Homeschooling is legal in every state, but the rules for getting started are set state by state, and they moved again this year. New Hampshire dropped its notice and testing requirements in July 2026, Connecticut passed new rules that arrive in 2027, and Wyoming stopped asking for letters of intent in 2025. A guide written even two years ago is now wrong in several states.
Choose your state below to see what it asks of a homeschooling family right now: how to notify (or not), which subjects to cover, whether hours are counted, what the parent needs, how progress is assessed, and which records to keep. Each result links to the statute so you can read the source, and to our own state page for accredited online options that satisfy those rules.
Four levels of oversight
How much does your state ask?
Tap a level to see which states fall under it, or jump straight to the lookup below.
State lookup
Homeschool requirements in your state
Rules current as of September 2026. Always confirm with the statute linked in your result before filing.
Recent change
Notification
Required subjects
Days or hours
Parent qualifications
Testing or assessment
Records to keep
School choice funds
Source: . State education department.
Email me the summary
A one-page checklist of these requirements, plus a note if the law changes.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sent. Check your inbox.
All 50 states and DC at a glance
Summary only. Type a state to filter, or scroll the list. Select a state above for the full requirements, the statute, and recent changes.
| State | Oversight | Notification | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Notice only | Church school: file a church school enrollment form with the local superintendent when... | None required. |
| Alaska | Minimal | None. | None required. |
| Arizona | Notice only | One-time affidavit of intent, with proof of the child's birth, to the county school... | None required. |
| Arkansas | Notice only | Notice of intent and waiver to the local superintendent by August 15 each year (December... | None required (mandatory testing was repealed in 2015). |
| California | Notice only | Private School Affidavit filed with the state each year between October 1 and 15. | None required. |
| Colorado | Notice plus assessment | Written notice to a school district 14 days before starting, then annually. | Nationally standardized test, or evaluation by a qualified person (certified teacher,... |
| Connecticut | Minimal | None required under current law. | None required. |
| Delaware | Notice only | Register with the Delaware Department of Education online: an enrollment statement by... | None required. |
| Washington, DC | Notice plus assessment | Notification of intent to OSSE at least 15 business days before starting, then a... | OSSE may request a portfolio review (up to twice a year). |
| Florida | Notice plus assessment | Letter of intent to the district superintendent within 30 days of starting, and a... | Annual evaluation submitted to the district: teacher portfolio review, standardized test,... |
| Georgia | Notice plus assessment | Declaration of intent filed with the Georgia Department of Education within 30 days of... | Nationally standardized test every three years beginning at the end of grade 3 (results... |
| Hawaii | Notice plus assessment | Notice of intent (Form 4140 or a letter) to the principal of the local public school... | Standardized test in grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 (results submitted) and an annual progress... |
| Idaho | Minimal | None. | None required. |
| Illinois | Minimal | None. | None required. |
| Indiana | Minimal | None (enrollment reporting is voluntary). | None required. |
| Iowa | Minimal | None for Independent Private Instruction. | None required for IPI. |
| Kansas | Notice only | One-time registration of your school name and address with the Kansas State Department of... | No state test. |
| Kentucky | Notice only | Letter to the local superintendent within two weeks of starting, then annually. | None required. |
| Louisiana | Notice plus assessment | Home study: application to BESE within 15 days of starting, renewed each year by October... | Home study renewal requires evidence of progress: standardized test, teacher review... |
| Maine | Notice plus assessment | Notice of intent to the local superintendent within 10 days of starting (the Maine DOE... | Annual assessment: standardized test, review by a certified teacher or approved... |
| Maryland | Notice plus assessment | Notification of consent to the local superintendent 15 days before starting, renewed... | Portfolio review by the district up to three times a year, or supervision by an umbrella... |
| Massachusetts | High oversight | Submit an education plan for approval before starting, each year. | As agreed in the plan: testing, progress reports, or work samples. |
| Michigan | Minimal | None under the homeschool statute. | None required. |
| Minnesota | Notice plus assessment | Letter of intent to the superintendent by October 1 each year (a fuller report the first... | Annual nationally norm-referenced standardized test administered each year (results kept,... |
| Mississippi | Notice only | Certificate of enrollment filed with the school attendance officer by September 15 each... | None required. |
| Missouri | Minimal | None required (an optional notice may be filed with the county recorder or superintendent). | None required. |
| Montana | Notice only | Notice to the county superintendent each year. | None required. |
| Nebraska | Notice only | File the exempt school forms (Statement of Election and Assurances, Parent Representative... | None required. |
| Nevada | Notice only | One-time notice of intent with an educational plan to the local superintendent before... | None required. |
| New Hampshire | Minimal | None. | None. |
| New Jersey | Minimal | None. | None required. |
| New Mexico | Notice only | Notice to the Public Education Department within 30 days of starting, then annually by... | None required. |
| New York | High oversight | Notice of intent to the superintendent by July 1 or within 14 days of starting; an... | Quarterly reports plus an annual assessment: standardized test at least every other year... |
| North Carolina | Notice plus assessment | One-time notice of intent to the Division of Non-Public Education; notify when you close... | Nationally standardized test each year covering English grammar, reading, spelling and... |
| North Dakota | Notice plus assessment | Statement of intent to the local superintendent at least 14 days before starting (the DPI... | Standardized test in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10, administered by a North Dakota certified... |
| Ohio | Notice only | Notification (parent name and address, child's name, and an assurance the required... | None required (the former testing and portfolio review were removed in 2023). |
| Oklahoma | Minimal | None. | None required. |
| Oregon | Notice plus assessment | One-time notice to the Education Service District within 10 days of starting or... | Standardized test by a qualified neutral person by August 15 at the end of grades 3, 5, 8... |
| Pennsylvania | High oversight | Notarized affidavit or unsworn declaration with educational objectives and immunization... | Portfolio reviewed by a qualified evaluator (certified teacher, licensed psychologist, or... |
| Rhode Island | High oversight | Submit a notice and education plan to the local school committee for approval each year... | Attendance register; the district may require evaluation as agreed in the plan. |
| South Carolina | Notice plus assessment | Depends on option: apply to the district, or maintain association membership. | Option 1 requires annual testing. |
| South Dakota | Notice only | One-time notification form to the Department of Education or the local district within 30... | None required (testing was repealed in 2021). |
| Tennessee | Notice plus assessment | Option 1: notice of intent to the local director of schools before the school year, each... | Option 1: nationally normed standardized test in grades 5, 7 and 9; any nationally normed... |
| Texas | Minimal | None. | None required. |
| Utah | Minimal | One-time notification (a letter of intent) to the local school board when you withdraw a... | None required. |
| Vermont | Notice plus assessment | Enrollment notice to the Agency of Education at least 10 business days before starting,... | Choose an annual assessment method and keep the results (they are no longer submitted,... |
| Virginia | Notice plus assessment | Notice of intent to the local superintendent by August 15 each year with a curriculum... | By August 1: a composite score at or above the 4th stanine on a nationally normed test... |
| Washington | Notice plus assessment | Declaration of intent to the local superintendent by September 15 or within two weeks of... | Annual standardized test or evaluation by a certified teacher (results kept, not... |
| West Virginia | Notice plus assessment | One-time notice of intent to the county superintendent on or before the day you start; it... | Annual assessment: nationally normed test (4th stanine or improvement counts as... |
| Wisconsin | Notice only | File the PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report with the Department of Public Instruction... | None required. |
| Wyoming | Minimal | None (HB 46, 2025). | None required. |
Showing all 51.
Is homeschooling legal in every state?
Yes. All 50 states and the District of Columbia allow parents to educate their children at home. There is no federal homeschool law, so each state sets its own notice, subject, assessment, and record rules. That is why the same family can face a one-page letter in one state and an approved education plan with quarterly reports in another.
Which states changed their homeschool laws most recently?
The biggest recent changes are New Hampshire (HB 1268, July 2026), which ended notification and annual evaluation; Wyoming (HB 46, 2025), which ended letters of intent; Tennessee (HB 1729, 2026), which broadened the accepted standardized tests; and Connecticut (Public Act 26-37), whose new declaration, screening, and waiting-period rules take effect July 1, 2027. Ohio simplified its law in 2023 and Vermont stopped collecting assessments the same year.
Does enrolling in an accredited online school count as homeschooling?
It depends on the state. In some states an accredited online private school satisfies compulsory attendance on its own, so the family is not a homeschool under state law and does not file homeschool paperwork. In others, families file as homeschoolers and use the online school as their curriculum. Northgate Academy is accredited by Cognia and by the Middle States Association CESS, and our state pages explain which route families in each state typically use.
Do I need a teaching degree to homeschool?
Most states require no credential at all. A minority ask for a high school diploma or GED (for example Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee under its independent option), and Washington asks for college credits or a qualifying course unless a certified teacher supervises. No state requires a teaching license for a parent to homeschool their own child under the standard homeschool option.
How often is this lookup updated?
We review every state each year before the fall semester and update entries when a law is signed. The last full review was in September 2026. Statutes and department pages are linked in each result so you can confirm the current text before you file anything.
Meeting your state’s rules with an accredited online school
Most of the requirements above become simple when the curriculum, attendance, and grading are handled by an accredited school. A Northgate Academy transcript documents courses, hours, and grades in the format districts and colleges expect, which covers the recordkeeping and assessment rows in nearly every state. In states that count instructional hours or require a portfolio, the student’s course logs and graded work serve as that evidence.
Northgate Academy is an online Christian school for grades 9 through 12, accredited by Cognia (formerly AdvancED) and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools CESS, both with distinction. Families use us in two ways: as the complete school, with the student enrolled and a diploma at the end, or as the curriculum inside a parent-led homeschool, one course at a time. Our state-by-state homeschool pages explain which route families in each state typically use and what to file.
Laws change, and this page changes with them. If you know of a bill we have missed, tell us and we will review it.
Ready to talk through your state?
Our admissions team works with homeschool families in all 50 states. No application fee, no obligation.
