hawaii | A notice, once. Before starting, give the principal of the public school your child would otherwise attend a notice of intent: the Department's Form 4140 or a letter with the child's name, address and telephone number, birthdate and grade level, and your signature. § | Principal of the public school the child would otherwise attend § | Before starting; again only if the school area or school level changes § | Keep a record of your planned curriculum: beginning and ending dates, hours per week spent on instruction, subject areas covered, how mastery is judged, and a list of textbooks and materials. § | Provide test scores from a nationally-normed standardized assessment for grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, either from the school's statewide testing (free) or private testing at your own expense. § | |
| Idaho | Nothing. The statute names no notice, registration or approval. § | No one. § | No date. § | None required by the attendance statute. § | None. § | |
| Illinois | Nothing required. A voluntary ISBE registration form exists. § | No one required. Leaving a public school? Tell it in a dated letter, copy kept. § | No date. § | No set records. Parents decide, and carry the burden to show, if asked, that instruction meets the law. § | None required. § | |
| Indiana | Nothing required. Reporting enrollment to the department is optional. Leaving a school? Tell the principal in writing. § | Optional: Indiana Department of Education. Leaving: the current school's principal. § | No date. § | Attendance records, no special form; the superintendent may ask for copies. 180 days of instruction. § | None required. § | |
| Iowa | Depends on the route: Form A on the CPI routes that report or dual enroll; nothing on CPI Option 2 or independent private instruction. § | Resident school district (Form A routes). § | September 1, or within 14 calendar days of withdrawing a child from school (Form A routes). § | No home records listed. Form A gives an outline of the course of study or texts. CPI: at least 148 days. § | Reporting CPI routes only: a yearly evaluation by May 31, results to the district by August 1. § | |
| Kansas | Register the school's name and address once, as a nonaccredited private school. No confirmation is sent; keep a copy. § | Kansas State Board of Education (KSDE's online form). § | No deadline stated. Leaving a school? Tell it, or it must report your child as truant. § | No records required; KSDE advises full records of progress for a transfer or college. § | None found. § | |
| Kentucky | A letter of intent, every year, with each child's name, age and address. § | Superintendent of your local board of education. § | Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing from public school. § | Attendance records and scholarship reports (courses and grades), open to the district's Director of Pupil Personnel. § | None found. § | |
| Louisiana | An application for approval of a home study program, with a certified birth certificate the first time; renewed yearly. § | BESE, through the Louisiana Department of Education. § | Within 15 days after starting; renew by October 1 or within 12 months of approval, whichever is later. § | No register named. At renewal, a packet: a subject outline, a book list, work samples and any tests. 180 days. § | At each renewal, one of three: the packet, standardized test scores, or a certified teacher's statement. § | |
| Maine | A notice, every year. File a written Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction every year. § | Superintendent's office of the school administrative unit where you live (this also notifies the Department of Education) § | First year: within 10 days of withdrawal, or by September 1; later years: by September 1 § | Parents keep copies of the notices and assessments they file until the home instruction program ends, and must make them available to the commissioner on request. § | Each year after the first, an annual assessment of the child's progress is sent with the notice. § | |
| Maryland | The home instruction notification form your local school system uses; then a yearly notice that you are continuing. § | Local school superintendent, or your supervising nonpublic school or institution. § | At least 15 days before starting; then each year before the school year begins. § | A portfolio showing regular, thorough instruction: materials, writing, worksheets, creative work, tests. § | No test. A portfolio review at the end of each semester, no more than three a year. § | |
| Massachusetts | A notice, then a home education plan the district approves. Notifying alone does not let you start. § | Your local school district (superintendent or school committee). § | No state date; each district's policy sets its own. § | No state rule. Ask the district what its policy expects. § | No state test. Evaluation is part of the plan the district approves. § | |
| Michigan | Nothing, under the parent-taught exemption. Telling the local school is suggested, not required. § | No one required; a call or note to the local district is suggested. § | No date. § | No records required. The department encourages a progress record for a later school placement. § | None required. § | |
| Minnesota | A report with the instructor's qualifications and the test you will use; then a letter of intent each year. § | Superintendent of the school district where your child lives (not the state). § | October 1 of the first year (or within 15 days of withdrawing a child 7 or older); then October 1 each year. § | Class schedules, copies of materials, how achievement is assessed, and test scores. § | A nationally norm-referenced test every year; at or below the 30th percentile needs a further evaluation. § | |
| Mississippi | A Certificate of Enrollment, every year. Keep a copy. § | The school attendance officer where your child lives. § | August 15 of each school year. § | No attendance or progress records required. The department recommends a portfolio and a book log. § | None found. § | |
| Missouri | Nothing required to start. Leaving a public school? Notify it in writing and ask that your child be dropped from the rolls. § | The public school district, only when your child is on its rolls. § | No date. § | A plan book or diary of subjects and activities, a portfolio of samples, and a record of evaluations. 1,000 hours, 600 in core subjects. § | None found. You keep your own record of evaluations. § | |
| Montana | A notice, every year. A home school must notify the county superintendent of schools of the county where the home school is located, in each school fiscal year, of the student's attendance at the school. § | County superintendent of schools of the county where the home school is located § | Each school fiscal year (the statute sets no date) § | A home school must maintain records on pupil attendance and make them available to the county superintendent on request. § | We found no testing or evaluation requirement for home schools in the compulsory enrollment and home school sections (MCA 20-5-102 and 20-5-109). § | |
| Nebraska | A Statement of Election and Assurances, every year, plus a certified birth certificate the first time. § | Nebraska Department of Education, Exempt School Program Office. § | July 15 of each year the school will operate; instruction can begin once it is received. § | Attendance data and a transcript of classes with grades, as advised; attendance reported as the law requires. 1,032 hours (elementary) or 1,080 (secondary). § | None required. § | |
| Nevada | A notice of intent on the department's standard form, with an educational plan. Once; refile only if a name or address changes. § | Superintendent of schools of the district where your child lives. § | Before starting, within 10 days of withdrawing from public school, or within 30 days of moving to Nevada. § | No records named. Be ready to show the educational plan and proof of identity if a court asks. § | None found. § | |
| New Hampshire | Optional. No declaration of home education is required, except to get access to public school programs under RSA 193:1-c or when withdrawing from a public school. § | Resident school district, only when a declaration is needed § | No date. § | The chapter requires no records. § | The home education chapter requires no test, evaluation or portfolio review. § | |
| New Jersey | Nothing in general. Two cases need a word to the local board: a refused enrollment, and leaving a high school program. § | Local board of education, in those two cases. § | No date. § | No records named in state guidance. § | None. A child taught elsewhere is not required to take a state or district test. § | |
| New Mexico | A home school registration, for each child, online or on paper. § | New Mexico Public Education Department (not the district). § | Within 30 days of starting, then on or before August 1 each year (renewal opens June 1). § | Immunization records or a waiver, and that the teacher has a high school diploma or equivalent. § | None required. § | |
| New York | In progress: being checked against the statute. | |||||
| North Carolina | A Notice of Intent, once per home school (not per child), through the DNPE online portal. § | Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE), NC Department of Administration. § | At least five business days before you begin. DNPE takes no notices in May or June. § | Annual attendance and immunization records for each student, and test results for at least one year. § | A nationally standardized test every year: English grammar, reading, spelling and math. No minimum score. § | |
| North Dakota | A notice, every year. File a statement of intent with the superintendent of your school district of residence at least five days before beginning home education (or within fourteen days of moving into a district), and once each year after. § | Superintendent of the school district of residence (the county superintendent if the district has none) § | At least 5 days before beginning, then once each year § | The parent keeps an annual record of courses taken by the child and the child's academic progress assessments, including any standardized achievement test results. § | In grades four, six, eight and ten, each child takes a standardized achievement test used by the school district, or a nationally normed one if the parent asks. § | |
| Ohio | A home education notice (the state's form is optional). § | Superintendent of the school district where you live. § | Within 5 calendar days of starting, moving into a new district or withdrawing; then by August 30 each year. § | No records required. Keep the superintendent's written acknowledgement, above all for the final year. § | None required. § | |
| Oklahoma | Nothing. No registration or approval; telling your district's principal is suggested, not required. § | No one required. § | No date. § | No records required by law. On a return to public school you show that equivalent instruction was given. § | None required. A student who re-enters public school takes a standardized test. § | |
| Oregon | A written notice, once, that you are teaching your child at home. Again if you move to another ESD; tell them if you stop. § | Your local Education Service District (ESD). § | Within 10 days of the start of the school year, or of taking your child out of school. § | Test results only: keep the score and send it if the ESD superintendent asks. § | An approved test in grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, given by a neutral person; the department says by August 15. § | |
| Pennsylvania | A notarized affidavit with objectives by subject and proof of immunization and health services. § | Superintendent of the school district where you live. § | Before the program starts, then every year on August 1. § | A portfolio per child: a log listing reading by title, work samples, and the grade 3, 5 and 8 test results. 180 days, or 900 hours (elementary) / 990 (secondary). § | A yearly evaluator's review, to the superintendent by June 30; standardized tests in grades 3, 5 and 8. § | |
| Rhode Island | In progress: being checked against the statute. | |||||
| South Carolina | Depends on the option: apply to the district board (Option 1) or join an association (Options 2 and 3). § | Option 1: the district board of trustees. Options 2 and 3: the association. § | Option 1: before starting. Associations report to districts by January 30. § | Option 1: a plan book, a portfolio and evaluations, plus a semiannual progress report to the district. 180 days. § | Option 1: the statewide tests for the grade. None in the statute for Options 2 and 3. § | |
| South Dakota | A notice, once. File an Alternative Instruction Notification on the Department of Education's form with your local school district or the Department of Education. § | Local school district or the Department of Education (the online form notifies both) § | Within 30 days of first starting, and within 30 days of a transition § | The law asks for none. § | No testing is required. § | |
| Tennessee | An Intent to Home School form, with proof the parent-teacher has a diploma or equivalent. § | Your local school district (its home school coordinator). § | Any time in the first year; before the school year starts each year after. § | Attendance records, sent to the director of schools at year end; your own grades and transcripts. 180 days of 4 hours. § | A standardized test in grades 5, 7 and 9. § | |
| Texas | Nothing. Texas asks for no notice to the state or the school district. § | No one. A district that learns your child is home schooled may ask for a letter saying so; the TEA says it need not be yearly. § | No date. § | No record-keeping rule. Many families keep attendance and a book list anyway, for a move back to school. § | None required. A district may test a child who later enrolls, for placement or credit. § | |
| Utah | A one-time notification (a letter of intent is fine). Not again each year. § | The local school board of your district of residence. § | Once, when you withdraw your child or choose not to enroll. § | None. A school board may not require records of instruction or attendance. § | None. A school board may not require testing. § | |
| Vermont | A notice, every year. Send the Secretary of Education a notice of intent on the Agency of Education's form at least 10 business days before you begin home study, and again before the start of each following year (the annual notice). § | Secretary of Education (Agency of Education Home Study Office) § | At least 10 business days before starting, and each year before the start of home study § | The parent or guardian keeps the record of the end-of-year assessments. § | Each child's academic progress is assessed at the end of each school year and the parent keeps the record. § | |
| Virginia | A notice of intent, each year, with a list of subjects and evidence of one of the four qualifications. § | Your division superintendent. § | August 15 each year; if you move in or start mid-year, as soon as practicable. § | No records listed in the statute. The notice and the evidence of progress are what you send. § | By August 1 after the year: a test score in or above the 4th stanine, or an evaluation showing adequate progress. § | |
| Washington | A signed declaration of intent, every year. § | Superintendent of the school district where you live. § | September 15, or within two weeks of the start of a public school quarter, trimester or semester. § | The yearly test or assessment goes in the child's permanent records. Hours equal to private school hours: 1,000 a year for grades 1 to 12. § | Every year: an approved standardized test, or a written assessment by a certificated person. § | |
| West Virginia | A notice of intent, once, with each child's name, address and age and your assurance of instruction and yearly assessment. § | County superintendent or county board. § | When you start; for a child in public school, on or before the day home instruction begins. § | Copies of each year's academic assessment, for three years. § | A yearly assessment, four ways allowed; results to the county superintendent for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11 by June 30. § | |
| Wisconsin | The online PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report, every school year. A report, not an application. § | Department of Public Instruction (online). § | On or before October 15 each year. § | No instruction records required; keep your PI-1206 copies, and DPI suggests a record of instruction. 875 hours a year. § | None required. § | |
| Wyoming | Optional. Since July 1, 2025 a home-based program no longer has to send its curriculum to the local school district (House Bill 46). § | No one required. § | No date. § | We did not find a record-keeping rule for home-based programs in the Wyoming statute or on the Department of Education's homeschooling page. § | We did not find any testing or evaluation requirement for home-based programs in the Wyoming statute or on the Department of Education's homeschooling page. § | |
Reading the table
“Days” and “hours” are the statute's own words: where a state names a number, the Keep column says it, and your Record Book offers it as a target you tap, never one it fills in. A state that says nothing about records still leaves you free to keep them, and most families do: a dated attendance sheet and a reading list cost nothing and help if you move or go back to school.
Every row was read from the sources on the state's page. The laws table has the longer rules; the attendance record and the transcript make the paper.