Is homeschooling legal in Missouri?
Yes, homeschooling is fully legal in Missouri. Missouri never requires you to notify anyone that you are homeschooling, no registration, no annual forms, no state oversight office. What the law does ask is that you teach 1,000 hours a year and keep records at home showing you did. Recent law changes made things even simpler: the old optional county-recorder filing is gone, and public school sports and activities opened up to homeschoolers in 2025.
Missouri homeschool requirements at a glance
| Notice required | No, no notice, registration, or approval, ever. |
|---|---|
| Required subjects | Yes, five core subjects must fill 600 of your 1,000 hours. |
| Testing / assessment | No, no testing or evaluation requirement. |
| Recordkeeping | Yes, a plan book or log, work samples, and evaluations, kept at home. |
| Parent qualifications | None, no diploma, degree, or license required. |
Missouri homeschool law in detail
We link the governing law so you can read it yourself instead of taking our word for it. The governing law is RSMo 167.012 (home school definition, hours, records).
Notice / letter of intent
Missouri requires no notice of intent at all, you do not register with the state, the district, or anyone else (RSMo 167.012 and 167.031). The old statute that let parents file an optional "declaration of enrollment" with the county recorder was abolished by Senate Bill 63, effective August 28, 2025, after years of districts wrongly treating it as mandatory. DESE itself states it does not regulate or monitor homeschooling. If your child has never been enrolled in public school, you simply start teaching.
Required subjects
Of your 1,000 annual hours, at least 600 must be in the core subjects: reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. The law does not dictate curriculum, grade levels, or how to divide the 600 hours among those five subjects. The remaining 400 hours can be anything educational you choose.
Required days or hours
Missouri requires 1,000 hours of instruction during each school term, with 600 of those hours in the five core subjects, and at least 400 of the 600 core hours taught at your regular homeschool location. These hour requirements (and the recordkeeping rules) apply to children under 16; after a child turns 16 you continue academic instruction but the hour counts no longer apply.
Recordkeeping
For each child under 16, maintain a plan book, diary, or daily log showing subjects taught and activities engaged in; a portfolio of samples of the child's academic work; and a record of evaluations of the child's academic progress (RSMo 167.012). You keep these at home, nothing is submitted to anyone. HSLDA strongly recommends logging actual hours daily, since your records are your proof of the 1,000 hours if compliance is ever questioned. Keep at least two years of records, and keep all four high school years for transcripts.
Testing and assessment
Missouri requires no standardized testing, no portfolio review, and no evaluation by outside parties. Keeping your own informal evaluations (grades, checklists, or test results you choose to administer) is part of the recordkeeping requirement, but no one reviews them. Families who want annual testing for their own information arrange and pay for it privately.
Withdrawing from public school
Send the school a short written notice that your child will be educated by another lawful option, under SB 63 (effective August 28, 2025), the school must promptly remove the student from its rolls once you give written notice. There is no waiting period and nothing to file with the state. Date the letter, keep a copy, and start logging hours from your first day of home instruction.
Good to know
Two big 2024-2025 changes are worth knowing: SB 727 / HB 2287 (effective August 28, 2024) moved homeschool law into its own statute (RSMo 167.012) and created the separate FPE category, and SB 63 (effective August 28, 2025) abolished the declaration of enrollment, required prompt removal from school rolls upon written notice, and opened public school sports and activities access under RSMo 167.790. Note that DESE provides no homeschool services or oversight, Families for Home Education (fhe-mo.org) is the long-standing state organization for legislative updates and support.
How to start homeschooling in Missouri
- Check ages: compulsory attendance in Missouri covers ages 7 to 17, and homeschool hour and record rules apply to children under 16.
- If your child attends public school, deliver a short written withdrawal letter, the school must promptly remove your child from the rolls. If your child was never enrolled, skip this step entirely.
- Set up your logbook (paper plan book, spreadsheet, or app) to track daily hours, with columns for core and non-core subjects.
- Plan a year that reaches 1,000 hours, 600 in reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science, with at least 400 of those core hours at home. Averaging about 5 hours a day for 200 days gets you there comfortably.
- Save work samples and simple progress evaluations as you go, and keep everything for at least two years (all four years for high school).
File your notice
Good news: Missouri requires no notice or form to homeschool. No notice or form is required to homeschool in Missouri; families may optionally file a declaration of enrollment with the county recorder of deeds.
Form links checked when we built this page.
Homeschool funding in Missouri
We're verifying Missouri's funding programs against official sources right now, dollar amounts and rules change yearly, and we'd rather be right than first. Check back soon.
Free Missouri school withdrawal letter template
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Download the free templateFind homeschool families near you in Missouri
Co-Op
- Families for Home Education (FHE) · Statewide
Missouri's oldest and largest statewide homeschool organization, protecting parents' right to home educate since 1983. They offer free workshops around the state, getting-started help, regional support group and co-op lists, and an annual Homeschool Day at the Capitol.
Visit website - Heartland Homeschool Association · Cape Girardeau
A nonprofit serving homeschool families across Southeast Missouri, with weekly co-op classes in Cape Girardeau and monthly field trips around the region. They offer classes for all grades plus learning time for the littlest homeschoolers, and families often gather informally at parks.
Visit website - Homeschoolers in Service (H.I.S.) · Springfield
A Christian, parent-taught cooperative meeting Tuesday afternoons at Northside Christian Church with four class periods for all ages. Beyond class day, families enjoy field trips, mom's nights out, holiday parties, family picnics, and community service projects.
Visit website - Jefferson City Home Educators (JCHE) · Jefferson City
A Christian support group for home educating families in the capital city area, open to any family who homeschools. Members enjoy the Ignite! Co-op, the River City Choirs with real concerts and performances, and a full calendar of group activities.
Visit website - LEARN Home Education Network · Kansas City metro
A secular, inclusive home education network serving the greater Kansas City area. Families connect through class co-ops, including a Forest School option, plus dances, parties, group outings, and affordable group buys for theater and activities.
Visit website - Mid-Missouri Co-op of Home Educators · Columbia (Boone County)
A support group of over 120 home educating families in Columbia and central Missouri. The calendar stays full of social opportunities for the kids, including a fall festival, winter carnival, science fair, teen council, a spring formal, and a graduation ceremony.
Visit website - Midwest Parent Educators (MPE) · Kansas City metro
A faith-based homeschool support organization that has served greater Kansas City families for nearly 40 years. They offer an annual conference with over 100 vendors, used curriculum sales, park days, standardized testing, mentoring, and a graduation ceremony for seniors.
Visit website - St. Louis Homeschool Network · St. Louis
A secular co-op and support community that welcomes all homeschooling families without judgment. They host regular park days across the metro plus member classes and events, and newcomers are invited to simply show up at a park day to see if it's a good fit.
Visit website - The Homeschoolers' Network (HSN) · Joplin
An enrichment co-op serving Joplin-area homeschoolers since 1992, meeting on Tuesdays at Wildwood Baptist Church. Kids from kindergarten through 12th grade can take academic classes plus PE, choir, drama, Spanish, sign language, and art in a Christian environment.
Visit website
Forest & Nature School
- Mighty Roots Academy · Grandview (Kansas City metro)
A nonprofit nature-inspired enrichment program on a 5-acre campus where kids learn by doing in active, mixed-age groups. They offer a two-day-a-week homeschool academy for K-12, arts and STEAM courses, and an adventure-based Forest School for ages 4-7.
Visit website - Prickly Pear Nature School · St. Louis (Tower Grove)
A tiny play-based, nature-focused microschool in St. Louis City for preschool-age kids, spending their days outdoors near Tower Grove Park. Everything is built around movement, all-weather play, and environmental stewardship in a screen-free setting.
Visit website - Rooted Adventurers · Pleasant Hope (Springfield area)
A weekly outdoor program where homeschool kids learn together in nature on a working regenerative farm just outside Springfield. Expect immersive, literature-enriched, Charlotte Mason-flavored days of bioregional learning designed to come alongside your own curriculum.
Visit website
Waldorf School
- City of Fountains School · Kansas City (Waldo)
A Waldorf-inspired school in Kansas City's Waldo neighborhood that integrates arts and academics with a developmentally appropriate curriculum inspired by Rudolf Steiner. They serve children from early childhood through 8th grade and offer enrichment classes for homeschool families too.
Visit website - The Waldorf School of St. Louis · St. Louis (Webster Groves area)
An independent Waldorf school that has served St. Louis families for more than 30 years, from parent-child classes through the grade school years. The approach nurtures creativity, nature connection, and the whole child so kids grow into free-thinking, compassionate, purposeful people.
Visit website
Homeschooling in nearby states
Missouri homeschooling FAQ
Do I really not have to tell anyone I'm homeschooling in Missouri?
Really. There is no notice, registration, or approval requirement at any level. The optional county-recorder declaration that sometimes confused districts was abolished effective August 28, 2025, so there is no longer any filing even available.
How strict is the 1,000-hour requirement?
It is the heart of Missouri's law, so take it seriously, but it is very achievable. The school term runs July 1 through June 30, so summer learning counts, and field trips, projects, and reading time are all instruction. A daily log is your proof.
Does anyone ever check my records?
There is no routine review or submission, records stay in your home. They matter only if a truancy or educational-neglect question is ever raised, in which case your log, work samples, and evaluations are exactly the evidence that resolves it.
Can my homeschooled child play public school sports in Missouri?
Yes, this changed recently. Under RSMo 167.790, effective August 28, 2025, homeschool, Family-Paced Education, and full-time virtual students gained the right to participate in public school athletics, fine arts, and other activities, subject to eligibility requirements. Contact your district and check current MSHSAA rules.
What is a Family-Paced Education (FPE) school?
FPE is a separate legal category created by SB 727 in 2024 for home-educating families who choose to participate in certain state-connected programs. Traditional homeschools were moved to their own statute (RSMo 167.012) at the same time, keeping them fully independent. Most families remain plain homeschools and nothing changed for them.
Who issues my child's high school diploma?
You do. Missouri homeschool parents issue their own diplomas and transcripts, and Missouri colleges and employers routinely accept them. Your four years of logs, work samples, and evaluations are the backbone of a credible transcript.
Sources
- Missouri DESE, FAQ (homeschooling not regulated by DESE)
- RSMo 167.012 (home school definition, hours, records)
- RSMo 167.042 (as replaced by SB 63, 2025)
- HSLDA, Missouri
- HSLDA, Declaration of Enrollment Abolished (SB 63)
- Families for Home Education, Missouri Law
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Homeschool laws change, always confirm current requirements with your state's official sources before relying on them.