How to Homeschool in North Carolina (2026 Guide)

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At a Glance

Regulation Level Moderate
Notice Required Yes
Testing Required Yes
Record Keeping Required Yes

The short version

North Carolina treats a home school as a private school, which keeps state oversight modest. You file a one-time Notice of Intent with the NC Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) before you start, keep annual attendance records, and give each student a nationally standardized achievement test every year covering English grammar, reading, spelling, and math. You keep the test results — they are not submitted to any government agency. North Carolina also has two scholarship programs that homeschool families may be able to access: the Opportunity Scholarship (for private school tuition at eligible schools) and the ESA+ (for students with disabilities, usable for homeschool expenses).

North Carolina home schools are governed by N.C. General Statutes § 115C-548 through § 115C-565, the statutes that regulate non-public schools in the state. Home schools are specifically defined and regulated under N.C.G.S. § 115C-563.

The law defines a home school as a non-public school consisting of the children of not more than two families or households, where the parents or legal guardians — or other members of either household — determine the scope and sequence of instruction, provide instruction, and determine additional sources of instruction. A 2023 amendment to § 115C-563(a) broadened this definition to allow parents to hire tutors, have children participate in group learning settings like co-ops or 4-H classroom instruction, and bring in outside experts (such as for apprenticeships or specialized subject instruction) without those arrangements invalidating the home school’s legal status.

The NC Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE), a division of the NC Department of Administration, is the state body authorized to receive home school Notices of Intent, process terminations, and conduct annual inspections of attendance records and standardized test results. DNPE does not approve curricula, prescribe textbooks, or supervise day-to-day instruction.

Primary source: DNPE Home Schools — Requirements & Recommendations

Notice of intent

Before you begin home schooling — and before withdrawing your child from any existing school — you must submit a Notice of Intent to Operate a Home School to DNPE. This is a one-time filing that opens your home school; it does not need to be renewed annually.

The notice must include:

  • The name of your home school (choose an academic name suitable for a high school diploma — DNPE cannot accommodate name changes later)
  • The address of the school
  • The name of the chief administrator (typically the teaching parent or guardian)

How to file: Notices may be submitted online through the DNPE portal or by other means accepted by DNPE. DNPE processes notices Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and review typically takes 3 to 5 business days.

Important: Wait for written acknowledgment from DNPE that your notice has been received before withdrawing your child from their current school or beginning instruction. This is DNPE’s own recommendation and protects you from any gap in your legal enrollment status.

Home schools may not be opened only for the summer term or for grade recovery purposes. Once opened, a home school must remain in continuous operation with enrolled students until the chief administrator formally closes it through DNPE.

Compulsory age: North Carolina’s compulsory attendance law applies to children who are at least 7 years old and not yet 16 (or 18, if the student wants to maintain a North Carolina driver’s license). There is no reason to file a Notice of Intent if the only students you plan to enroll are currently under age 7 and will not turn 7 during the current school year, or are 18 or older.

Instructor qualification: The chief administrator and all instructors in the home school must hold at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. This applies to both households in a two-family home school arrangement.

Required subjects

North Carolina does not mandate a specific list of subjects beyond what is required for the annual standardized test (see below). The law gives parents full discretion over the scope, sequence, and sources of instruction.

DNPE does not provide curricula, textbooks, or instructional materials — that is entirely the responsibility of the chief administrator. Government funding is not available for curriculum or materials.

Instructional time: While not mandated by statute, DNPE recommends providing at least five hours of instruction per school day, at a quality and duration comparable to local conventional schools. This is guidance, not a legal minimum.

Distance learning: A North Carolina family may legally enroll students in a distance learning program (correspondence, internet-based, or audio/video). If the student is of compulsory attendance age, the family must still establish its own North Carolina home school by filing a Notice of Intent with DNPE and list the parent — not the distance learning organization — as the school’s chief administrator. All NC home school laws apply, including the testing and record-keeping requirements.

Standardized testing

Annual standardized testing is one of North Carolina’s firm requirements. Under N.C.G.S. § 115C-564, each student enrolled in a home school must take a nationally standardized achievement test once each school year.

The test must measure achievement in these four areas:

  • English grammar
  • Reading
  • Spelling
  • Mathematics

Parents choose the specific test. DNPE does not prescribe a particular test, supply testing materials, or fund testing. Many families use well-known options such as the California Achievement Test (CAT), Iowa Assessments, Stanford Achievement Test, or similar nationally norm-referenced instruments. A professional educator may administer and score the test — this is one of the roles that an outside professional educator hired by the home school may legally fill under the amended § 115C-563(a).

Records: Under § 115C-565, each home school must make and maintain records of students’ test results. For one year after testing, those records must be available at the school’s principal office for inspection by an authorized DNPE representative. DNPE may request to review these records during its annual inspection process, which may occur virtually. Test scores are not submitted to DNPE proactively — you retain them and make them available if asked.

Record keeping

North Carolina home schools are required to maintain two categories of records at the school site:

Attendance records: You must keep a record of student attendance. The statute requires that attendance records be available for DNPE inspection. DNPE recommends maintaining a daily log, journal, or lesson plan book that records the time period for each subject each day and the content covered — though this level of detail is a recommendation, not a strict legal mandate.

Standardized test results: As described above, test scores must be retained and available for one year after the testing date under § 115C-565.

DNPE strongly encourages retaining all records — attendance logs, test results, lesson plans, and transcripts — indefinitely, or at minimum until the student has enrolled in a conventional school or graduated. These records may be needed for college admissions, driver’s license applications, or enrollment in a community college through Career and College Promise.

Immunization records: North Carolina law requires home schools to maintain immunization records for enrolled students, consistent with the requirements that apply to other non-public schools (N.C.G.S. § 130A-155). Home school students are not exempt from immunization laws by virtue of home school status; medical and religious exemptions follow the same process as for private school students.

Annual update: DNPE also asks home school administrators to update their enrollment information annually in the DNPE portal, though this is an administrative step rather than a formal filing requirement equivalent to the initial Notice of Intent.

Scholarship programs for North Carolina homeschool families

North Carolina administers two scholarship programs through the NC State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA / K12 Scholarships). They differ significantly in who can use them and how funds may be spent.

Opportunity Scholarship

The Opportunity Scholarship is North Carolina’s voucher-style program for K–12 students to attend eligible private schools. It has been open to all NC families — regardless of income — since the program was expanded in 2023.

Award amounts (2026–27 school year): Awards range from approximately $3,578 to $7,942 per student per year, determined by four income-tier levels. Lower household income receives a higher award. The exact tier chart is published annually by NCSEAA.

Eligibility:

  • Student must reside in North Carolina
  • Student must be entering kindergarten through 12th grade (not preschool or transitional kindergarten)
  • Student must be at least age 5 by August 31 of the school year, or at least age 4 by April 16 and state-approved for kindergarten

How funds may be used: Opportunity Scholarship funds may only be used for tuition and required fees at a registered private school (called a “Direct Payment School”). There are more than 700 registered schools across the state. Funds go directly to the school, not to the family.

Application: The priority application window for each school year typically opens February 1 and closes March 1. Applications received outside the priority window are considered monthly as funds are available. The lottery prioritizes lower-income households for new awards. Apply through k12.ncseaa.edu.

ESA+ (Education Savings Account for Students with Disabilities)

The ESA+ is a scholarship program for North Carolina students with eligible disabilities, and it is the program where home school families can most directly benefit — because unused funds after private school tuition may be applied to approved educational expenses, and students enrolled full-time in a home school may use the entire award for allowable expenses.

Award amounts:

  • Base award: $9,000 per student per year
  • Enhanced award: $17,000 per student per year for students with certain designated disabilities

Eligibility:

  • Student must be entering kindergarten through 12th grade
  • Student must have an eligibility determination issued within the last three years by a North Carolina public school (or a Department of Defense school located in NC) — this is the document public schools use to determine whether a student requires special education services. An IEP alone is not sufficient; you need the eligibility determination itself
  • Student must reside in North Carolina at the time of enrollment

How funds may be used for home school families: A student enrolled full-time in a home school may use the entire ESA+ award for allowable educational expenses, which include curriculum, instructional materials, tutoring, and other approved items. Students enrolled in a private school must first use funds for tuition; any remainder may then be spent on allowable expenses. NCSEAA sends payments to Direct Payment Schools twice per year; for home schools, a separate reimbursement process applies — see How Scholarship Funds Work on the NCSEAA site for the current payment schedule.

Application: The priority application period runs concurrently with the Opportunity Scholarship window (approximately February 1–March 1 each year). Apply through k12.ncseaa.edu/the-education-student-accounts/.

Important: Applying for the ESA+ does not automatically enroll your student in a school or change your home school’s legal status with DNPE. If your child is currently enrolled in your home school, that home school remains registered with DNPE independently of any NCSEAA scholarship.

Withdrawing from public school

North Carolina does not prescribe a specific formal withdrawal procedure at the state level for families leaving public school to homeschool. In practice, the recommended steps are:

  1. File your Notice of Intent with DNPE first — or at a minimum, have it submitted and processing — before formally withdrawing from public school
  2. Wait for DNPE’s written acknowledgment before beginning instruction
  3. Notify the local public school in writing that you are withdrawing your child. Keep a copy of any correspondence

Once your Notice of Intent is on file with DNPE and your home school is operational, your child is legally enrolled in a non-public school and is no longer subject to public school attendance requirements. The local public school has no supervisory authority over your home school program.

Driver’s license note: Under North Carolina law, students between ages 16 and 18 who want to obtain or maintain a driver’s license must either be enrolled in a public or private school, or be enrolled in a home school registered with DNPE. Maintaining active home school registration with DNPE through age 18 preserves your student’s eligibility for a driver’s license.

Career and College Promise: Home school graduates and enrolled high school students may access North Carolina’s Career and College Promise program, which offers tuition-free community college credits to students who maintain at least a B average. You will need to provide a copy of your home school registration to participate. For details, contact the community college directly.

Support and community

North Carolinians for Home Education (NCHE) — nche.com — is the primary statewide homeschool organization and has been advocating for home school families in North Carolina since 1984. NCHE organizes the annual Thrive! Conference, hosts free webinars on topics ranging from starting out to homeschooling through high school, and divides the state into nine regions each with a dedicated regional liaison who can help you find local groups and answer questions. NCHE also maintains legislative updates on bills affecting NC home school families.

NCHE offers a “Homeschool Helps” team with contacts for specialized situations: new homeschoolers, high school and curriculum questions, special needs, military families, single parents, and multicultural families.

For families of students with disabilities who may be navigating the ESA+ program, the Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center (ECAC) provides free support to North Carolina families: call 800-962-6817 or email [email protected].