Homeschool Requirements in New Jersey

New Jersey asks for nothing each year. No annual notice, no registration, no assessment. The step people miss is a separate one: if your child is enrolled in a public school right now, withdrawing them is its own act, and nothing on this page does it for you. Do that first. Everything below is what New Jersey actually requires, cited at the foot so you can read it yourself.

What you file, and by when

None. New Jersey requires no notice of intent, no registration, no curriculum approval, and no annual paperwork of any kind. N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25 requires only that a child aged 6-16 attend public school or “receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school.” If the child is currently enrolled in public school, send a written withdrawal letter to the district as a practical matter. A district may only inquire further if it has credible evidence the child is not receiving equivalent instruction, and the NJDOE FAQ directs districts not to demand documentation absent such evidence.

Nothing to file is not the same as nothing to know, and the group of states in that position is smaller than the forums suggest. How to read your own state code in about ten minutes.

Days or hours

None. No day or hour minimum, and no attendance tracking requirement.

Subjects you must cover

None enumerated for homeschoolers. The only standard is that the instruction be “equivalent” to what is taught in public school, a general academic-equivalence standard with no subject checklist and no verification mechanism.

Records you keep

None required by law. Strongly advised anyway: keep a curriculum outline, work samples, and a transcript, both to answer any future “equivalent instruction” inquiry and for college admissions. Note that two bills pending in 2026 (A5825 and A5796) would impose annual registration, curriculum submission, portfolios, third-party evaluators, and an in-person health/wellness check; neither has passed as of July 2026, but families should watch them.

Nothing goes to a district, so the only account of the four years is the one you write. Writing the counselor letter when the counselor is you.

Testing or evaluation

None. No standardized testing, no evaluator, no portfolio review, no state assessment of any kind.

Diplomas and transcripts

No state-recognized homeschool diploma. Parents issue their own diploma and transcript, which NJ colleges and employers generally accept; NJ public colleges do not require a GED from homeschool graduates. Districts have no obligation to grant credit, issue transcripts, or allow homeschooled students to take district courses or participate in interscholastic athletics (NJSIAA generally bars homeschool participation). No state-mandated high-school credits. No ESA/voucher program for homeschoolers.

If the transcript is the piece you are missing, it is free on its own: The Transcript Template, with the weighted and unweighted GPA already wired.

Where this comes from

Statute: N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25 (attendance required of children between six and 16; exceptions); N.J.S.A. 18A:38-26; State v. Massa, 95 N.J. Super. 382 (1967)

Source: https://www.nj.gov/education/safety/nontraditional/faq_homeschool.shtml

Last reviewed: July 2026. The day is not recorded.

Homeschool law changes, and a page like this goes stale without saying so. Before a filing deadline, read the statute above for yourself. If we are behind, we would rather hear it from you than have you find out at the district office.

All fifty states and DC, each with its statute cited.

Filing is one half of it. Keeping the records is the other, and that is what our Records System is for: the editable transcript with the GPA already wired, 131 course descriptions, and this same statute-cited summary for all fifty states and DC. Thirty-nine dollars, one household, however many children you have.