Romeschool

Missouri homeschool requirements

Missouri: No state notification. Log 1,000 hours/year — at least 600 in core subjects (400 of those at home) — and keep a log, work samples, and progress evaluations. Those hour and record rules stop at 16, though instruction must continue until the district's compulsory attendance age. No state testing.

Last reviewed June 5, 2026 · corrected September 19, 2026 · Sources below

Minimal regulation Instruction time set
Another state:

Missouri homeschool requirements at a glance

Notice
Not required
Required subjects
Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies/History, Science
Instruction time
1,000 hours1,000 hours/year; at least 600 hours in core subjects; at least 400 of those 600 at the regular home location. These hour requirements stop applying once a student turns 16 (RSMo 167.012.3), though you must still provide instruction until the district's compulsory attendance age.
Testing or evaluation
NoThe 'evaluations' in RSMo 167.012 are parent-maintained progress records, not a mandated external test. The one exception is MOScholars: a student on that scholarship is tested in the grades Missouri's statewide assessment covers (RSMo 135.714.2), which is testing no other Missouri homeschooler faces.
Records
Yes — activity log, work samples, evaluations
Parent qualifications
Not required
Compulsory attendance ages
7–17
Ways to homeschool
Two pathways
Law
RSMo § 167.031; § 167.012
Official source
dese.mo.gov ↗

Do I have to notify anyone to homeschool in Missouri?

No. Missouri does not require homeschooling families to file a notice. No notice to any authority required; the state cannot dictate a statewide curriculum (RSMo 167.031).

What subjects does Missouri require homeschoolers to teach?

Missouri requires instruction in Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies/History, and Science. At least 600 of the 1,000 hours must be in these five core areas, or in academic courses related to them and consonant with the child's age and ability (RSMo 167.012.2).

How many days or hours of instruction does Missouri require?

Missouri's rule: 1,000 hours/year; at least 600 hours in core subjects; at least 400 of those 600 at the regular home location. These hour requirements stop applying once a student turns 16 (RSMo 167.012.3), though you must still provide instruction until the district's compulsory attendance age.

Is standardized testing required to homeschool in Missouri?

No. Missouri does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. The 'evaluations' in RSMo 167.012 are parent-maintained progress records, not a mandated external test. The one exception is MOScholars: a student on that scholarship is tested in the grades Missouri's statewide assessment covers (RSMo 135.714.2), which is testing no other Missouri homeschooler faces.

What records do I need to keep to homeschool in Missouri?

Missouri requires these records: plan book/diary/log of subjects and activities, samples of the child's work, and evaluations of academic progress. How long, or where they go: No retention period is set by statute; families commonly keep them two years or more, and longer for high school. Producing a daily log showing the required course of instruction is a defense to a truancy prosecution or an educational-neglect charge (RSMo 167.012.4). Records are never submitted; the 'evaluations' are parent-kept, not an external test. Both the record-keeping and the hour requirements stop applying once a student turns 16 (RSMo 167.012.3) — instruction must still continue until the district's compulsory attendance age. Many families keep logging past 16 anyway: a home-school credit is 100 hours of instruction in a course (RSMo 167.031), and sixteen credits is one of the two ways compulsory attendance ends.

Do parents need a teaching certificate or other qualification to homeschool in Missouri?

No. Missouri does not set a general qualification for homeschooling parents.

What ages does Missouri's compulsory attendance law cover?

Missouri's compulsory attendance law covers children from age 7 to age 17.

What are the ways to homeschool in Missouri?

In Missouri, families homeschool under one of two pathways: home school (no filing) and family paced education (FPE) school (no filing; the designation a family needs to use MOScholars).

Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Missouri, as it is in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Missouri: No state notification. Log 1,000 hours/year — at least 600 in core subjects (400 of those at home) — and keep a log, work samples, and progress evaluations. Those hour and record rules stop at 16, though instruction must continue until the district's compulsory attendance age. No state testing.

How to get started in Missouri

1
No filing required
Missouri asks for no notice to any authority — you can begin homeschooling without registering anywhere.
Official resource (dese.mo.gov) →
2
Provide 1,000 instructional hours
At least 600 hours must be in the core subjects — reading, language arts, math, social studies/history, and science — or in academic courses related to them and suited to your child's age and ability, and at least 400 of those 600 must happen at your regular home-school location.
Official resource (revisor.mo.gov) →
3
Keep three kinds of records
A plan book, diary, or log of subjects taught and activities done; samples of your child's work; and a record of your evaluations of their academic progress. You never submit them. No statute says how long to keep them — families commonly keep two years or more, and longer for high school — but producing a daily log showing the required course of instruction is a defense to a truancy prosecution or an educational-neglect charge (RSMo 167.012.4).
4
The hours and records stop at 16 — instruction doesn't
Both the 1,000-hour requirement and the record-keeping requirement stop applying once your student turns 16 (RSMo 167.012.3), but you must still provide instruction until your district's compulsory attendance age. Many families keep logging past 16 anyway: a home-school credit is 100 hours of instruction in a course (RSMo 167.031), and sixteen credits is one of the two ways compulsory attendance ends.
5
No state testing
Missouri has no standardized testing requirement for children taught at home. The evaluations in your records are your own, not an outside test. The one exception is the MOScholars scholarship, below.
6
If you take MOScholars (the state ESA)
MOScholars is open to a family teaching at home, but only through the 'family paced education' (FPE) designation in RSMo 167.013 — and RSMo 167.012.1 puts an FPE school outside 'home school' status, so taking the money changes what Missouri law calls your family. Students on it must take the state achievement test or a nationally norm-referenced test in the grades Missouri's statewide assessment covers (RSMo 135.714.2).
7
What MOScholars leaves alone, and who qualifies
The rest is the same: no state filing, the same three kinds of records, the same 1,000 hours. Eligibility is limited, not universal — a student with an IEP, or a household at or below 300% of the free and reduced-price lunch income standard that also meets one of the program's entry conditions — and awards run through a certified Educational Assistance Organization (RSMo 166.700–166.720).
What Romeschool tracks for you: Hour tracking by subject, activity log and portfolio.
If you take an ESA, your homeschool status changes: Participants enroll as a 'Family Paced Education' (FPE) school (RSMo 167.013) — not a traditional MO home school; FPE grade 3+ annual norm-referenced testing.

Sources for Missouri

Official source (dese.mo.gov) ↗HSLDA's Missouri summary ↗
Statute: RSMo § 167.031; § 167.012
Last reviewed: June 5, 2026
Corrected: September 19, 2026, after re-reading the official source for what changed

Every requirement above comes from our review of Missouri’s rules, checked against these sources on June 5, 2026 and corrected on September 19, 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 Missouri:

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