Missouri files nothing with anyone, and in exchange asks you to keep the most detailed records in the country: 1,000 hours logged, 600 of them core, and 400 of those at home. Understand the hour rules and the rest is genuinely free.
Verified against primary sources August 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
What Missouri requires, in short
Missouri requires no notice, no registration, and no testing. In exchange you log 1,000 hours of instruction per school year, 600 of them in core subjects, with at least 400 of those core hours at your regular home location, and you keep a plan book, a portfolio of work, and records of evaluations. Nothing is filed with anyone.
Notice or filingNone required
Hours1,000 total, 600 core, 400 of the core at your home location
Records you must keepPlan book or log, portfolio of work, evaluations
TestingNone required
School yearJuly 1 to June 30
Compulsory ages7 up to 17 (or 16 completed credits)
Your legal options in Missouri
Home school
The standard Missouri pathway. No notice, no filing, no testing, and no oversight, in exchange for keeping records that would demonstrate compliance if you ever needed them.
1,000 hours of instruction, 600 in core subjects, 400 of those at the regular home school location
Plan book or log, portfolio of work, and records of evaluations
Nothing filed with anyone, ever
Family Paced Education school (FPE)
A newer category created alongside the state scholarship program. The record requirements mirror the home school rules almost exactly; the practical difference is that an FPE school may enroll students using state scholarship accounts, and a home school may not.
Same hours and records as a home school, with the location rule phrased around the FPE school's regular location
Scholarship participation brings its own program paperwork
What the law actually requires
Offer 1,000 hours of instruction
Provide at least 1,000 hours of instruction across a school year that runs July 1 through June 30. Nothing is submitted; this is a standard you meet and can document.
RSMo 167.012
600 of those hours in core subjects
At least 600 hours must be in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, or academic courses related to those areas and appropriate to the child's age and ability. The other 400 hours can be anything educational.
RSMo 167.012
400 of the core hours at your regular home school location
At least 400 of the 600 core hours must occur at the regular home school location. This is the rule people most often believe was repealed. It was not: it remains in the current statute. Practically, it means co-op days, classes, and outside instruction are fine, but the bulk of core academic work happens at home.
RSMo 167.012
Keep three kinds of records
Maintain a plan book, diary, or other written record showing subjects taught and activities engaged in; a portfolio of samples of the child's academic work; and a record of evaluations of academic progress. The statute also accepts other written or credible evidence equivalent to these.
RSMo 167.012
Understand what those records are for
Missouri's law is built around a defense rather than an inspection. Producing a daily log showing compliance is an affirmative defense to a compulsory attendance prosecution or an educational neglect action, and home school records are subject to review only by the local prosecuting attorney. No school official, district, or state agency may demand them.
RSMo 167.012
Your compliance calendar
July 1
Your school year begins. Start a fresh hours ledger.
All year
Log hours as you go, tagged core versus non-core and home versus away. Reconstructing this in June is where families get stuck.
Anytime
Collect work samples and note evaluations. There is no schedule, only the year-end totals.
June 30
The year closes. Archive the ledger, portfolio, and evaluations together.
Never
Nothing is filed with any district, agency, or official at any point.
Records to keep
Hours ledger. The core artifact: date, subject, hours, whether it counts as core, and whether it happened at your home location. Three running totals: 1,000 / 600 / 400.
Plan book or diary. Subjects taught and activities engaged in. Many families combine this with the hours ledger, which the statute permits.
Portfolio of academic work. Samples of the child's work. No required quantity or format.
Evaluations. Your record of assessing progress. This can be your own periodic evaluation; no outside evaluator or test is required.
Transcript and credits (high school). Missouri defines a completed high school credit as 100 hours or more of instruction in a course, which makes transcript building unusually clean if your hours ledger is subject-tagged.
No notice of intent, declaration, or registration with anyone. The old optional declaration with the recorder of deeds was repealed.
No standardized testing at any age.
No teaching credential, degree, or qualification.
No curriculum approval, subject list submission, or lesson plan review.
No portfolio submission or evaluation by an outside person.
No school official may inspect your records. Only a prosecuting attorney, in the context of a case.
Questions Missouri families ask
Was the Missouri 400 hours at home rule repealed?
No. Both the home school and family paced education statutes still require that at least 400 of the 600 core hours occur at the regular home school location. Several homeschool write-ups reported a repeal that did not happen.
Do I have to notify anyone to homeschool in Missouri?
No. There is no notice, registration, or filing of any kind. The optional declaration of enrollment that families used to file with a recorder of deeds was repealed in 2025.
Who can ask to see my Missouri homeschool records?
Only the local prosecuting attorney, in the context of a case. Your records exist as an affirmative defense in a compulsory attendance prosecution or educational neglect action, not as a report to school officials.
Common myths about Missouri homeschool law, corrected
The 400-hours-at-home rule was repealed.
It was not. Both the home school and FPE school statutes still contain it in current law. Several homeschool write-ups reported a repeal that did not happen; verify against the statute text itself.
You have to file a declaration of enrollment with the recorder of deeds.
That optional filing was repealed in 2025. Missouri now has no filing of any kind.
Missouri homeschoolers must test annually.
There is no testing requirement at any grade, and no evaluator requirement either.
Compulsory attendance ends at 16.
The age is 17, or the successful completion of 16 credits toward high school graduation. Product copy and older guides that say 16 are out of date.
The school district can ask to see your records.
The statute limits review of home school records to the local prosecuting attorney. Your records function as a legal defense, not as a report to officials.
Recent and pending changes
A 2024 law moved the home school rules into their own statute section and created the Family Paced Education school category, which may enroll students using state scholarship accounts while home schools may not.
A 2025 law repealed the old optional declaration of enrollment and added a right for home school and FPE students to participate in district activities, with the parent responsible for oversight of academic standards.
Free tools for Missouri families
Transcript builder: Missouri defines a high school credit as 100 hours of instruction in a course, which makes transcript building clean if your hours ledger is subject-tagged.
GPA calculator: weighted and unweighted, computed the way colleges do it.
Reference 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.