Requirements by state
Homeschool Requirements by State
Use this index to compare the core homeschool requirements parents search for first: whether notice is required, what records to keep, testing rules, subjects, and parent qualifications.
This is a navigation and comparison hub. Use the official-source links on each state page before making compliance decisions.
Alabama
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes, but it depends on the option you use. Families usually enroll with a church school or private school, and the private tutor option has its own paperwork expectations. · Testing: No statewide testing requirement applies across Alabama homeschool options.
Open Alabama guide →
Alaska
Low regulation · Notice: No for the direct parent-or-guardian homeschool option. Other options, such as correspondence or private school programs, have their own enrollment paperwork. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for families homeschooling directly under the parent-or-guardian option.
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Arizona
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents file a one-time affidavit of intent to homeschool. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
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Arkansas
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents generally file an annual notice of intent to homeschool. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
Open Arkansas guide →
California
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes, in most common homeschool setups. Families using the home-based private school route file a Private School Affidavit each year, while other legal options have different paperwork. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for families homeschooling independently through the private school or private tutor routes.
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Colorado
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes, if you are homeschooling under the standard homeschool statute. Families using the certified-teacher option do not have the same notice requirement, and families working through an independent school may follow that school's process instead. · Testing: Yes, for students under the standard homeschool statute.
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Connecticut
Low regulation · Notice: No. Connecticut law does not require families to file anything before they start homeschooling. Under optional state guidelines, some districts may ask for a notice of intent, but that filing is voluntary. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
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Delaware
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Delaware homeschoolers using the common single-family or multi-family options must file annual enrollment and attendance reports. The coordinated option also involves the local superintendent. · Testing: No statewide standardized testing is required for Delaware homeschool options covered here.
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District of Columbia
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Families must file a homeschool notice with the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education. · Testing: No general standardized testing requirement was identified for District of Columbia homeschoolers.
Open District of Columbia guide →
Florida
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents file a written notice of intent to establish and maintain a home education program. · Testing: Yes. Parents must complete one of the annual evaluation options allowed by the state.
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Georgia
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents file a Declaration of Intent to operate a home study program. · Testing: Yes. Students must take a nationally standardized test at regular intervals.
Open Georgia guide →
Hawaii
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents generally file a notice of intent when they begin homeschooling. · Testing: Yes. Hawaii requires an annual progress report or assessment, which may be done through one of the approved reporting methods rather than a single required statewide test.
Open Hawaii guide →
Idaho
Low regulation · Notice: No. Idaho does not require a standard notice of intent for independent homeschooling. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
Open Idaho guide →
Illinois
Low regulation · Notice: No. Illinois does not require a standard notice of intent for independent homeschooling. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
Open Illinois guide →
Indiana
Low regulation · Notice: No. Indiana does not require a routine notice of intent for independent homeschooling. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
Open Indiana guide →
Iowa
Medium regulation · Notice: It depends on the option. Iowa's Independent Private Instruction and opt-out routes do not require routine notice, while the annual-assessment, supervising-teacher, and Home School Assistance Program routes require Form A. · Testing: It depends on the option. Iowa's annual-assessment route requires yearly assessment submissions, and Home School Assistance Programs may impose additional testing. Independent Private Instruction, opt-out, and the supervising-teacher route are not described in the available sources as having a general statewide testing requirement.
Open Iowa guide →
Kansas
Low regulation · Notice: Yes, but usually only when you start. Families generally register the name and address of their nonaccredited private school one time in the first year. · Testing: Yes. The available sources say Kansas students should be tested periodically, but they do not clearly give one statewide standardized test schedule for homeschoolers.
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Kentucky
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. The captured sources say families must annually send a private school notice of attendance. · Testing: The captured sources do not describe a routine statewide testing requirement for homeschools operating under Kentucky's private school approach.
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Louisiana
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. The required paperwork depends on which Louisiana option you choose. · Testing: No routine statewide testing appears to be required just to homeschool. For the home study option, renewal requires evidence of progress, and one allowed way to show that is through LEAP, CAT, or another approved standardized test score, but the DOE page also says home study students are not required to take state assessments.
Open Louisiana guide →
Maine
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Under the home instruction option, parents send an initial notice of intent and then send a yearly continuation letter with an annual assessment. · Testing: Yes. Maine requires an annual assessment of academic progress for students using the home instruction option.
Open Maine guide →
Maryland
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Most homeschool families submit a Notice of Consent form, though umbrella-style options may route oversight differently. · Testing: No statewide standardized testing requirement applies just for homeschooling, but the portfolio option includes regular portfolio reviews and umbrella programs may have their own oversight rules.
Open Maryland guide →
Massachusetts
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Families generally seek approval for a home education plan before starting homeschool instruction. · Testing: Not by a uniform statewide rule. Districts may require a reasonable form of evaluation, such as a progress report, portfolio review, or other agreed method, as part of the approval process.
Open Massachusetts guide →
Michigan
Low regulation · Notice: No for families homeschooling only under the homeschool statute. Some families using the nonpublic school route may have separate reporting or administrative considerations. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for families homeschooling only under the homeschool statute.
Open Michigan guide →
Minnesota
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Minnesota requires notice to the local superintendent for homeschooled children in the compulsory-attendance ages described in the available sources. · Testing: Yes, in most cases. Minnesota requires annual assessment with a nationally norm-referenced standardized achievement test unless an exception applies, such as instruction through an accredited nonpublic program described in the available sources.
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Mississippi
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Families file an annual certificate of enrollment for a home study program. · Testing: No statewide standardized testing requirement appears in the available source set for Mississippi home study programs.
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Missouri
Low regulation · Notice: No. Missouri does not require a routine notice of intent for direct homeschooling in the available sources. · Testing: No statewide testing is required in the available sources, although academic evaluations are one of the record types families may keep for children under 16.
Open Missouri guide →
Montana
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Families notify the county superintendent each school fiscal year that the child is being homeschooled. · Testing: No statewide testing requirement is described in the available sources reviewed here.
Open Montana guide →
Nebraska
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Families using Nebraska's exempt-school homeschool route file paperwork when they begin and renew it each year. · Testing: The raw sources reviewed here do not describe a routine statewide testing requirement for Nebraska exempt-school homeschoolers.
Open Nebraska guide →
Nevada
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Nevada requires a notice of intent to homeschool for a child subject to compulsory attendance. · Testing: No routine statewide homeschool testing requirement was found in the reviewed Nevada statute and source bundle.
Open Nevada guide →
New Hampshire
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. A parent beginning home education, withdrawing a child from public school, or moving into a district must notify a participating authority. · Testing: Yes, but not always as a standardized test. New Hampshire requires an annual educational evaluation, which can be done through teacher review of the portfolio, a national student achievement test, the resident district's state assessment, or another mutually agreed valid measurement tool.
Open New Hampshire guide →
New Jersey
Low regulation · Notice: No routine notice of intent is required under the main homeschool statute. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
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New Mexico
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents must notify the New Mexico Public Education Department when they begin homeschooling and must renew that notice each year. · Testing: The available raw sources reviewed here do not show a general statewide testing requirement for independent homeschoolers.
Open New Mexico guide →
New York
High regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents must notify the district and then submit an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP). · Testing: Yes. New York requires regular assessments, including standardized testing in designated years.
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North Carolina
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents usually file a Notice of Intent to operate a home school before beginning. · Testing: Yes. Students must take a nationally standardized test or other equivalent national standardized measure each year.
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North Dakota
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Families homeschooling under the home education law generally file a statement of intent each year. · Testing: No routine statewide testing is generally required for families homeschooling under the home education law.
Open North Dakota guide →
Ohio
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Parents generally send a yearly notification that they are homeschooling. · Testing: No statewide testing, portfolio review, or assessment submission is required under Ohio’s main homeschool statute.
Open Ohio guide →
Oklahoma
Low regulation · Notice: No. The available raw sources and the Oklahoma statute reviewed here do not show a routine notice of intent requirement for independent homeschooling. · Testing: No statewide testing requirement was identified for independent homeschoolers in the available raw sources.
Open Oklahoma guide →
Oregon
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. A parent, legal guardian, or private teacher must notify the education service district in writing when a child is taught at home or withdrawn from public school for home instruction. · Testing: Yes. Home-instructed students are generally examined in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10.
Open Oregon guide →
Pennsylvania
High regulation · Notice: Yes. Families homeschooling under the home education statute generally file a notarized affidavit or unsworn declaration each year. · Testing: Yes. An annual written evaluation is generally required every year, and standardized testing is required in certain grades.
Open Pennsylvania guide →
Rhode Island
High regulation · Notice: Yes. Families must request approval for at-home instruction before they begin homeschooling. · Testing: Not as a uniform statewide rule, but a local school committee may require progress reports, evaluations, or testing as part of the approval process.
Open Rhode Island guide →
South Carolina
Medium regulation · Notice: It depends on the option. Option 1 requires approval from the local district board of trustees. Options 2 and 3 work through SCAIHS or a qualifying homeschool association rather than a simple statewide notice form. · Testing: It depends on the option. Option 1 requires participation in the annual statewide testing program and the Basic Skills Assessment Program. The available sources do not identify a general statewide testing requirement for Options 2 and 3.
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South Dakota
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Families must file the standard alternative-instruction notification form. · Testing: No statewide testing requirement was identified in the available sources.
Open South Dakota guide →
Tennessee
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes for independent home schools. Tennessee says parents must submit an Intent to Home School form to the school district and renew it before each school year. For church-related umbrella schools, the state says that form is not required, though proof of enrollment may be needed when withdrawing from public school. Accredited online school enrollment follows private-school rules rather than the home-school form. · Testing: Yes for some pathways. Tennessee says independent home school students must take the TCAP assessment in grades 5, 7, and 9. The state also says church-related umbrella schools are responsible for testing requirements for their students. Accredited online schools follow private-school rules.
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Texas
Low regulation · Notice: No routine notice is required for a family that is already homeschooling independently. · Testing: No statewide testing or evaluation requirement for independent homeschoolers.
Open Texas guide →
Utah
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Utah says the parent must provide a one-time initial notification to the local school board or district of residence stating the intent to homeschool. · Testing: No statewide testing requirement appears in the available Utah homeschool sources. The official FAQ says curriculum and assessment are the sole responsibility of the parent or guardian.
Open Utah guide →
Vermont
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Families generally file a Home Study Enrollment Notice for each student. · Testing: Yes. Vermont requires an annual assessment showing the student has made progress in the minimum course of study.
Open Vermont guide →
Virginia
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes, for the main home instruction option. Some alternative legal pathways have different rules or may not use the same notice process. · Testing: Yes for the main home instruction option. Families usually submit annual evidence of academic progress through a test, evaluation, or another accepted method. Other legal options can work differently.
Open Virginia guide →
Washington
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes. Families using home-based instruction file a Declaration of Intent every year. · Testing: Yes. Each student must complete either an annual standardized achievement test approved by the state board or an annual assessment by a certificated person who is currently working in education.
Open Washington guide →
West Virginia
Medium regulation · Notice: Yes for the home instruction pathway described in West Virginia Code 18-8-1(c)(2). The parent must present a notice of intent to the county superintendent or county board when home instruction begins. If the child is enrolled in public school, notice must be given on or before the date home instruction starts. A new notice is required when moving to a new county. · Testing: Yes. West Virginia requires an annual academic assessment for students using the home instruction pathway. Families may use a nationally normed standardized test, the state public-school testing program, a certified teacher portfolio review with written narrative, or another alternative academic assessment agreed to by the parent and county superintendent.
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Wisconsin
Low regulation · Notice: Yes. Wisconsin requires an annual PI-1206 statement of enrollment for a home-based private educational program. · Testing: No statewide testing is required for independent homeschoolers.
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Wyoming
Low regulation · Notice: No routine statewide notice is described in the reviewed 2025 HSLDA Wyoming overview. If a child is already enrolled in school, a written withdrawal notice is still recommended. · Testing: No statewide testing is required in the reviewed sources for the main Wyoming homeschool option.
Open Wyoming guide →