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Homeschool laws in New Hampshire

New Hampshire requires parents to begin with a notice to the commissioner of education, the resident district superintendent, or the principal of a participating approved nonpublic school within 5 business days of starting. Families must teach the listed subjects, keep a portfolio, preserve it for 2 years after instruction ends, and complete an annual educational evaluation through one of several allowed methods.

Last verified

2026-04-21

Compulsory age range

6-18

Quick-start checklist

What parents need to do first

This is the plain-English checklist a parent can follow to get started without reading a mountain of legal text.

  1. 1Choose whether you will notify the commissioner, your resident district superintendent, or an approved participating nonpublic school.
  2. 2Send your notice within 5 business days of starting and keep the acknowledgment you receive.
  3. 3Build your yearly plan around the required New Hampshire subject areas.
  4. 4Start a portfolio right away with a reading log and work samples.
  5. 5Choose your annual evaluation method early so you can document progress on time.
  6. 6If your student is in high school, keep a transcript and save annual evaluations and any graduation documentation.

New Hampshire homeschool law hub

These state-specific guides turn the core law summary into focused SEO pages for the questions parents search most: requirements, forms, records, testing, graduation, and support groups.

Requirements

Plain-English New Hampshire homeschool requirements: notice, subjects, hours, testing, records, teacher qualifications, and source links.

Letter of intent

Find out whether New Hampshire homeschool parents need a letter of intent, who receives it, timing, and what to include.

Recordkeeping

Plain-English guide to homeschool records in New Hampshire: attendance, portfolios, grades, transcripts, and what parents should keep.

Graduation

How homeschool graduation works in New Hampshire, including diplomas, transcripts, college admission, dual enrollment, and high-school records.

Testing

Plain-English New Hampshire homeschool testing guide: whether tests or evaluations are required, how often, and what records to keep.

Co-ops & support groups

How to think about homeschool co-ops, umbrella schools, virtual options, sports access, and local support while homeschooling in New Hampshire.

Popular New Hampshire homeschool searches

These guides connect the state law checklist to the long-tail questions parents actually search: curriculum by grade, secular options, ADHD support, public-school comparisons, teacher qualifications, and testing.

Best 1st grade curriculum in New HampshireBest secular 4th grade curriculum in New HampshireHomeschooling a child with ADHD in New HampshireHomeschool vs public school in New HampshireCan you homeschool without a degree?Do homeschoolers need testing?

What to do next: choose curriculum after you understand the law

The legal checklist tells you what New Hampshire expects. Curriculum is the next decision. Start with your child’s age, learning style, parent prep time, and whether you want faith-based, secular, online, workbook, or literature-rich materials.

New homeschoolers

Pick a simple open-and-go core for math and language arts first. Add science, history, and enrichment after your routine is stable.

Busy parents

Favor programs with clear lesson plans, independent student work, grading support, or online components if parent prep time is limited.

High school

Choose courses you can document with credits, grades, descriptions, labs where needed, and a transcript-friendly record from day one.

Curriculum recommendation links will only be added after official affiliate/tracking URLs are approved and verified. No placeholder affiliate links are used on this page.

Free printables

Download the homeschool starter kit

Print these before you start: a state startup checklist, letter-of-intent template, attendance tracker, and high-school transcript template.

View all downloads

New homeschool families

State homeschool startup checklist

A printable first-week checklist for choosing your pathway, handling notices or withdrawal, tracking deadlines, and setting up records.

Download PDF →

Notice or withdrawal paperwork

Homeschool letter of intent template

A parent-safe fill-in notice/withdrawal template with reminders to use official state forms when required.

Download PDF →

Recordkeeping

Homeschool attendance tracker

A simple school-year tracker for days, hours, holidays, field trips, and notes you can keep with your records.

Download PDF →

High school planning

Homeschool transcript template

A fill-in high-school transcript starter with course records, credit summary, and parent certification lines.

Download PDF →

These printables are general planning tools, not legal advice. Always verify the current rule on your state page and official source links before filing deadlines.

Full breakdown

Every field is designed to answer the real-world compliance questions parents ask first.

Legal status
Homeschooling is legal in New Hampshire, but families must follow notice, subject, record, and annual evaluation requirements.
Compulsory age range
6-18
Notification required
Yes. A parent beginning home education, withdrawing a child from public school, or moving into a district must notify a participating authority.
Who you notify
The New Hampshire commissioner of education, the resident district superintendent, or the principal of an approved nonpublic school that agrees to administer the law.
Notification deadline
Within 5 business days of commencing the home education program. If the program ends, written termination notice is due within 15 days. If the family moves after notifying a resident district superintendent, the parent must notify the former district and submit a new notice.
Required subjects
Science, Mathematics, Language, Government, History, Health, Reading, Writing, Spelling, The history of the constitutions of New Hampshire and the United States, An exposure to and appreciation of art and music
Hours or days required
The reviewed New Hampshire sources do not state a specific statewide homeschool hour requirement.
Record keeping
Parents must maintain a portfolio including a log of reading materials by title and samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials used or developed by the child. The portfolio remains the parent's property and must be preserved for 2 years from the end of instruction. Parents must also keep a copy of the annual evaluation.
Testing and evaluation
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.
Testing frequency
Annual evaluation each year.
Teacher qualifications
Parents direct the home education program themselves. A parent does not appear in the reviewed sources to need a teaching license to homeschool, although one evaluation option uses a certified teacher or a teacher currently teaching in a nonpublic school.
Curriculum freedom
Moderate. Parents direct the program, but New Hampshire law specifies subject areas and requires yearly progress evaluation.
Umbrella school option
Yes. A family may file notice through an approved nonpublic school that agrees to administer the relevant parts of the law, but this is optional.
Virtual school option
Yes. Families may use online curriculum privately, but public online school enrollment is different from independent home education.
Special education
The reviewed New Hampshire homeschool statute does not provide a simple statewide special-education summary for independent homeschoolers, and the official DOE homeschool page in the raw bundle returned access-denied errors. Families should verify current service options directly with the state or local district.
High school diploma
The reviewed sources indicate that parents may document completion of a homeschool program at the high school level by submitting a certificate or letter to the department of education if needed for a student under 18. Families should also keep clear transcripts and graduation records.
College admission
The reviewed sources do not give a detailed New Hampshire-specific college admission rule. Careful transcripts, course records, annual evaluations, and any outside coursework or testing are likely important.
Sports access
Yes, in a qualified way. Annual evaluation results may be used to demonstrate academic proficiency for participation in public school programs and co-curricular activities, and home educated students are subject to the same participation and eligibility conditions as public school students.
Dual enrollment
Possible, but the reviewed New Hampshire source set does not clearly describe one statewide homeschool dual-enrollment rule for college courses.
Notes
First-pass draft. The official New Hampshire Department of Education homeschool page in the raw bundle failed with repeated 403 access-denied responses, so this entry relies mainly on RSA 193-A and the HSLDA New Hampshire summary. This draft stays cautious on special education, college admission, and college dual enrollment because the reviewed source set did not clearly resolve those topics.

From our sister site

Overwhelmed by curriculum choices?

Now that you know the laws, find the right curriculum. Take the free 5-minute quiz at The Curriculum Compass — matched to your child, your teaching style, and your family values.

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Official sources

Parent-friendly reminder

This page is designed to reduce confusion, not replace legal advice. If something changes or feels unclear, verify with your state Department of Education before making compliance decisions.

Want more homeschool guidance and encouragement? Follow Dani at @thedanicerrato.