Rules where you live · 65 places · Canada, the United States, England

Most places ask for a letter, or nothing.

You are the expert on your child. In 39 of the 65 places we cover, the law asks you to send nothing, or paperwork only: no plan to approve and no progress to show. Some of those places still ask you to keep records or test at home. Here is what each province, state and England actually asks of a family teaching at home, read at the government's own source wherever we could reach it.

The atlas

Each square fills as the law asks for more paper. Choose a place.

What each place asks a family to hand over. A filled mark means the law requires it.
PlaceWhat the law asksNoticeRegisterPlanProgressTestsFirst thing due
Canada · 13
Alberta Show progress●·●●·September 29
British Columbia Register·●···September 30
Manitoba Show progress●··●·September 1
New Brunswick Register·●···September 25
Newfoundland and Labrador Show progress·●·●·Written approval must be obtained from the Superintendent EACH school year
Northwest Territories Show progress·●●●·No later than 30 days after the first day of the school's academic year, every school year
Nova Scotia Show progress●●·●·September 20
Nunavut Show progress·●·●·On or before the first instructional day of the school year
Ontario Notify●····September 1
Prince Edward Island Notify●····Each school year
Quebec Show progress●·●●·July 1
Saskatchewan Show progress●●●●·At least 30 days before you start a new program
Yukon Register·●●··Before the home education program starts, then every year
United States · 51
Alabama Notify●····When you enrol your child in the church school
Alaska Nothing to file each year·····Nothing
Arizona Notify●····Within thirty days from the time the child begins to attend homeschool
Arkansas Notify●····August 15
California Notify●····October 15
Colorado Show progress●·●·●14 days before establishing the program, then every year while it continues
Connecticut Nothing to file each year··●··Nothing
Delaware Notify●····September 30
District of Columbia Notify●·●··At least 15 BUSINESS DAYS before the first date of home instruction
Florida Show progress●··●·Within 30 days of beginning the program
Georgia Notify●····September 1
Hawaii Show progress●··●●Before beginning home schooling
Idaho Nothing to file each year●····Nothing
Illinois Nothing to file each year·····Nothing
Indiana Nothing to file each year●····Nothing
Iowa Notify●·●··September 1
Kansas Notify●····When your home school begins
Kentucky Notify●····Within two weeks of the start of each school year, or of withdrawing from public school
Louisiana Show progress●··●·Within 15 days after the program commences
Maine Show progress●··●·September 1
Maryland Show progress●··●·At least 15 DAYS before beginning home instruction
Massachusetts Show progress●·●●·Before instruction begins
Michigan Nothing to file each year·····Nothing
Minnesota Notify●····October 1
Mississippi Notify●····August 15
Missouri Nothing to file each year●····Nothing
Montana Notify●····Each school fiscal year, which runs from the start of July to the end of June
Nebraska Notify●····July 15
Nevada Notify●·●··Before beginning, or within 10 days of formal withdrawal from public school
New Hampshire Nothing to file each year·····Nothing
New Jersey Nothing to file each year·····Nothing
New Mexico Notify●····August 1
New York Show progress●·●●·July 1
North Carolina Notify●····Before you begin, at least five business days ahead
North Dakota Show progress●·●●●At least 5 days before beginning home education
Ohio Notify●····August 30
Oklahoma Nothing to file each year·····Nothing
Oregon Notify●····Within 10 days of starting to teach your child at home
Pennsylvania Show progress●·●●●August 1
Rhode Island Register··●··Before you start
South Carolina Show progress●··●●Before you begin home schooling
South Dakota Notify●····Within 30 days of starting alternative instruction
Tennessee Show progress●··●●Before the start of each school year
Texas Nothing to file each year●····Nothing
Utah Notify●····Once per child, when you withdraw an enrolled child to home-school or choose not to enroll
Vermont Notify●····At least 10 business days before the intended start date
Virginia Show progress●·●●·August 15
Washington Notify●····September 15
West Virginia Show progress●··●·When home instruction starts
Wisconsin Notify●····October 15
Wyoming Nothing to file each year·····Nothing
England · 1
England Nothing to file each year·····Nothing

Four levels of paper

The same places, gathered by what the law asks of you. Each card holds every place at that level.

Every place, by name

Canada · 13

13 regions. 13 require something to be filed; 0 require nothing.

United States · 51

51 regions. 43 require something to be filed; 8 require nothing.

England · 1

1 region. 0 require something to be filed; 1 requires nothing.

Guidance, not legal advice. Confirm with the authority named on each page before you file. Compiled from government sources; each page shows the date we last read or checked its own.

Filing is the easy half. The year is the rest.

Whatever your province or state asks, the harder part is the year in between: seeing what your child is learning, in words a reviewer recognises, without turning your home into a school.

Say what happened today in a sentence. The tool lines it up with the published standards we hold for where you live, says plainly where we hold none yet, and keeps the record in your family's hands.

Get the tool