Montana asks for very little. Montana is a light-touch state. There is something to file, and it is short. Below is exactly what, by when, and where it comes from in the code.

What you file, and by when

Yes, annual. Parent must notify the COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT of Schools (not the local district/OPI) of the child's attendance at the home school in each school fiscal year. No state form is mandated; a letter suffices. Practice is to file before the first day of the public school year. If withdrawing from a public school, notify that school as well.

Days or hours

Hours, not days: 720 hours/year for grades 1-3 and 1,080 hours/year for grades 4-12 (mirrors the public-school pupil-instruction standard in 20-1-301 MCA). Kindergarten, where offered, is 360 hours.

Subjects you must cover

An 'organized course of study that includes instruction in the subjects required of public schools as a basic instructional program' (cross-referencing 20-7-111 MCA). In practice: language arts/English, math, science, social studies, arts, health/PE, and (secondary) career/vocational and technology. Parent controls philosophy, curriculum, methods, and evaluation.

Records you keep

Must maintain (a) pupil attendance records and (b) disease immunization records, and make them available to the county superintendent on request. No other records may be demanded (20-5-111 MCA). The homeschool building must also comply with local health and safety regulations.

Testing or evaluation

None. No standardized testing, no portfolio review, no state or district evaluation of homeschooled students.

Diplomas and transcripts

Montana issues no state diploma to homeschoolers and does not accredit home schools. The parent, acting as administrator of a nonaccredited private school, awards the diploma and produces the transcript; there are no state credit requirements. Families targeting Montana University System admission commonly mirror the public-school ~20-credit pattern and the MUS college-prep course requirements, and should expect campuses to ask for test scores or a course-by-course transcript. Districts must have a policy for placing students transferring in from nonaccredited schools, including a hearing if the parent disputes placement, so grade/credit placement on re-entry to public school is district-discretionary, not guaranteed.

Where this comes from

Statute: Mont. Code Ann. §§ 20-5-102, 20-5-109, 20-5-111; hours standard at § 20-1-301; subject baseline at § 20-7-111

Source: https://www.mtche.org/laws

Last reviewed: July 2026 · our confidence in this entry: high

Homeschool law changes, and a page like this goes stale without announcing it. Check the statute above against your own reading before a filing deadline. If we are out of date, we would rather hear it from you than have you find out at the district office.

Keeping the records is the other half of this. Our Records System has the editable transcript with the GPA already wired, 131 course descriptions, and this same statute-cited summary for all fifty states and DC. Thirty-nine dollars, one household, however many children you have.