State Requirements
Homeschooling in New Hampshire
New Hampshire has light but formal homeschool requirements with no mandated hour or day minimums, and you'll file notice with your local school district.
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New Hampshire takes a light-touch approach to homeschool law, with the main expectation being a one-time filing so local officials know a family is teaching at home. Because the compulsory attendance age in New Hampshire runs from 6-18, families plan their homeschool schedule around that window.
Because New Hampshire law doesn't specify hours or school days, the shape of a homeschool year is a family decision. A common internal benchmark is 900 hours a year, loose enough to accommodate life's interruptions but firm enough to keep a program moving forward.
Before instruction begins, or promptly at the start of each school year, families in New Hampshire submit a notice of intent to your local school district. Local districts have some latitude in exactly what they want included, but a simple letter naming each student, their grade, and the intent to homeschool is usually enough.
The New Hampshire assessment requirement (parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation) annually) is usually straightforward to plan around, especially if families track activities consistently through the year. Portfolio records are a core part of the New Hampshire homeschool year. Families keep samples of work, a log of activities, and evidence of instruction in required subjects, reviewed by a certified teacher or evaluator.
New Hampshire expects instruction in science, math, language, government, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, constitution, art, and music. How those subjects show up day-to-day is entirely a family's call. The record-keeping side of homeschooling doesn't need to dominate New Hampshire families' evenings. Homeschool Fox lets you log activities as they happen, then builds the compliance picture on its own.
At a glance
Ages 6-18
Compulsory attendance
Flexible requirements
New Hampshire does not mandate specific hours or days.
Notice requirements
Notice is required
You must notify your local school district of your intent to homeschool.
Need a head start? Use the free Notice of Intent generator to draft a New Hampshire-ready letter.
Deeper guides: how to write a notice of intent to homeschool covers the language admins look for, and when and where to file your notice of intent covers state-by-state deadlines and recipients.
Generate your notice of intentWithdrawing from public school
The New Hampshire withdrawal process is a two-step handoff: a letter to the current public school closing out the enrollment, followed by a notice of intent filed with the local school district. Homeschool Fox generates a compliant withdrawal letter from your family's details in a few clicks.
For the play-by-play, how to withdraw your child from public school walks through the conversation, the timing, and the paperwork. What to send the district when you pull your child covers exactly what the letter should and shouldn't say.
Assessment requirements
Assessment is required
- Type:
- Parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation)
- Frequency:
- Annually
Standardized testing for homeschoolers walks through which test to choose, where to register, and how to prep. If New Hampshire lets you choose between portfolio review and a test, homeschool portfolio reviews vs standardized tests covers when each option is the better call.
Portfolio & records
Portfolio is required
Under RSA 193-A, families keep a portfolio containing a reading log and samples of the student's work — writings, worksheets, workbooks, and creative materials — for two years. The portfolio isn't submitted.
Building a high-school transcript? Start with our free transcript template. Homeschool portfolio reviews vs standardized tests covers what evaluators actually look at and how to curate samples without drowning in worksheets.
Required subjects
New Hampshire requires instruction in the following subjects.
School choice & ESA
Open to homeschool familiesProgram
Education Freedom Account (EFA)
Up to $5,204 / student / year
Homeschool-eligible amount. Some programs pay private-school students more.
Who qualifies and what you give up
Universal as of 2025-26. Any New Hampshire K-12 student qualifies regardless of household income. The base grant is roughly $5,200 per year (the per-pupil adequacy amount) with differentiated aid for low-income students, special education, and English learners. Application runs through the program administrator (currently the Children's Scholarship Fund NH).
The key string for homeschoolers: state law requires that any family currently operating under RSA 193-A home education must terminate that home-education program before enrolling in the EFA. EFA students are reclassified as non-public / private school students for the duration of participation, and expenses must come from approved categories (curriculum, tutoring, therapies, approved testing). Funds left on the table at year end roll over but ultimately revert if the student leaves the program. Most NH homeschool families view the EFA as a private-school voucher rather than a homeschool stipend — taking it means giving up home-education legal status entirely.
Deeper guides: homeschool ESAs explained — which states offer them in 2026 covers eligibility and the trade-offs you sign up for. How to use an ESA for homeschool curriculum walks through what's reimbursable and where families get stuck.
Homeschool Fox tracks receipts and learning plans against ESA reporting requirements automatically.
Umbrella schools
Under RSA 193-A:5, New Hampshire families don't have to file their notice of intent and annual evaluation with the local school district at all — they can route everything through a Participating Agency instead. A PA is a state-recognized intermediary (typically a private school or homeschool association) that receives your notice of intent, holds your annual evaluation on file, and serves as your point of contact with the state in place of your SAU or the Commissioner.
Day to day you still teach your own child, pick your own curriculum, and keep the same portfolio (reading log + work samples) the law requires. What changes is who sees the paperwork: the PA does the intake, not the local school district. Many New Hampshire families pick a PA specifically to remove the district from the loop — fewer awkward conversations, more consistent reviewers year over year. PAs typically charge an annual enrollment fee, and each one sets its own rules for what evaluation evidence it'll accept and what records it asks you to keep on file.
Additional notes
One-time notice of intent to participatory agency. Annual evaluation required. Must maintain portfolio with reading log and work samples for 2 years.
Calculate your New Hampshire hours
New Hampshire doesn't mandate a minimum. Use 900 hours/year as a general guide to stay on pace.
Leave at 0 if you haven't started tracking yet
Enter an end date to see your targets
Target
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hours per day
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hours per week
Prefer a full-page version? Open the standalone hours calculator.
Sources
Verified May 2026
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to notify anyone to homeschool in New Hampshire?
How many hours do I need to homeschool in New Hampshire?
Does New Hampshire require testing for homeschoolers?
Do I need to keep a portfolio in New Hampshire?
What subjects must I teach in New Hampshire?
Nearby states
View all statesWant the cross-state comparison? Homeschool laws by state covers the legal regime in every state side by side.
What we track
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- Instruction hours per student
- Attendance days logged
- Subject coverage (core & non-core)
- Activity log (text, voice, AI-parsed)
- Portfolio-ready records & PDFs
- Transcripts with GPA & credits
- Test scores & evaluations
- Notice of intent & withdrawal letters
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