Georgia is one of the friendlier states to homeschool in, but the paperwork has a couple of specifics that catch new families off guard. You file a form. You teach for a set number of days. And every few years your child takes a test that nobody ever grades.
The two things people get wrong: they think the form goes to their local school district (it does not anymore), and they think the test gets submitted somewhere (it does not). Both are simpler than they sound.
Here is exactly what Georgia requires, in the order you will actually do it.
Is Homeschooling Legal in Georgia?
Yes. Georgia law recognizes a “home study program” as a legal alternative to public or private school attendance, spelled out in O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-690. You teach your own children at home, file one form a year, and meet a few clear requirements.
Compulsory attendance in Georgia covers ages six through sixteen, so those are the years the requirements below apply to. Many families keep going past sixteen and issue their own high school diploma, but the legal obligations end there.
Step 1: File a Declaration of Intent (DOI)
You file a Declaration of Intent with the Georgia Department of Education. You do this within 30 days of starting your home study program, and then you renew it by September 1 every year after that. The GaDOE runs an online system for filing, which is the easiest route.
Here is the point that trips up families who got advice from a neighbor who homeschooled years ago: the DOI goes to the state, not your county school district. Georgia centralized this filing through the GaDOE back in 2012. Older blogs and word-of-mouth still send people to their local superintendent, and that is no longer correct.
The DOI lists your name and address, each child’s name and age, your local school system, and the 12-month period you are calling your school year. It is a notice, not an application — nobody approves or denies it.
Step 2: Meet the Basic Operating Rules
Georgia sets a few baseline conditions for the teaching parent and how the program runs:
- Diploma requirement. The teaching parent must hold at least a high school diploma or a GED. No teaching certificate is needed. You may also hire a tutor who meets this requirement.
- 180 days, 4.5 hours. You provide instruction equivalent to 180 days a year, at a minimum of 4.5 hours per day. That works out to about 810 hours, and you have full flexibility in how you spread them across your 12-month school year.
- Five required subjects. Your program covers reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science.
- Attendance records. You keep attendance records for your home study program.
Attendance is where the 180-day rule and your records meet. Georgia dropped the old monthly attendance reports to districts back in 2013, so you no longer submit anything routinely — but you do keep a log at home to show you met the 180 days if it ever comes up. A binder, or a wall-mounted file organizer by your teaching space, keeps it all in one place.
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Step 3: Give a Standardized Test Every Three Years
This is the requirement that surprises people, and then relieves them once they read the details. Starting at the end of third grade, your child takes a nationally standardized achievement test, and then again at least every three years after that.
The details are what make it painless:
- You keep the results. Test scores stay in your own records. You do not submit them to the state or your district.
- There is no passing score. No one grades the result and there is no consequence attached. It is a check-in for you, not a report card for anyone else.
- Every three years, not every year. After the first test at the end of grade 3, the next is due within three years, and so on. Many families simply test in the same season each testing year.
- You arrange it. You choose a nationally normed test and set it up yourself, often through a local homeschool group or a testing service.
Georgia Homeschool Law: Common Questions
Do I file my Declaration of Intent with my school district?
No. Since 2012 the DOI goes to the Georgia Department of Education, not your local district. If a guide or neighbor tells you to file with your county superintendent, that advice is out of date.
Do I have to submit my child’s test scores?
No. You keep the scores in your own files. They are not submitted to the state or district, and there is no minimum score.
Do I need a teaching degree to homeschool in Georgia?
No. The teaching parent needs a high school diploma or GED. That is the only educational qualification the law sets.
When is the Declaration of Intent due?
Within 30 days of starting your home study program, then by September 1 each year after that. You can file mid-year if you are starting mid-year.
Other States and the Big Picture
Georgia lands in the friendly middle: file once a year, teach 180 days, test occasionally, keep your own records. For comparison, our overview of homeschool laws by state shows the full range. Texas asks for no registration or testing at all, fellow Southern state Louisiana has families pick between a registered home study program and a nonpublic school, and North Carolina requires a test every single year instead of every three.
The Bottom Line for Georgia Families
File your Declaration of Intent with the GaDOE, keep your diploma on hand, teach the five required subjects across 180 days, hold on to your attendance records, and test your child every three years starting at the end of grade 3 — keeping those scores at home. That is the complete compliance picture, and within it, you have full control over what and how you teach.
Just getting started? Walk through how to start homeschooling and planning your homeschool year, then grab the free weekly planner above to keep the daily rhythm steady.
Last reviewed: August 2026. Homeschool law changes, and the details above are a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Before you make decisions for your family, confirm the current rules with the official source: Georgia Department of Education — Home Study Program. Governing law: O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-690. File your Declaration of Intent through the GaDOE online system.
