Montana Homeschool Laws and Requirements
Aug 14, 2026Homeschooling is legal in Montana, and the state keeps the paperwork at the county level. Once each school fiscal year you notify your county superintendent of schools that your child is attending your home school. Montana then asks for instructional hours set by grade, an organized course of study covering what public schools teach, and attendance records you keep at home and produce only if the county superintendent asks.
Last Reviewed: August 15, 2026. Reviewed by the Modern Homeschools Editorial Team. Next scheduled review: August 15, 2027.
Montana Homeschool Requirements at a Glance
| Topic | What applies in Montana |
|---|---|
| Compulsory attendance ages | Children 7 years of age or older prior to the first day of school, until the later of the child's 16th birthday or the date of completion of the work of the 8th grade |
| Notification or registration | Notify the county superintendent of schools of the county where the home school is located, in each school fiscal year, of the student's attendance |
| Legal pathway or homeschool definition | A home school meeting the conditions in section 20-5-109, which exempts the student from compulsory enrollment |
| Parent or instructor qualifications | None stated in the home school requirements |
| Required subjects | An organized course of study including the subjects required of public schools as a basic instructional program under section 20-7-111 |
| Instructional time | The minimum aggregate hours set by section 20-1-301: 360 hours half-time kindergarten, 720 hours full-time kindergarten and grades 1 through 3, and 1,080 hours for grades 4 through 12 |
| Testing or evaluation | No state testing, evaluation, or portfolio requirement appears in the home school requirements |
| Required records | Pupil attendance records, maintained by the family and made available to the county superintendent on request. They are not routinely submitted |
| Responsible government agency | Your county superintendent of schools receives the notification and may request attendance records. The Montana Office of Public Instruction oversees the public school system and is not the office you file with |
Kept at Home Versus Handed Over
The only thing that reaches a government office on a schedule is the annual notification. Everything else stays with you.
Attendance records are the example families ask about most. You maintain them and make them available to the county superintendent on request. That is a request-driven duty, not a routine filing, so there is no date on which you mail anything in. Keep the records current, and wait to be asked.
Two nearby requirements do not apply to home schools. The same section requires nonpublic schools to keep immunization records and to be housed in a building meeting local health and safety regulations, but those sit in the nonpublic school subsection. The home school subsection lists notification, attendance records, instructional hours, and the course of study, and nothing further.
How to Start Homeschooling in Montana
- Find your county superintendent. Notification goes to the county where the home school is located, not to a school district or to the state.
- Notify once each school fiscal year. The fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30. The statute names no specific calendar deadline or required form, so ask that office how it wants the notice.
- Withdraw from public school, if enrolled. Tell the school so its enrollment records match.
- Plan your hours by grade. 720 hours in grades 1 through 3, 1,080 hours in grades 4 through 12.
- Set up an attendance record now. It is the record the county superintendent may ask to see.
Testing, Attendance, and Record Keeping
Montana's home school requirements include no standardized test, no evaluation by an outside person, and no portfolio review. Nothing about your child's academic progress is reported to the county or the state.
Attendance is the tracked item, and the hour figures give it shape. Because the requirement is aggregate hours across the year rather than a fixed number of days, you have real freedom in how you distribute the time, as long as the year's total is there.
Beyond attendance, a fuller file of subjects covered, materials used, and completed work is prudent rather than required. It supports a transcript and answers questions if your student later enrolls in a school applying its own placement and credit procedures. If you move, your notification belongs to the county where the home school is now located.
Official Montana Homeschool Resources
- Montana Code Annotated 20-5-109, home school requirements
- Montana Code Annotated 20-5-102, compulsory enrollment
- Montana Code Annotated 20-1-301, minimum aggregate hours
Beginning Your Homeschool Journey?
Your First 30 Days of Homeschooling provides a practical path for establishing your priorities, planning your next steps, and creating a rhythm that works for your family.
Modern Homeschools provides educational information to help families understand and navigate homeschooling requirements. Because requirements may change, families should confirm current details with the official state sources linked within this guide.