Homeschooling in Missouri— no filing, no notice — 1,000 hours and a portfolio you keep yourself.
Missouri requires no state filing to homeschool — SB 63 abolished the old optional declaration of enrollment with the recorder of deeds, effective August 28, 2025. What the law does require is hours and records: 1,000 hours per year, with 600 in core subjects and 400 of those 600 at your regular home school location. Families keep a plan book or daily log, a portfolio of work samples, and academic evaluations on hand — nothing is sent to the state, but the records must exist. Lightstead logs the hours, separates core from non-core, and stages the portfolio so the recordkeeping holds up.
What Missouri requires, at a glance.
- Notice
None required
No state filing to homeschool. The old optional declaration of enrollment with the recorder of deeds was abolished by SB 63 (effective Aug. 28, 2025).
- Hours / year
1,000 hours
1,000 hours of instruction per school year. The hours are the core obligation — there is no day count.
- Core subjects
600 hours
600 of the 1,000 hours must be in core subjects (reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science).
- Hours at home
400 hours
400 of the 600 core-subject hours must occur at the regular home school location.
- Records
Plan book + portfolio
Plan book, diary, or daily log; a portfolio of work samples; and academic evaluations — all kept by the family, not filed.
- Assessment
Family evaluation
Progress evaluations are a recordkeeping component you keep yourself; they may include regular tests or annual standardized tests, but no outside test is mandated.
- Retention (K-8)
2 years
Keep K-8 records at least 2 years.
- Retention (9-12)
All 4 years
Keep all four years of high school records, with no statutory expiration.
§1
Nothing to send the state — but start the clock anyway.
Missouri requires no notice and no state filing to begin homeschooling. The former optional declaration of enrollment with the recorder of deeds was abolished by SB 63, effective August 28, 2025, so there is no longer any document to file or office to register with. That removes the paperwork, not the obligations. The hours requirement and the recordkeeping requirement apply from the first day of instruction — the work happens at home, in your own logs, rather than in a submission to a district or recorder.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 167.031
There's no NOI to file in Missouri, so Lightstead opens your MO profile straight onto the hours and records that the law actually checks. The dashboard tracks the school year and surfaces your running hour totals as deadline-style cards instead of a filing reminder.
Open your Missouri dashboard
§2
1,000 hours — 600 core, 400 of those at home.
Missouri requires 1,000 hours of instruction per school year. Of those, at least 600 hours must be in the core subjects — reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. And of those 600 core hours, at least 400 must occur at the regular home school location. There is no required number of days; the obligation is measured in hours. The 400-at-home rule means co-op, library, and field-trip time can count toward the core total, but a substantial block of core instruction has to happen at the home base.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 167.031
Lightstead's attendance and hours log tallies all three numbers at once — total hours toward 1,000, core hours toward 600, and core-at-home hours toward 400 — so you can see at a glance which threshold still needs time. Each logged block is tagged core or non-core and home or away.
Attendance & hours log
§3
The five subjects that make up the 600.
The 600 core hours are defined by subject: reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. The remaining 400 hours of the annual 1,000 can be any instruction the family chooses — electives, the arts, life skills, religious study — and are not subject-restricted. Missouri does not prescribe a curriculum, scope, or sequence within those subjects. The family picks the materials and the order; the law only fixes the subject categories and the hour split.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 167.031
Lightstead's subjects list lets you set up the five core subjects plus your electives, then feeds straight into the hours log so time lands in the right bucket. Logging a math block automatically counts toward core; an art block counts toward the non-core 400.
Subjects & curriculum list
§4
A plan book, a portfolio, and evaluations — kept at home.
Missouri requires the family to maintain records: a plan book, diary, or daily log showing the subjects taught and activities; a portfolio of samples of the child's academic work; and academic evaluations of progress. These records are kept by the family — nothing is filed with the state. The evaluation is a recordkeeping component, not an externally mandated test. It may include regular tests or annual standardized tests if the family chooses, but Missouri does not require any particular assessment or outside review.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 167.031
Lightstead keeps all three records in one place: the daily lesson log doubles as your plan book, work samples build the portfolio packet, and progress evaluations attach to the same record. Because nothing is filed, the value is that the documentation actually exists and is organized if anyone ever asks.
Records & portfolio packet
§5
How long to keep it — and why high school is different.
Missouri sets recordkeeping retention by level. For grades K-8, the family retains records for at least two years. For grades 9-12, the family retains all four years of high school records, and there is no statutory expiration on them. The high-school distinction matters because those records become the basis for a transcript. Where K-8 logs can be cleared after two years, the 9-12 plan books, portfolios, and evaluations are the source material a college or employer may eventually want to see.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 167.031
Lightstead retains your logs and portfolio for as long as you keep the account, so the two-year K-8 floor and the permanent 9-12 requirement are both covered without manual archiving. The transcript builder turns the retained high-school records into a clean transcript when the time comes.
Transcript builder
What people search for when they look up Missouri homeschooling.
Do I have to register my homeschool in Missouri?
No. Missouri requires no state filing to homeschool. The former optional declaration of enrollment with the recorder of deeds was abolished by SB 63, effective August 28, 2025, so there is no longer any office to register with or document to file.
Do I have to notify anyone before I start homeschooling in Missouri?
No. There is no notice requirement. You can begin home instruction without telling a school district, a recorder of deeds, or the state — the obligations that apply are the hours and the records you keep yourself, not a filing.
How many hours does Missouri require for homeschooling?
1,000 hours of instruction per school year. Of those, at least 600 must be in core subjects, and at least 400 of the 600 core hours must occur at the regular home school location. Missouri measures the obligation in hours, not days.
What counts as a core subject in Missouri?
The core subjects are reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science — together they make up the 600-hour core requirement. The remaining 400 of the annual 1,000 hours can be any instruction you choose and are not subject-restricted.
What does the 400-hours-at-home rule mean?
Of the 600 core-subject hours, at least 400 must take place at your regular home school location. Co-op, library, and similar time can still count toward the core total, but a substantial block of core instruction has to happen at the home base.
What records do I have to keep to homeschool in Missouri?
A plan book, diary, or daily log of subjects and activities; a portfolio of samples of the child's academic work; and academic evaluations of progress. All of these are kept by the family — nothing is filed with the state.
Does Missouri require standardized testing for homeschoolers?
No. The progress evaluation is a recordkeeping component you keep yourself. It may include regular tests or annual standardized tests if you choose, but Missouri does not mandate any particular assessment or outside review.
How long do I have to keep Missouri homeschool records?
Retention is set by level. For grades K-8, keep records for at least two years. For grades 9-12, keep all four years of high school records — there is no statutory expiration on the high-school records.
What changed with Missouri homeschool law in 2025?
SB 63, effective August 28, 2025, abolished the former optional declaration of enrollment with the recorder of deeds. The practical effect is that Missouri now requires no state filing to homeschool; the 1,000-hour and recordkeeping requirements were unaffected.
Does Missouri prescribe a curriculum for homeschoolers?
No. Missouri fixes the core subject categories and the hour split but does not prescribe a curriculum, scope, or sequence. You choose the materials and the order within reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science.
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