Homeschooling in Wisconsin— one annual form — file the PI-1206 by October 15, keep 875 hours on record.
Wisconsin keeps homeschooling light: file a single PI-1206 enrollment report online by October 15 each year, based on enrollment as of the third Friday in September. The program must deliver at least 875 hours of sequentially progressive instruction in six subjects, but there is no required testing, no teacher qualifications, and no curriculum approval. The state keeps your filed form for seven years — you keep your own copies and your own records. Lightstead tracks the October 15 deadline and logs the hours and subjects your future self will want.
What Wisconsin requires, at a glance.
- Notice
Oct 15 · annually
Annual PI-1206 Home-Based Private Educational Program Enrollment Report, filed online at dpi.wi.gov by October 15.
- Enrollment count date
3rd Fri · September
The PI-1206 reports enrollment as of the third Friday in September each year.
- Hours
875 / year
At least 875 hours of sequentially progressive instruction across the July 1–June 30 school year.
- Subjects
6 required
Reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, and health.
- Assessment
None required
No standardized testing and no assessment requirements under Wisconsin law.
- Teacher qualification
None required
Wisconsin sets no teacher qualifications — parents need no degree or license.
- Primary purpose
Private / religious
The program's primary purpose must be private or religious-based education, not circumventing compulsory attendance.
- Records retention
Keep your own
DPI retains the filed PI-1206 for 7 years; parents must keep their own copies and records.
§1
One form a year — the PI-1206 by October 15.
Wisconsin requires a single annual filing: the PI-1206 Home-Based Private Educational Program Enrollment Report, filed online at dpi.wi.gov/sms/home-based by October 15 each year. The report is based on enrollment as of the third Friday in September. There is no notarization, no district approval, and no curriculum submission — the PI-1206 simply registers your home-based program with the Department of Public Instruction. The filing is the same whether you are starting fresh or continuing — there is no separate one-time form. A family beginning home-based education does so by filing the PI-1206 for that school year. Once filed, your child is withdrawn from compulsory public attendance for the year the report covers.
Wis. Stat. §§ 118.15(4), 118.165
The Wisconsin filing wizard pre-fills your children's data and stages the PI-1206 details you submit at dpi.wi.gov. The October 15 deadline shows on the dashboard as a deadline card from the start of the school year so it never slips past the third-Friday-in-September count.
Wisconsin filing wizard
§2
875 hours across the school year — keep the count.
Wisconsin requires a home-based program to provide at least 875 hours of instruction each school year. The school year runs July 1 through June 30, and the instruction must be sequentially progressive — building from one level to the next rather than a loose collection of activities. The statute sets the hours but does not require you to submit them. No log is filed with the state. The 875-hour figure is your own bar to clear and your own record to keep, and it is the kind of number a future audit, a move to another state, or a return to public school may ask you to account for.
Wis. Stat. § 118.165(1)
The hours log tallies instructional time toward the 875-hour bar across the July–June school year and shows how far along you are at a glance. Nothing is filed with the state — but the running total is there whenever your future self, a move, or a return to school needs it.
Attendance & hours log
§3
Six subjects, sequentially progressive — your scope and sequence.
The 875 hours must cover a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in six subjects: reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health. Wisconsin does not prescribe a specific curriculum, set grade-level standards, or require any particular materials — the parent chooses scope, sequence, and resources. There is no submission of curriculum, lesson plans, or materials to the state. The subject list is simply the framework the 875 hours must fill. Keeping your own subject-by-subject record makes the otherwise invisible work legible if you ever need to demonstrate it.
Wis. Stat. § 118.165(1)(d)
The subjects list captures the six required areas — reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, and health — alongside whatever curriculum you picked for each. The daily lesson log ties instruction back to those subjects so the year reads as the sequentially progressive program the statute describes.
Subjects & curriculum list
§4
What Wisconsin does not require.
Wisconsin imposes no standardized testing, no assessment requirements, no teacher qualifications, and no periodic reporting beyond the annual PI-1206. The program's primary purpose must be private or religious-based education — not a device for circumventing the compulsory-attendance law — but the state does not evaluate your curriculum, review a portfolio, or grade your child's progress. The trade-off for this light touch is that almost nothing is on file. The DPI keeps your submitted PI-1206 for seven years, but parents must keep their own copies of the form and their own records of hours and subjects. A transcript and a clean paper trail are what stand in for the state's silence when college admissions, a move, or a return to school comes asking.
Wis. Stat. § 118.165
Because Wisconsin keeps almost nothing on file, the records and portfolio packet is your safety net — it gathers the PI-1206 copy, the hours total, the subject list, and the daily lesson log into one place. The transcript builder turns the high-school years into an admissions-ready document the state never asks for but a college will.
Records & portfolio packet
What people search for when they look up Wisconsin homeschooling.
Do I have to register my homeschool in Wisconsin?
Yes — file the PI-1206 Home-Based Private Educational Program Enrollment Report online at dpi.wi.gov/sms/home-based by October 15 each year. It is the only form Wisconsin requires. There is no notarization, no district approval, and no curriculum submission.
When is the Wisconsin PI-1206 due?
By October 15 each year. The report is based on your enrollment as of the third Friday in September, so the count date comes first and the filing deadline follows in mid-October.
How many hours does Wisconsin require?
At least 875 hours of sequentially progressive instruction across the school year, which runs July 1 through June 30. The hours are not submitted to the state — they are your own bar to clear and your own record to keep.
What subjects does Wisconsin require?
Six: reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health. The 875 hours must cover a sequentially progressive curriculum in these areas, but Wisconsin does not prescribe specific materials, standards, or grade levels.
Does Wisconsin require homeschool testing?
No. Wisconsin imposes no standardized testing and no assessment requirements at all. The state does not evaluate your curriculum, review a portfolio, or grade your child's progress.
Do I need a teaching degree to homeschool in Wisconsin?
No. Wisconsin sets no teacher qualifications — parents need no degree, license, or certification to run a home-based private educational program.
What is the PI-1206 form?
The PI-1206 is Wisconsin's Home-Based Private Educational Program Enrollment Report. It registers your home-based program with the Department of Public Instruction for the school year and is filed online by October 15, based on enrollment as of the third Friday in September.
Does Wisconsin keep my homeschool records for me?
Only partly. DPI retains your submitted PI-1206 form for seven years, but it keeps nothing else — parents must keep their own copies of the form and their own records of hours and subjects. There is no state file of your curriculum or progress to fall back on.
What does "primary purpose" mean in Wisconsin's homeschool law?
Wisconsin requires that a home-based educational program's primary purpose be private or religious-based education — not a device for circumventing the compulsory-attendance law. As long as you are genuinely educating your child, the program qualifies.
What records should I keep for my Wisconsin homeschool?
Keep your own copy of each year's PI-1206, a log of the 875 instructional hours, the six required subjects and the curriculum you used, and a daily lesson record. Wisconsin requires none of these to be filed, but they are what stand in for the state's silence if college admissions, a move, or a return to public school later asks for proof.
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