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Homeschooling in Alabama

Homeschool rules in Alabama, in plain English

Alabama has no homeschool law of its own. To homeschool legally, a family must use one of three options: enroll in a church school that offers home programs, operate a private school in the home, or teach through an Alabama-certified private tutor. Church school families file one enrollment and attendance form with the local superintendent and keep attendance records. The state does not require tests, portfolio reviews, or a set subject list for church or private school families.

See another state

This explains each state's homeschool rules in plain English, from the state's own published sources. It isn't legal advice, and we aren't lawyers. Laws change and every family is different, so check with your state, your school district or a lawyer before you rely on it.

How much it asks
Some paperwork
School age
6 through 17
Time
140 days a year or 3 hours a year

Option 1

Church school home program

Families who enroll their children in a church school that offers instruction through home programs. The church school must be run as a ministry of a local church, group of churches, denomination, or association of churches, and must not receive state or federal funding.

  1. Before you startGood to know

    Choose a qualifying church school

    The school must be operated as a ministry of a church or group of churches and must not receive state or federal funds. Parents do not need a teaching certificate or degree to teach under this option.

  2. Before you startPaperwork

    Complete the enrollment and attendance form

    Get the enrollment and attendance form from your local county or city superintendent. The church school administrator countersigns it, and you return it to the superintendent.

  3. OngoingRecords

    Keep an attendance register

    The church school's principal teacher keeps a daily attendance register for the school year, recording every absence of a half day or more.

  4. When your child leaves the church schoolPaperwork

    Church school notifies if your child leaves

    If your child stops attending, you must direct the church school in advance to tell the local superintendent that the child is no longer enrolled.

Option 2

Private school in the home

Families who set up their home as a private school, which is a nongovernmental school offering instruction in grades K through 12 through home programs.

  1. Before you startGood to know

    Establish the private school

    The school must be established, conducted, and supported by a nongovernmental entity or agency and must offer instruction in grades K through 12, including through home programs.

  2. By the fifth day after the public school year startsPaperwork

    Report enrolled children to the superintendent

    By the fifth day after the local public school year begins, the school's principal teacher reports the names and addresses of all children of school age who are enrolled to the county or city superintendent, on the state's prescribed form.

  3. Weekly during the school yearPaperwork

    Report new enrollments and absences weekly

    After the first report, the principal teacher reports at least weekly the names and addresses of new enrollments and children absent without a valid excuse.

  4. OngoingRecords

    Keep an attendance register

    Keep a daily attendance register showing every absence of a half day or more.

Option 3

Alabama-certified private tutor

Families who teach their children through a private tutor who holds an Alabama teaching certificate from the State Superintendent of Education. The tutor must teach in English.

  1. Before you startWho teaches

    Get the tutor certificate

    The tutor must hold a certificate issued by the State Superintendent of Education of Alabama.

  2. Before instruction beginsPaperwork

    File a statement with the superintendent

    Before instruction begins, the tutor files a statement with the county or city superintendent. It lists the children to be taught, the subjects, and the period of instruction. The state's enrollment form for tutors is also used.

  3. Every school yearTime

    Teach the required time

    Instruction must be at least three hours a day for 140 days each calendar year, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., in the English language, in the branches of study required in Alabama public schools.

  4. OngoingRecords

    Keep a daily register

    The tutor keeps a register of work showing daily hours of instruction and the attendance of each child, and makes any reports the State Board of Education requires.

  5. By the fifth day after the public school year starts, then weeklyPaperwork

    Report enrollments and absences

    By the fifth day after the public school year starts, and at least weekly after that, the tutor reports names and addresses of children of school age who are enrolled or absent without a valid excuse.

Tests and reviews

Alabama does not require standardized testing, portfolio reviews, or evaluations for church school, private school, or private tutor families under the sources reviewed.

Records to keep

  • Daily attendance register showing every absence of a half day or more (church school, private school, and tutor)
  • Tutor's daily register of work showing hours of instruction and attendance
  • Copies of the enrollment and attendance form or the statement you filed with the superintendent

About time

Only the certified private tutor option sets a number: at least 3 hours a day for 140 days each calendar year, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The church school and private school options set no minimum number of days or hours.

Also good to know

  • Children enrolled in a church school before their 16th birthday are exempt from the compulsory attendance law, so a child may leave church school at age 16.
  • Alabama law does not license or regulate church schools, and the State Department of Education has said the registration requirement for private schools does not apply to home-based private schools.
  • Public school districts decide sports eligibility and other access questions for homeschooled students.

What we couldn’t confirm

  • Whether a parent of a six-year-old may delay compulsory school until age seven by written notice to the local board. Only secondary sources mention this.
  • Whether the church school enrollment form is filed once or every year. The State Department of Education reportedly says once, but I did not confirm this on an official page.
  • The exact list of subjects the tutor must cover, which the law describes only as the branches of study required in public schools.
  • How long records must be kept. The law does not state a period, and secondary sources give conflicting advice.
  • The exact name and number of the state's prescribed forms for private schools and tutors, and whether they are filed annually.
  • Whether the private school registration rule under Alabama Code section 16-1-11 applies to home programs. The State Department of Education's position is reported but not confirmed on an official page.

From Alabama’s own sources

Last checked against these sources on November 7, 2026. We check every state each week.

How Study Naturally helps in Alabama

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  • A learning record counts days and time against what the state asks
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Homeschooling in Alabama

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