Maine homeschool requirements
To homeschool in Maine, file one notice of intent within 10 days of starting — one filing notifies both your superintendent and the Commissioner. Provide 175 days of instruction in the required subjects, complete an annual assessment, and from the second year on file again by September 1 with that assessment attached.
Last reviewed June 5, 2026 · corrected September 23, 2026 · Sources below
Maine homeschool requirements at a glance
- Notice
- RequiredWhere it goes: Your resident superintendent's office — one filing, which is also the notice to the Commissioner of Education. When: Within 10 calendar days of the beginning of home instruction (20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4)(a)); the Department of Education's instruction for a family starting with the new school year is to file by September 1. From the second year on, by September 1 with the past year's assessment attached.
- Required subjects
- English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies/History, Physical Education, Health, Library Skills, Fine Arts, Maine Studies
- Instruction time
- 175 days175 days of instruction per year; no hourly requirement.
- Testing or evaluation
- Yes — annualEvery home-instruction student is assessed each year and the result is filed with the next September 1 letter, so nothing is attached to your very first notice of intent. The certified-teacher review is the most common of the five methods. Three of them — a standardized test administered by your school administrative unit, a test that unit develops, and the local advisory board — must be agreed with school officials before you file the notice of intent (20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4)(b)); the certified-teacher review and the support-group portfolio need no advance agreement.
- Records
- Yes — filed forms, assessment results
- Parent qualifications
- Not required
- Compulsory attendance ages
- 6–17
- Ways to homeschool
- Two pathways
- Law
- 20-A M.R.S. § 5001-A(3)(A)(4)
- Official source
- maine.gov ↗
Do I have to notify anyone to homeschool in Maine?
Yes. Maine requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: Your resident superintendent's office — one filing, which is also the notice to the Commissioner of Education. How: One written notice of intent, submitted through the Maine DOE Home Instruction Portal, or on the paper form mailed or delivered — with any prior-year assessment attached — to your resident superintendent's office only. When: Within 10 calendar days of the beginning of home instruction (20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4)(a)); the Department of Education's instruction for a family starting with the new school year is to file by September 1. From the second year on, by September 1 with the past year's assessment attached. 20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4)(a) addresses the notice to the school officials of your administrative unit and to the Commissioner at the same time, and under the Department of Education's current process one submission serves both, so you file once rather than twice. Paper filers send the form to the superintendent's office only, and the Department asks families not to send it a duplicate. The portal is not required: the Department's FAQ says you may notify the superintendent's office in another format if it carries everything the statute lists.
What subjects does Maine require homeschoolers to teach?
Maine requires instruction in English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies/History, Physical Education, Health, Library Skills, Fine Arts, and Maine Studies. Maine studies is required at least once in grades 6–12; computer proficiency must be demonstrated in grades 7–12.
How many days or hours of instruction does Maine require?
Maine's rule: 175 days of instruction per year; no hourly requirement.
Is standardized testing required to homeschool in Maine?
Yes. Maine requires a test or another accepted form of evaluation. How often: Annual. Accepted options: standardized achievement test, given through your school administrative unit (that administration must be agreed with school officials before you file) or through other arrangements approved by the Commissioner; test developed by your school administrative unit, agreed with school officials before you file; review and acceptance of the student's progress by someone holding a current Maine teacher's certificate; portfolio presented to a local homeschooling support group whose membership for this purpose includes a currently certified Maine teacher or administrator; and review by a local advisory board the superintendent selects — one school-unit employee and two home instruction tutors — agreed with school officials before you file. Every home-instruction student is assessed each year and the result is filed with the next September 1 letter, so nothing is attached to your very first notice of intent. The certified-teacher review is the most common of the five methods. Three of them — a standardized test administered by your school administrative unit, a test that unit develops, and the local advisory board — must be agreed with school officials before you file the notice of intent (20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4)(b)); the certified-teacher review and the support-group portfolio need no advance agreement.
What records do I need to keep to homeschool in Maine?
Maine requires these records: notice of intent; each year's letter of intent to continue home instruction (due September 1); and each year's assessment results (filed with the September 1 letter). How long, or where they go: Until the home instruction program concludes. 20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4)(c) requires the parent or guardian to keep copies of everything filed — the notice of intent, each year's continuation letter and each annual assessment — until the home instruction program concludes, and to make those records available to the Commissioner on request.
Do parents need a teaching certificate or other qualification to homeschool in Maine?
No. Maine does not set a general qualification for homeschooling parents. No credential required for the standard home-instruction pathway.
What ages does Maine's compulsory attendance law cover?
Maine's compulsory attendance law covers children from age 6 to age 17.
What are the ways to homeschool in Maine?
In Maine, families homeschool under one of two pathways: home instruction (one notice of intent, filed with your resident superintendent's office) and equivalent-instruction private school/program.
Is homeschooling legal in Maine?
Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Maine, as it is in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. To homeschool in Maine, file one notice of intent within 10 days of starting — one filing notifies both your superintendent and the Commissioner. Provide 175 days of instruction in the required subjects, complete an annual assessment, and from the second year on file again by September 1 with that assessment attached.
How to get started in Maine
Sources for Maine
Every requirement above comes from our review of Maine’s rules, checked against these sources on June 5, 2026 and corrected on September 23, 2026 after re-reading the official source for what changed. Homeschool law changes, and a state can amend its rules between our reviews — read the official source before you file anything or rely on a date here. How we review state requirements.
Nearby states
States that share a border with Maine:
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