Arizona asks for one notarized affidavit and a proof of birth, filed once with your county, and then leaves you alone: no tests, no hour counts, no reports. The one thing to get right is that a family using an Empowerment Scholarship Account is not a homeschool at all.
Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
Within 30 days of starting, file an affidavit of intent with your county school superintendent giving your child's name, date of birth, your school address, and the names, phone numbers and addresses of the people with custody, plus a certified birth certificate or other proof of age. You file it once. After that, teach at least reading, grammar, math, social studies and science. There is no testing, no day or hour count, and no report. If you sign an ESA contract instead, you do not file the affidavit, because you are no longer a homeschool under Arizona law.
Arizona defines a homeschool as a nonpublic school run mainly by the parent, guardian or other person with custody, or nonpublic instruction given in the child's home. You file once with the county and then run your school yourself.
If your child has not turned eight by September 1 of the school year and you do not want to begin yet, you file the same affidavit stating that you do not want to begin homeschool instruction until the child is eight.
A family that signs an ESA contract with the Arizona Department of Education is educating the child outside any school district or charter school, using state money. This is not homeschooling under Arizona law. The signed contract counts as the child's required school attendance, and the department sends the county a list of ESA students instead of the parent filing an affidavit.
A private school in Arizona is an institution outside the child's home that teaches for at least as many days and hours each year as a public school. Arizona also has the parent file an affidavit of intent with the county for a child attending a private school.
Within 30 days of the day your child begins homeschool, file an affidavit of intent with the school superintendent of your county (not your school district and not the state). The law says it must state that the child is being instructed in a homeschool and include the child's name, date of birth, the current address of the school, and the names, telephone numbers and addresses of the people who have custody. Because it is an affidavit, counties require it signed in front of a notary; several counties also let you file online. You do not file it again in later years.
Within 30 days after home instruction begins, give the county school superintendent a certified copy of the child's birth certificate, or other reliable proof of identity and age (such as a baptismal certificate, a Social Security number application, or original school registration records) with an affidavit explaining why the birth certificate is not available. The county copies it and returns your original. If you do not comply, the county must give you written notice and 10 days before referring the case to law enforcement.
If you stop homeschooling, notify the county school superintendent within 30 days that your child is no longer being homeschooled. If you start again, file a new affidavit within 30 days. Counties publish their own withdrawal and change-of-information forms.
Every child from six to sixteen must receive instruction in at least reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science. You choose the curriculum, the schedule and the methods. The law sets no number of days or hours for a homeschool.
To open an Empowerment Scholarship Account, the parent signs an agreement that includes a promise not to file an affidavit of intent to homeschool. The signed agreement itself counts as school attendance. So an ESA family is not a homeschool, and a homeschool family that signs an ESA contract leaves the homeschool category. If you end an ESA and go back to homeschooling on your own, file the affidavit again.
| Within 30 days of starting | File the notarized affidavit of intent with the county school superintendent and provide proof of your child's age. Keep the date-stamped copy the county returns. |
| If your child is not 8 by September 1 | If you want to wait until age eight to begin, file the affidavit stating that you do not want to begin homeschool instruction yet. |
| All year | Teach reading, grammar, math, social studies and science on whatever schedule you choose. |
| Within 30 days of stopping | Notify the county that your child is no longer homeschooled, for example when the child enrolls in a school or you sign an ESA contract. |
| Within 30 days of resuming | File a new affidavit of intent. |
No. The statute says the affidavit is filed within 30 days of starting and is not required again unless you stop homeschooling and later start again. If you stop, you notify the county within 30 days. If you resume, you file a new affidavit within 30 days.
No. Arizona law treats them as two separate choices. The ESA contract itself counts as the child's school attendance, and the contract requires the parent not to file a homeschool affidavit. A family moves from one to the other, it does not do both.
No. State law says homeschooled children are not required to be tested while they are being homeschooled. A child who later enrolls in a public school is tested then, to decide grade placement.
If your child is not yet eight by September 1 of the school year, you can file the same affidavit stating that you do not want to begin homeschool instruction until the child turns eight.
A free parent account comes with a Home class. Add your children as students and see every project they make and every lesson they finish. See what they can make, by age.
Make a free parent accountReference information reviewed August 2026 against primary sources (statutes, NCAA and Common App published requirements). This is general information, not legal advice; requirements change, so verify anything load-bearing for your family against your state's current law.