Homeschool requirements · Georgia
Homeschooling in Georgia
Moderate paperwork · A notice and a yearly assessment or records check.
Submit a Declaration of Intent to the state each year, teach 180 days of at least 4.5 hours, write an annual progress report, and test every three years starting in grade 3.
What Georgia asks
| Notice | Annual Declaration of Intent submitted online to the Georgia Department of Education within 30 days of starting and by September 1 each year. |
|---|---|
| Days and hours | 180 days, 4.5 hours a day |
| Subjects | Reading, Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science |
| Assessment | Nationally standardized test at least every three years beginning at the end of grade 3, administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm-referenced tests (results kept, not submitted). Annual written progress assessment in each required subject, kept for three years. |
| Records to keep | Attendance records and annual progress reports, retained for three years. |
| Parent qualification | High school diploma or GED. |
| Worth knowing | Monthly attendance forms are no longer submitted to the state; keep them in your own files. Compulsory attendance applies from the sixth birthday until the sixteenth birthday, unless the child has completed the requirements for a high school diploma or state-approved high school equivalency diploma. |
Deadlines
These are the dates the app tracks for Georgia. Districts vary; the app lets you edit any of them.
| What | When | To whom | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declaration of Intent Notice · File online | By September 1 each year | Georgia Department of Education | File within 30 days after establishing your home study program, at any time of year, and by September 1 annually thereafter. Set a separate reminder for the first filing; the September reminder does not cover that deadline. The DOI asks for student names and ages, the program address, local school system, and 12-month period; no course of study is required. Use the GaDOE form or portal; the prepared notice letter is a starting point. Save the portal confirmation code here. |
| Annual progress assessment Report · Keep in your files | By the end of the school year | Keep in your files (3 years) | Written assessment of progress in each required subject. Not submitted; keep three years. |
| Standardized test (every 3 years from grade 3) Assessment · Keep in your files | By the end of the school year (grades 3, 6, 9, 12) | Keep in your files | Nationally standardized test at least every three years beginning at the end of grade 3. |
What HomeSchool Scribe does in Georgia
- Declaration of Intent: Prepares the notice letter; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; opens the portal and keeps your confirmation.
- Annual progress assessment: Prepares the report card and the attendance and hours report; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; keeps it in records.
- Standardized test (every 3 years from grade 3): Prepares the transcript; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; keeps it in records.
Attendance and hours fill in from the lessons you check off, so the documents above come from records you already have. Georgia asks families to keep these records for 3 years.
Read the law yourself
Georgia Department of Education · HSLDA’s Georgia summary · Declaration of Intent portal
Not legal advicePlanning summaries in plain language, reviewed 2026-09-11. Deadlines and recipients vary by district; confirm with Georgia’s current law or a homeschool legal organization before you file anything. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it for every family in Georgia.