Heavy regulation

Homeschool Records Requirements in Virginia

Virginia runs on two dates a year: notice by August 15, evidence of progress by August 1. It also offers a religious exemption that removes all of it, which is why families here should choose their pathway on purpose.

Verified against primary sources August 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.

What Virginia requires, in short

File a notice of intent by August 15 containing three things: your intention to instruct, a list of subjects, and evidence you meet one of four qualification options. Then by August 1 after the school year, submit evidence of progress, either a test composite in the fourth stanine or above, or an evaluator letter. Virginia specifies no records, no hours, and no curriculum.

Annual noticeBy August 15, to your division superintendent

Annual evidenceBy August 1, following the school year

Records you must keepNothing specified by statute

TestingComposite in the fourth stanine or above, or an evaluator letter

Under age 6Evidence of progress not required

Compulsory ages5 to 18

Your legal options in Virginia

Home instruction (the standard route)

You notify your division superintendent annually and provide evidence of academic progress each summer. This is what the rest of this page describes.

Notice of intent by August 15, with a subject list and your qualification evidence
Evidence of progress by August 1 following the school year
No required records, curriculum, days, or hours

Religious exemption

A school board must excuse a student whose family is conscientiously opposed to school attendance by reason of bona fide religious training or belief. Once granted, there is no notice, no testing, and no annual paperwork of any kind.

Board approval process varies by division, since the statute prescribes none
The exemption is not for essentially political, sociological, or philosophical views
Once excused, no annual filings at all

Certified tutor

Instruction by a tutor or teacher holding qualifications prescribed by the state board and approved by the division superintendent.

No notice of intent, testing, or evidence of progress under the home instruction law
Requires superintendent approval of the tutor

What the law actually requires

File notice by August 15

Notify your division superintendent each August, no later than August 15, of your intention to provide home instruction. If you begin mid-year or move in, notify as soon as practicable and then comply within 30 days. The notice has exactly three parts, and no more.

Virginia Code 22.1-254.1(B)

The notice contains three things, and only three

First, your intention to instruct. Second, a description of the curriculum, which the statute limits to a list of subjects to be studied in the coming year. Third, evidence that you meet one of four qualification options: you hold a high school diploma; you are a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the board; you provide a program of study or curriculum (which may be delivered by correspondence, distance learning, or any other manner); or you provide evidence that you are able to provide an adequate education.

Virginia Code 22.1-254.1(A)-(B)

Provide evidence of progress by August 1

By August 1 following the school year, submit either a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test (or an equivalent score on the ACT, SAT, or PSAT), or an evaluation the superintendent determines shows adequate educational growth. Acceptable evaluations include a letter from someone licensed to teach in any state or holding a master's degree or higher in an academic discipline who has knowledge of the child's progress, or a report card or transcript from a college, college distance learning program, or home-education correspondence school.

Virginia Code 22.1-254.1(C)

Children under six are exempt from the evidence requirement

The evidence of progress requirement does not apply to children who are under age six as of September 30 of the school year.

Virginia Code 22.1-254.1(C)

Keep immunization documentation available

Parents must comply with immunization requirements as if the child were enrolled, and provide documentary proof upon request by the division superintendent. Religious and medical exemptions both exist. Nothing is filed routinely with your notice.

Virginia Code 22.1-271.4

Your compliance calendar

By August 15	File the notice of intent with your division superintendent: intention, subject list, qualification evidence.
During the year	Nothing is due. Virginia sets no days, hours, curriculum standards, or record requirements.
Spring	If you plan to test, schedule it; if you plan to use an evaluator letter, line up a licensed teacher or master's-degree holder who knows your child's work.
By August 1	Submit evidence of progress for the year that just ended.
If evidence is missed or inadequate	The program may be placed on probation for one year, during which you file qualification evidence and a remediation plan. Decisions are appealable to an independent hearing officer.

Records to keep

Copies of your notices and evidence. Virginia specifies no records to keep, but your filed notices and evidence letters are the only proof the program existed, and the state keeps nothing.
Test results or evaluator letters. Each year's evidence of progress. Keep them permanently; they are your continuity record.
Immunization documentation. Kept available in case the superintendent requests it.
Transcript and course descriptions (high school). Required by colleges, not by Virginia. The state education department is explicit that neither it nor school divisions maintain transcripts or verify graduation for home-instructed students.
Work samples (optional). Not required, but evaluators writing your progress letter will typically want to see the year's work.

Printable logs for Virginia Transcript builder

What nobody can require of you

No days or hours requirement, no attendance record, no school calendar.
No required subject list beyond naming the subjects you plan to study.
No portfolio, work samples, or curriculum approval.
No social security number: the statute expressly bars the state and school boards from requiring the student's federal SSN.
No standardized testing if you use an evaluator letter or a college transcript instead.
No notarization anywhere in the process.

Questions Virginia families ask

What has to be in a Virginia notice of intent?

Three things: your intention to instruct, a description of the curriculum limited to a list of subjects for the coming year, and evidence you meet one of four qualification options. Divisions often ask for more, and the law separately bars anyone from requiring the student social security number.

What counts as evidence of progress in Virginia?

Either a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed achievement test, or an equivalent ACT, SAT, or PSAT score, or an evaluation showing adequate growth, which can be a letter from a licensed teacher or a master degree holder who knows your child work, or a transcript from a college or correspondence school.

How is the Virginia religious exemption different from home instruction?

It is a different legal status. Once a school board excuses a student for bona fide religious training or belief, the home instruction requirements do not apply at all: no notice, no testing, no evidence of progress. Board procedures vary widely because the statute prescribes none.

Common myths about Virginia homeschool law, corrected

Your notice of intent has to include birthdates, addresses, and other student details.

The statute names three elements: intention, a subject list, and qualification evidence. Division forms often request more, and the law separately forbids requiring the student's social security number.

The fourth stanine means the 23rd percentile.

The fourth stanine begins around the 23rd percentile, but the statute says fourth stanine, not a percentile figure. Report the stanine your test provides.

You must have a college degree to homeschool in Virginia.

One of four qualification options is a high school diploma, and another is simply providing a program of study or curriculum. A degree is not required.

The religious exemption is just another way to file the same paperwork.

It is a different legal status entirely. Once a school board excuses a student, the home instruction law's notice, testing, and evidence requirements do not apply at all. Board procedures vary widely, because the statute prescribes none.

Virginia can verify your student's graduation for a college or employer.

The state education department states that neither it nor divisions maintain transcripts or diploma status for home-instructed students. Your records are the only records.

Recent and pending changes

The home instruction statute has not been amended since 2022.
A 2025 bill that would have repealed the religious exemption and rewritten home instruction oversight was passed by indefinitely in committee. Similar efforts recur, so this is worth watching each session.

Free tools for Virginia families

Transcript builder: the state education department states that neither it nor school divisions maintain transcripts or verify graduation for home-instructed students.
GPA calculator: weighted and unweighted, computed the way colleges do it.
Course description builder: what selective colleges ask homeschool applicants for, written as you go.

Other state guides

Pennsylvania heavy North Carolina moderate New York heavy

See all state guides.

Get notified when Virginia law changes

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Sources

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.