Homeschool laws by state: all 50 requirements in one cited table.
Updated .
The pages that rank for this question are click-per-state maps and uncited listicles — and their numbers disagree with each other. This table is different: every cell traces to a statute, every row links to a full state guide, and the counts are computed from the catalog itself, not copied from someone else’s summary.
Verified against state statutes and agency guidance, June 2026; the multi-route and hour-counting states re-checked September 2026, and New Hampshire’s and Tennessee’s 2026 laws applied. General information, not legal advice.
| State | Notice | Days / hours | Assessment | Portfolio | Compulsory ages | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | None required | — | No | Optional | 7–16 | AS §14.30.010 |
| Alabama† | Official form / portal | — (private-tutor route: 140 days; 3 hrs/day) | No | Kept, not reviewed | 6–17 | Ala. Code §16-28-3; age-6 start deferrable to 7 by written notice |
| Arkansas | Official form / portal | — | No | Optional | 5–17 | Ark. Code §6-18-201; kindergarten waiver available |
| Arizona | Official form / portal | — | No | Optional | 6–16 | A.R.S. §15-802 |
| California† | Official form / portal | — (credentialed-tutor route: 175 days; 3 hrs/day) | No | Kept, not reviewed | 6–18 | Educ. Code §48200 |
| Colorado | Written notice (letter suffices) | 172 days; averaging 4 hrs/day | Yes | Reviewed | 6–17 | C.R.S. §22-33-104 |
| Connecticut‡ | None required | — | No | Optional | 5–18 | C.G.S. §10-184; 5/6-year-olds deferrable by an in-person option form |
| Delaware | Official form / portal | — | No | Kept, not reviewed | 5–16 | 14 Del. C. §2702 |
| Florida | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | Yes | Reviewed | 6–16 | Fla. Stat. §1003.21 |
| Georgia | Official form / portal | 180 days; 4.5 hrs/day | Yes | Kept, not reviewed | 6–16 | O.C.G.A. §20-2-690.1 |
| Hawaii | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | Yes | Optional | 5–18 | HRS §302A-1132 |
| Iowa† | None required | — (CPI: 148 days and 37 per quarter; IPI: no numeric minimum stated) | No | Optional | 6–16 | Iowa Code §299.1A |
| Idaho | None required | — | No | Optional | 7–16 | Idaho Code §33-202 |
| Illinois | None required | — | No | Optional | 6–17 | 105 ILCS 5/26-1 |
| Indiana | None required | 180 days | No | Kept, not reviewed | 7–18 | IC §20-33-2-6 |
| Kansas | Official form / portal | Substantially equivalent to the public term (KSDE benchmark: 186 days / 1,116 hrs) | No | Optional | 7–18 | K.S.A. §72-3120; under-7s withdrawable at any time; 16/17 exemption by consent |
| Kentucky† | Written notice (letter suffices) | — (KDE recommends 170 days / 1,062 hrs) | No | Kept, not reviewed | 6–18 | KRS §159.010 |
| Louisiana† | Official form / portal | 180 days | Yes | Reviewed | 7–18 | R.S. 17:221 |
| Massachusetts | Plan / approval | — | Yes | Reviewed | 6–16 | G.L. c. 76, §1 |
| Maryland† | Official form / portal | — | Yes | Reviewed | 5–18 | Md. Educ. §7-301; 5-year-olds deferrable by maturity request |
| Maine | Written notice (letter suffices) | 175 days | Yes | Reviewed | 6–17 | 20-A M.R.S. §5001-A |
| Michigan | None required | — | No | Optional | 6–18 | MCL 380.1561; 16+ may stop with parental permission filed with the district |
| Minnesota | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | Yes | Kept, not reviewed | 7–17 | Minn. Stat. §120A.22; under-7s withdrawable at any time |
| Missouri | None required | 1,000 hours | No | Kept, not reviewed | 7 to 17 or 16 credits | RSMo §167.031 |
| Mississippi | Official form / portal | — | No | Optional | 6–17 | Miss. Code §37-13-91; an enrolled 5-year-old kindergartner counts |
| Montana | Written notice (letter suffices) | 360 hrs half-day K; 720 hrs full-day K–3; 1,080 hrs grades 4–12 | No | Kept, not reviewed | 7–16 | MCA §20-5-102 |
| North Carolina | Official form / portal | — | Yes | Kept, not reviewed | 7–16 | N.C.G.S. §115C-378 |
| North Dakota | Official form / portal | 175 days; 4 hrs/day | Yes | Kept, not reviewed | 7–16 | N.D.C.C. §15.1-20-01 |
| Nebraska | Official form / portal | 1,032 hrs elementary; 1,080 hrs secondary | No | Optional | 6–18 | Neb. Rev. Stat. §79-201; a 6-year-old can be deferred to 7 by affidavit |
| New Hampshire | None required | — | No | Optional | 6–18 | RSA 193:1 |
| New Jersey | None required | — | No | Optional | 6–16 | N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25 |
| New Mexico | Official form / portal | — | No | Kept, not reviewed | 5–18 | NMSA §22-1-2 — an age-5 compulsory state |
| Nevada | Official form / portal | — | No | Optional | 6–18 | NRS 392.040, as amended — many guides still say 7 |
| New York | Written notice (letter suffices) | 180 days; 900 hrs grades 1–6; 990 hrs grades 7–12 | Yes | Reviewed | 6–16/17 | Educ. Law §3205; NYC requires attendance through the year the student turns 17 |
| Ohio | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | No | Optional | 6–18 | R.C. §3321.01; an enrolled under-6 kindergartner needs a formal kindergarten withdrawal instead |
| Oklahoma | None required | 180 days | No | Optional | 5–18 | 70 O.S. §10-105; homeschooling is “other means of education” at any age |
| Oregon | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | Yes | Optional | 6–18 | ORS 339.010 |
| Pennsylvania | Plan / approval | 180 days OR 900 hrs elementary / 990 hrs secondary | Yes | Reviewed | 6–18 | 24 P.S. §13-1326, post-Act 16 of 2019 — pre-2020 sources saying 8 are outdated |
| Rhode Island | Plan / approval | Substantially equal to public school (RIDE guidance: 180 days, 990 instructional hrs) | Yes | Kept; review set by committee | 6–18 | R.I.G.L. §16-19-1; an enrolled 5-year-old kindergartner counts |
| South Carolina† | Official form / portal | 180 days | Option-dependent | Kept, not reviewed | 5–17 | S.C. Code §59-65-10; kindergarten waivable by the DOE election document |
| South Dakota | Official form / portal | — | No | Optional | 5–18 | SDCL §13-27-1; kindergarten waivable for under-6s by signed election |
| Tennessee† | Official form / portal | 180 days; 4 hrs/day | Yes | Kept, not reviewed | 6–17 | TCA §49-6-3001 |
| Texas | None required | — | No | Optional | 6–19 | TEC §25.085; an enrolled pre-K/K child is compulsory until formally withdrawn |
| Utah | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | No | Optional | 6–18 | Utah Code §53G-6-202 |
| Virginia | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | Yes | Reviewed | 5–18 | Va. Code §22.1-254; not-yet-ready 5-year-olds deferrable by notifying the board |
| Vermont | Official form / portal | — | Yes | Reviewed | 6–16 | 16 V.S.A. §1121 |
| Washington | Official form / portal | 450 hrs K; 1,000 hrs grades 1–12 | Yes | Reviewed | 8–18 | RCW 28A.225.010 — but an enrolled 6–7-year-old must attend until formally removed |
| Wisconsin | Official form / portal | 875 hours | No | Optional | 6–18 | Wis. Stat. §118.15 |
| West Virginia | Written notice (letter suffices) | — | Yes | Reviewed | 6–17 | W.Va. Code §18-8-1a; enrolled public-K 5-year-olds count, with a removal path |
| Wyoming | None required | — | No | Optional | 7–16 or 10th grade | W.S. §21-4-102(a) |
† Multi-pathway state — the row shows the default homeschool path; alternatives (church or private school, credentialed tutor, umbrella, charter/PSP, CPI) have their own rules, shown on the state page. ‡ Connecticut’s P.A. 26-37: from July 1, 2027 a parent withdrawing a child from public school signs the form in person, subject to a DCF records check; from 2028–29 an October 1 intent form is due for the children the act names (most children already homeschooled are grandfathered, per the legislature’s research office). Days/hours “—” means the default path sets no numeric minimum. Where hours differ by grade, every band is shown; “OR” means either figure satisfies the year; “per day” rules are daily, not annual totals. Kansas and Rhode Island set a “substantially equivalent” standard — the figures shown are agency benchmarks, not statutory minimums. Kentucky: the KDE packet recommends, rather than requires, a term for homeschools; legal review of that reading is pending.
Moving? Compare two states side by side.
Your records move with you — and the receiving state’s rules apply from day one. Records kept casually in a no-requirement state become load-bearing in a portfolio state.
From lightest to most regulated
“Easiest state to homeschool in” lists are vibes; this grouping is mechanical. One point each for: any notice requirement, any assessment requirement, any record/portfolio duty, and any numeric days-or-hours minimum — derived from the same catalog as the table.
Lightest (no notice, no minimums, no assessment, no records duty): Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Texas, Wyoming.
Light (one requirement): Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah.
Moderate (two): Alabama, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin.
Substantial (three): Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia.
Most regulated (all four): Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington.
The notice column, expanded
“Notice” hides the part that trips families: the order and the deadline. Arkansas wants its filing five school days before withdrawal; Maryland fifteen days before starting; Ohio gives you five days after. The withdrawal-letter generator carries every state’s exact sequence with computed dates — and writes the letters where a letter is the legal instrument.
The assessment and portfolio columns, expanded
Most assessment states offer alternatives to standardized testing — evaluator reviews, parent reports, portfolio reviews. Who actually reviews what, the statutory contents lists, and the limits on what anyone may demand are in the portfolio guide and checklist generator; the hour-counting states’ math lives in the hours guide.
Questions families actually ask
Do you have to register to homeschool?
In 13 states, no — nothing is filed to homeschool, though some expect a letter or declaration when a child leaves a public school (New Hampshire since July 1, 2026). The rest require a letter, an official form or portal filing, or — in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island — a plan or approval process. The table’s notice column classifies all 50.
Which states require testing?
20 states have an assessment requirement of some kind on the default homeschool path (South Carolina’s depends on which of its three options a family uses), but almost all accept alternatives to a standardized test (evaluator review, portfolio review, parent report), and several apply it only in certain grades. The counts here are derived from our verified catalog — published lists conflict with each other because they count different things.
What age does school become mandatory?
Anywhere from 5 (Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Connecticut) to 8 (Washington). The table’s ages column carries every state with its citation — and note the enrolled-kindergartner trap: in several states an enrolled child below the floor is compulsory until formally withdrawn.
Do my records transfer when we move?
Your records move with you, and the new state’s rules apply going forward. Compare both states above — and if you’re heading into a portfolio state, the portfolio guide shows exactly what reviewers there expect.
Want the updates as the laws change?
This table is re-verified against statutes and agency guidance — Connecticut’s in-person withdrawal arrives July 1, 2027 and its intent form in 2028–29, and we track exactly that kind of change. Leave an email and we’ll let you know when something shifts.
Whatever your row says, the records are the work.
10Talents counts the days and hours you log against your state’s yearly day or hours minimum where it sets one, turns curriculum PDFs into a scheduled year, and keeps your work samples, grades and transcripts in one place — whichever of the fifty rows above is yours.
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