- North Carolina law asks for no portfolio and no work samples.
- You keep annual attendance and immunization records, and you teach on a regular schedule for at least nine calendar months a year.
- Every child takes a nationally standardized test each year in English grammar, reading, spelling and math. Keep the results at least a year, ready for DNPE.
Picture one child’s records folder. It holds the attendance record, the immunization record, this year’s test score report and the email from DNPE that acknowledged your notice of intent.
This page covers a home school under Part 3 of Article 39 of the General Statutes (§§ 115C-563 to -565). The state office for home schools is the Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE), part of the NC Department of Administration. Your local school district has no role in your records.
What North Carolina requires instead of a portfolio
North Carolina has no portfolio rule. The law asks you to keep three kinds of records, and they all stay at home.
| Record | What the law says | Who may check it | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance | Kept each year for each child. School runs on a regular schedule for at least nine calendar months | DNPE (see below) | §§ 115C-548, -556 |
| Immunization | Kept for each child | Health officials | §§ 115C-548, -556; § 130A-155 |
| Test results | A nationally standardized test every year | DNPE, for one year after the test | §§ 115C-549, -557, -564 |
The law sets no form for attendance and no count of hours or days. DNPE offers an optional one-page form with a row for each month, July to June, where you check off the days you taught (DNPE). DNPE also recommends five hours a day. That is a recommendation, not law.
There are no required subjects either. You set the scope and sequence of what your child learns (§ 115C-563(a)).
The notice of intent
You file a notice of intent with DNPE once, when you open your home school. It gives the name and address of the school and the names of its owner and chief administrator (§§ 115C-552, -560). Anyone teaching needs at least a high school diploma or its equivalent (§ 115C-564).
DNPE takes notices online from July 1 to April 30. File at least five business days before you start. Wait for DNPE’s acknowledgment before you withdraw your child from school (DNPE).
The notice also picks Part 1 or Part 2 of the law: a religious or a non-religious school. The records are the same either way (§ 115C-564).
The yearly standardized test
Every child enrolled in your home school takes a test every year. It must be a nationally standardized achievement test that covers English grammar, reading, spelling and math (§§ 115C-549, -557, -564).
Here’s the easy part. There is no minimum score, and you pick the month (DNPE).
You may give the test yourself if the publisher allows it. Some tests need a trained administrator. DNPE lists common choices, such as the Iowa, Stanford, CAT and Woodcock-Johnson tests.
In 11th grade, the law also calls for a test of verbal and quantitative skills. The school sets the minimum score needed to graduate (§§ 115C-550, -558).
Your child’s scores are not public records (§ 115C-174.13).
Who can ask to see your records
You send nothing in each year. Your records stay at home, and DNPE can ask to see them.
The law names your test results: they must be available for DNPE to inspect for one year after the test (§§ 115C-549(b), -557(b)). DNPE says it may check attendance records too. It may also ask for a virtual meeting and request records by email or video call (DNPE).
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) reads the law more narrowly: test scores only, with no right to enter your home. Health officials may inspect immunization records (§ 130A-155).
You can enter the name and date of each year’s test in the DNPE portal. It is optional, and no scores go in (DNPE).
The North Carolina homeschool year, date by date
There is no statewide test date. DNPE’s home school year runs July 1 to June 30, and your dates count from the day you open.
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| At least five business days before you start | Notice of intent to DNPE, once. Wait for the acknowledgment | §§ 115C-552, -560; DNPE |
| By your child’s 7th birthday | Open your home school if your child turns 7 this school year | § 115C-378; DNPE |
| All year, at least nine calendar months | Teach on a regular schedule. Keep attendance and immunization records | §§ 115C-548, -556 |
| Once each school year | Give the standardized test | §§ 115C-549, -557, -564 |
| One year after each test | Keep the results ready for DNPE | §§ 115C-549(b), -557(b) |
| Each year (optional) | Update your school in the DNPE portal | DNPE |
| When you stop or leave the state | Tell DNPE the school has closed | §§ 115C-552(b), -560(b) |
School is required from age 7 to 16 (§ 115C-378). If you move within North Carolina, you don’t file again. Just update your address with DNPE.
How long to keep homeschool records in North Carolina
The law gives one number. Test results must be available for one year after the test (§§ 115C-549(b), -557(b)). It sets no period for attendance or immunization records.
DNPE advises much longer. It says never to discard test scores and to keep high school transcripts for a lifetime. HSLDA advises at least two years for most records and high school records forever. Both are advice, not law.
Our advice: keep it all. A year of records is a thin folder.
Work samples: not required, still worth keeping
North Carolina asks for no work samples. DNPE does recommend a daily log, journal or lesson plan.
Samples help most if your child goes back to school. The principal decides grade and credit, often from recent test scores. For grades 10 to 12, extra credit may take textbook lists, lesson plans and originals of your child’s work (DNPE).
What counts is up to you. Examples, not rules: a dated math page, a writing piece, a book list, a lab sheet.
You also write your teen’s transcript. DNPE keeps no student records, transcripts or diplomas.
Can your records be digital?
The law sets no format for any record. A digital homeschool portfolio, or a digital attendance record, is your call.
DNPE asks that records be kept at your home school, and it describes asking for them by email or video call (DNPE). Keep a copy you can print or email.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
No change to the home school law in 2026. The core rule, § 115C-564, dates to 1988, and the home school definition was last rewritten in 2013.
Two 2026 laws touch nearby rules:
- S.L. 2026-46 ended the driving eligibility certificate from October 1, 2026. Teens no longer need one from their home school for a learner’s permit or license, and § 115C-566 is repealed.
- S.L. 2026-41 asks Part 1 and Part 2 schools to give students the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and NC Peer Warmline numbers, from the 2026-27 school year. DNPE’s home school pages don’t say how it applies to home schools. Ask DNPE if you’re unsure.
2027
No change is scheduled. The 2027 session of the General Assembly opens January 13, 2027 (§ 120-11.1).
One bill is pending: Senate Bill 866 would open Opportunity Scholarships to home schools. It sits in a Senate committee and is not law.
Keeping your records in KidsFoldr
Snap each record for peace of mind, and the year’s folder lives on your phone instead of the counter. The paper can go, and the clutter goes with it. KidsFoldr is the homeschool record keeping app that files every page for you.
A paper folder also meets the law just fine, so keep one if you like it. Either way, hold on to the originals of high school work: DNPE says credit for grades 10 to 12 may need them.
- Snap a worksheet, a log page or a score report, and it’s filed by child, grade and type, with schoolwork and tests by subject too. Nobody sorts anything, and there’s no binder to build.
- A score report that arrives as a PDF or an email files the same way. Share it to KidsFoldr or forward it.
- Every paper is searchable by any word on it. Turn on automatic backup, and every paper goes to KidsFoldr Cloud as it is filed. One tap on Back up copies it to your own Google Drive or iCloud.
- The year’s records are ready on demand. Tap New portfolio, pick Dates and set From and To to July 1 and June 30, or pick Grades. Add a Cover page and Contents, then Create PDF. Share it or Print it.
You pick the sections. For North Carolina, you might switch on:
- Attendance or hours log for your attendance record. Fill from papers adds a day for each date your child has schoolwork, artwork or a test on file. Check it, then add the days you taught without paper.
- Test results for the score report.
- Letters and notices for DNPE’s acknowledgment and your school’s Record of Registration. Add a document brings each one in.
- Work samples and a Reading log, if you keep them.
Common questions
Do I have to keep a portfolio in North Carolina?
No. The law asks for attendance and immunization records and a yearly standardized test, with the results kept on file.
Do I send test scores to DNPE?
No. Keep them at home for at least a year. DNPE may ask to see them, and you can list the test’s name and date in the portal.
How long do I have to keep homeschool records in North Carolina?
By law, test results stay available for one year after the test. DNPE advises never discarding test scores and keeping high school transcripts for life.
Do I file a notice of intent every year?
No. You file it once. Tell DNPE if you move or close your home school.
How many hours or days do we have to school?
The law sets no count. You teach on a regular schedule for at least nine calendar months a year. DNPE recommends five hours a day.