Homeschool deadlines & record-keeping timelines — all 50 states
One table, every state: when to notify, when the annual assessment lands, and what records to keep. This is a timeline and tracking reference only — not legal advice. Every row links the official state education agency so you can verify each date yourself.
Most-searched core states
The 50-state timeline table
No notice ×9One-time ×5Annual ×29Enroll ×8
| State | Notification | Timing | Annual assessment | Records to keep | Track | Verify with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Enroll Enroll under a church school / private school cover | Before withdrawing from public school | Set by the enrolling school; no state-level requirement | Attendance records as required by the cover school | days | AL DOE ↗ |
| Alaska | No notice None for independent homeschool | — | Not required (correspondence programs may set their own) | Keep your own records; required only if in a state correspondence program | — | AK DOE ↗ |
| Arizona | One-time One-time affidavit to county school superintendent | Within 30 days of starting (certified birth certificate enclosed) | Not required | Keep instruction records; affidavit stays on file with the county | — | AZ DOE ↗ |
| Arkansas | Annual Annual Notice of Intent + waiver form | By August 15 before each school year (or 14 days before starting mid-year) | Not required | Keep course of study and materials list with your intent form copy | days | AR DOE ↗ |
| California | Annual Annual Private School Affidavit (PSA) filing | October 1–15 each year (or within 30 days of starting mid-year) | Not required | Keep attendance, course of study, faculty list (instructor qualifications) and school records | days | CA DOE ↗ |
| Colorado | Annual Written notice to district each year | 14 days before starting each school year | Evaluation or standardized test in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 | Keep attendance, test/evaluation results and immunization records | days | CO DOE ↗ |
| Connecticut | Annual Notice of Intent form to district | Within 10 days of starting each school year | Not required by state (districts may ask for a portfolio at review) | Keep attendance and a portfolio of work samples | days | CT DOE ↗ |
| Delaware | Enroll Enroll in a homeschool association (single-family or multi-family) | Before withdrawing from public school | Not required | Report enrollment and end-of-year attendance through the association | days | DE DOE ↗ |
| District of Columbia | Annual Annual notification to the state education office | By August 15 each year | Evidence of progress (portfolio or meeting) twice per year | Keep a teaching portfolio with work samples | days | DC DOE ↗ |
| Florida | Annual Notice of intent to district superintendent | Within 30 days of starting | Annual educational evaluation (portfolio review by a Florida-certificated teacher, or an approved test) | Keep the portfolio for 2 years and make it available on 15 days' written notice | days | FL DOE ↗ |
| Georgia | Annual Declaration of Intent online with the state DOE | Within 30 days of starting, then by September 1 each year after | Write an annual progress assessment; standardized test every 3 years (grades 3, 6, 9) | Keep attendance monthly, progress reports and test results for 3+ years | days | GA DOE ↗ |
| Hawaii | Annual Form 4140 to the complex-area (district) office | Before withdrawing from public school | Annual progress report (test scores, portfolio or written narrative) | Keep annual progress reports and work samples | days | HI DOE ↗ |
| Idaho | No notice None | — | Not required | Keep your own records (subjects taught recommended) | — | ID DOE ↗ |
| Illinois | No notice None (optional voluntary registration ISBE form) | — | Not required | Keep attendance and subject logs (branch of instruction records) | days | IL DOE ↗ |
| Indiana | No notice None (operate as a non-accredited private school) | — | Not required | Keep attendance records (180-day reference); provide them on request | days | IN DOE ↗ |
| Iowa | Annual Competent Private Instruction (CPI) forms to district | By September 1 each year (or within 14 days of starting mid-year) | Annual assessment (standardized test or portfolio) unless exempt option is filed | Keep CPI forms and assessment results with the district file | days | IA DOE ↗ |
| Kansas | Annual Register the homeschool as a non-accredited private school | One-time registration; update contact info as it changes | Not required | Keep instruction records (186-day school-year reference) | days | KS DOE ↗ |
| Kentucky | Annual Letter of notification to district superintendent | Within 10 days of the start of each school year | Not required | Keep attendance and grade/subject records; report to district on request | hours | KY DOE ↗ |
| Louisiana | Annual Annual Home Study Program application (or registered nonpublic school) | Renew each school year before starting | Not required for renewal (optionally submit test scores for the approved-program track) | Keep a copy of each annual approval and attendance logs | days | LA DOE ↗ |
| Maine | Annual Notice of intent to local superintendent | Within 10 days of starting, then by September 1 each year | Annual assessment (standardized test, portfolio review or teacher consult) | Keep notices and annual assessment results with the district file | days | ME DOE ↗ |
| Maryland | Enroll Notice to local superintendent (or enroll in an umbrella/ supervised program) | 15 days before starting each school year | Portfolio reviews up to twice per semester (not more than 3× per year) under the district track | Maintain a portfolio of instruction materials and work samples | days | MD DOE ↗ |
| Massachusetts | Annual Approval plan negotiated with the local district | Advance notice before starting (district-specific forms vary) | Progress reports and assessments per the approved district plan | Keep the approval letter, plan and progress reports | days | MA DOE ↗ |
| Michigan | No notice None (operate as a home education program) | — | Not required | Keep attendance, subjects taught and books used (requested by the state only in investigations) | days | MI DOE ↗ |
| Minnesota | Annual Annual report to district superintendent | By October 1 each year (initial report within 15 days of withdrawing) | Annual nationally normed standardized test; keep scores for the grade 8-year file | Keep test results and instruction materials list | days | MN DOE ↗ |
| Mississippi | Enroll Enrollment verification card with the school attendance officer | By September 15 each year | Not required | Keep a copy of each year's enrollment verification | days | MS DOE ↗ |
| Missouri | No notice None (notice not required) | — | Not required (annual evaluation of progress recommended practice) | Keep records of at least 1,000 hours of instruction (600 in core subjects), work samples and grades | hours | MO DOE ↗ |
| Montana | Annual Notice to county superintendent | Within 10 days of the start of each school year | Not required | Keep attendance and immunization records | hours | MT DOE ↗ |
| Nebraska | Annual Annual filing (Form 28) with the state DOE | By July 15 each year (or 30 days before starting mid-year) | Not required | Keep instructional records of hours and scope | hours | NE DOE ↗ |
| Nevada | Annual Notice of Intent to Homeschool to the district | Before starting (file once; re-file only if you move districts) | Not required | Keep the district acknowledgment letter and educational plan | — | NV DOE ↗ |
| New Hampshire | One-time One-time notice of intent to district (or participating agency) | Within 5 business days of starting | Annual educational progress (nationally standardized test, teacher evaluation or portfolio) | Keep evaluation results and work samples | days | NH DOE ↗ |
| New Jersey | No notice None (no state notification requirement) | — | Not required | Keep attendance and curriculum records (equivalent instruction standard) | days | NJ DOE ↗ |
| New Mexico | Annual Notification to the state Public Education Department | Within 30 days of starting, then by August 1 each year after | Not required | Keep a copy of each year's notification confirmation | days | NM DOE ↗ |
| New York | Annual Annual notice of intent to district superintendent | By July 1 each year (or within 14 days of starting mid-year) | Annual assessment: standardized test every other year grades 4–8, annually grades 9–12; quarterly reports all years | Submit IHIP within 4 weeks of the district request; file quarterly reports and annual assessment | hours | NY DOE ↗ |
| North Carolina | Annual Notice of intent to the state Division of Non-Public Education | Before starting (one-time per school) | Annual nationally standardized test covering the year's work (grades 3+ reading/math focus) | Keep attendance records, test results (1-year retention) and immunization records | days | NC DOE ↗ |
| North Dakota | Annual Annual notice (statement of intent) to district superintendent | At least 14 days before starting each school year (or within 14 days of moving in) | Standardized testing in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10 (local district or arrangement) | Keep notices, test results and progress records | days | ND DOE ↗ |
| Ohio | One-time One-time notification to district superintendent | Within 5 days of starting (re-file only if you move districts) | Not required under the current one-time notification framework | Keep the district excuse-from-compulsory-attendance letter | hours | OH DOE ↗ |
| Oklahoma | No notice None | — | Not required | Keep your own records (subjects and attendance recommended) | days | OK DOE ↗ |
| Oregon | One-time One-time notification to the Education Service District | Within 10 days of withdrawing (child turns 6 / moves in) | Standardized testing at the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 | Keep test results and notification confirmation | — | OR DOE ↗ |
| Pennsylvania | Annual Annual notarized affidavit + objectives to district superintendent | By August 1 before each school year | Annual evaluation by a qualified evaluator + standardized testing grades 3, 5, 8 | Maintain a portfolio (work samples, reading log, test results); evaluation report goes to the district | days | PA DOE ↗ |
| Rhode Island | Annual Prior approval / notice through the local school committee (or approved course-of-study plan) | Before starting each school year (district cycle varies) | Periodic progress reports per the district-approved plan | Keep attendance (180-day reference) and progress reports | days | RI DOE ↗ |
| South Carolina | Enroll Annual: district board approval, or membership in a Third Option accountability association | Before starting each school year (association deadlines vary) | Semiannual progress records under association options; state testing not required for homeschool track | Keep plan books / records of 180 days of instruction and semiannual progress reports | days | SC DOE ↗ |
| South Dakota | Annual Annual application for public school exemption | File each school year before starting | Testing in grades 4, 8 and 11 optional (public school test cycle); not required | Keep copies of each year's exemption filing | days | SD DOE ↗ |
| Tennessee | Enroll Enroll in a church-related umbrella school, or register intent with the district | Before withdrawing / at the start of each school year | Not required for the independent track (umbrella schools may set their own) | Keep attendance records (4 hours/day reference) and grades via the umbrella or district | days | TN DOE ↗ |
| Texas | No notice None (operate as a private school equivalent) | — | Not required | Keep a written curriculum, attendance records and course/progress records | days | TX DOE ↗ |
| Utah | One-time One-time exemption affidavit to district | When starting (re-file annually only if you request district services) | Not required (optional annual district services require re-notification) | Keep the district exemption acknowledgment | hours | UT DOE ↗ |
| Vermont | Enroll Annual enrollment letter + Minimum Course of Study form to the state Agency of Education | Before starting each school year (independent enrollment any time) | Not required (enrollment confirmation letter is issued annually) | Keep enrollment confirmations and course-of-study records | days | VT DOE ↗ |
| Virginia | Annual Annual Notice of Intent to division superintendent | By August 15 each year (or within 30 days of moving into the division) | Evidence of progress filed by August 1 (standardized test results or evaluator letter) | Keep notices, progress evidence and immunization records | days | VA DOE ↗ |
| Washington | Annual Annual Declaration of Intent to district | By September 15 each year (or within 2 weeks of a quarter start / when the child turns 8) | Annual standardized test or evaluation (kept on file, grades ~3–9 cycle) | Keep test/evaluation records and instructional hour logs | days | WA DOE ↗ |
| West Virginia | Annual Notice of intent to county superintendent | At least 2 weeks before starting each school year (or within 2 weeks of moving in) | Annual assessment (nationally standardized test or portfolio evaluation) in grades 3, 5, 8, 11 cycle | Keep notices and annual assessment results for 3 years | days | WV DOE ↗ |
| Wisconsin | Enroll Annual online enrollment report (PI-1206) with the state DPI | By October 15 each year | Not required | Keep attendance (875-hour reference) and course-of-study records | hours | WI DOE ↗ |
| Wyoming | Annual Annual curriculum/showing notice to district | At the start of each school year (or within 10 days of starting/withdrawing) | Not required (district may request a brief curriculum showing) | Keep the curriculum submission and attendance records | days | WY DOE ↗ |
Attendance log →
Free printable attendance tracker with days/hours modes and per-state variants.
Record-keeping planner →
Printable compliance planner: notices filed, portfolio and assessment checklist.
Core state pages →
Detailed node tables for TX, CA, FL, NY and PA.