Homeschool laws in all 50 states and DC
What each state requires you to file, whether it tests, and what to keep — with the statute behind every rule and the date it was last checked.
The shape of it
- No notice to anyone
- 13 states
- Notice or registration only
- 17 states
- Notice plus testing, evaluation or records review
- 17 states
- Approval, local review or curriculum review on top
- 4 states (Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island)
38 of 51 require some notice; 19 require testing or evaluation. Judged on the main home-instruction route most families use. A requirement that the teaching parent hold a high school diploma does not by itself make a state heavily regulated.
Every jurisdiction
| State | Level | Notice | Testing | Subjects | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | low | Once | No | — | Church school: when the child first… |
| Alaska | none | No | No | — | — |
| Arizona | low | Once | No | 5 | Within 30 days after homeschooling… |
| Arkansas | low | Annually | No | — | By August 15 each year |
| California | low | Annually | No | 1 | October 1-15 each year |
| Colorado | moderate | Annually | Yes | 9 | 14 days before starting the… |
| Connecticut | none | No | No | 8 | — |
| Delaware | low | Annually | No | — | Register before homeschooling begins |
| District of Columbia | moderate | Annually | No | 8 | Notification of Intent at least 15… |
| Florida | moderate | Once | Yes | — | Within 30 days after establishing… |
| Georgia | moderate | Annually | Yes | 5 | Within 30 days after starting the… |
| Hawaii | moderate | Once | Yes | — | Before homeschooling begins |
| Idaho | none | No | No | 1 | — |
| Illinois | none | No | No | 7 | — |
| Indiana | none | No | No | — | — |
| Iowa | none | No | No | 2 | — |
| Kansas | low | Once | No | — | No fixed date |
| Kentucky | low | Annually | No | 1 | Within the first two weeks of the… |
| Louisiana | moderate | Annually | Yes | — | Home study: initial application… |
| Maine | moderate | Annually | Yes | 10 | First year: within 10 calendar days… |
| Maryland | moderate | Annually | Yes | 8 | At least 15 days before the home… |
| Massachusetts | high | Annually | Yes | 13 | Before home instruction begins… |
| Michigan | none | No | No | 9 | — |
| Minnesota | moderate | Annually | Yes | 11 | Initial report |
| Mississippi | low | Annually | No | — | On or before August 15 each year |
| Missouri | none | No | No | 5 | — |
| Montana | low | Annually | No | 7 | Each school fiscal year |
| Nebraska | low | Annually | No | 5 | July 15 each year |
| Nevada | low | Once | No | 4 | Before you begin homeschooling, or… |
| New Hampshire | none | No | No | — | — |
| New Jersey | none | No | No | — | — |
| New Mexico | low | Annually | No | 5 | Within 30 days of starting the home… |
| New York | high | Annually | Yes | 5 | July 1 each year, or within 14 days… |
| North Carolina | moderate | Once | Yes | — | At least 5 business days before… |
| North Dakota | moderate | Annually | Yes | 7 | At least 5 days before starting home… |
| Ohio | low | Annually | No | 6 | Within 5 calendar days of starting… |
| Oklahoma | none | No | No | — | — |
| Oregon | moderate | Once | Yes | — | Within 10 days of withdrawing the… |
| Pennsylvania | high | Annually | Yes | 3 | Before starting |
| Rhode Island | high | Annually | No | 10 | Before beginning home instruction… |
| South Carolina | low | Annually | No | 6 | Join the association |
| South Dakota | low | Once | No | 3 | Within 30 days of the first day of… |
| Tennessee | moderate | Annually | Yes | — | No deadline for the first registration |
| Texas | none | No | No | 5 | — |
| Utah | low | Once | No | — | When you withdraw an enrolled child… |
| Vermont | moderate | Annually | Yes | 6 | At least 10 business days before the… |
| Virginia | moderate | Annually | Yes | — | August 15 each year. If you move in… |
| Washington | moderate | Annually | Yes | 11 | September 15 each year, or within… |
| West Virginia | moderate | Once | Yes | 5 | When home instruction begins. If the… |
| Wisconsin | low | Annually | No | 6 | On or before October 15 each school… |
| Wyoming | none | No | No | 7 | — |
Why there are no county pages
Homeschool requirements are set by state statute, not locally. Notice goes to a local school district or board in 27 states, to a county superintendent in 7, and to a state agency in 4, while 13 states require no notice at all — and in those 7 county states the county is a mailing address, not a different rule.
Local policy genuinely changes what a family must do in only three places: Massachusetts, which has no homeschool statute at all and where each district sets its own approval policy within the limits of Care and Protection of Charles (1987) and Brunelle v. Lynn (1998); Rhode Island, where approval is at town level; and New York City, which runs its own filing office. Eleven states also leave part-time enrollment and sports to district discretion, which is a phone call rather than a page. Pages for 3,143 counties could not be verified or kept current, and an unverifiable legal page is worse than none.
Compare across states
Six questions that need all 51 records read at once.
- Where no notice is required — 13 states, and what they still ask of you
- Where testing or evaluation is required — 19 states, and what counts instead of a test
- When notice is due — fixed dates by month, and the states that count from the day you start
- Education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits — and the conditions attached
- Who issues the diploma — and what colleges ask for instead
- Taking a child out of school — the first move in each state