Colorado Homeschool Requirements Checklist
Everything you need to do to homeschool legally in Colorado, based on C.R.S. 22-33-104.5. Colorado is classified as Moderate regulation.
This is the general checklist for Home-Based Education, the most common of Colorado's 3 pathways. Our free wizard customizes this for your family, including grade, pathway, enrollment status, and IEP.
Your compliance checklist
Do first
File your Notice of Intent
Submit to Any school district in Colorado. Deadline: 14 days before the home-based program begins. Conditions: Test or evaluation results later go to the same district that received the notice (or to a Colorado independent or parochial school). Notice is not required until the child is six, and the program need not be established until the child is seven (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(e)(I)-(II)). Districts may offer their own notice forms, but the statute requires only a written statement of each child's name, age, place of residence and number of hours of attendance.
Deadline: 14 days before the home-based program begins
More details
Include: name of each child, age of each child, place of residence, number of hours of attendance. Conditions: Notice is not required until the child is six, and the program need not be established until the child is seven (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(e)(I)-(II))..
Ongoing
Required subjects
reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, United States Constitution
Meet instructional time requirements
Minimum: 688 hours/year, 172 days/year, 4 hours/day. You must track and document hours. Conditions: Four hours is an average across the 172 days, not a fixed daily minimum.
Show your child's progress
Standardized test or Teacher evaluation — at specific grade levels. At grades: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. Minimum: Composite score above the 13th percentile on a nationally standardized achievement test. Conditions: A score at or below the 13th percentile allows a retest first. If a qualified-person evaluation is used instead of a test, the standard is sufficient academic progress according to the child's ability (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(5)(a)(II)).
More details
Process: Retest opportunity with alternate version or different approved test. Timeline: At or below the 13th percentile: the child may first be retested (alternate version of the same test or another test from the state board's approved list); if the result stands, placement lasts until the next testing period. Consequence: School district shall require placement in a public, independent, or parochial school until the next testing period
Keep basic records
You must maintain: attendance records. Records may be reviewed by the district. Conditions: Only on 14 days' written notice when the superintendent has probable cause to believe the program is out of compliance.
Renew each year
You must renew your homeschool notice each year. Conditions: Test or evaluation results later go to the same district that received the notice (or to a Colorado independent or parochial school). Notice is not required until the child is six, and the program need not be established until the child is seven (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(e)(I)-(II)). Districts may offer their own notice forms, but the statute requires only a written statement of each child's name, age, place of residence and number of hours of attendance.
Filing requirements
- What to file
- simple notice
- Send to
- Any school district in Colorado
- Deadline
- 14 days before the home-based program begins
- Notice is not required until the child is six, and the program need not be established until the child is seven (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(e)(I)-(II)).
- How often
- annual
Your notice must include:
- •name of each child
- •age of each child
- •place of residence
- •number of hours of attendance
C.R.S. §22-33-104.5(3)
Ongoing requirements
Required subjects
- ✓reading
- ✓writing
- ✓speaking
- ✓mathematics
- ✓history
- ✓civics
- ✓literature
- ✓science
- ✓United States Constitution
Varies by pathway. Home-Based Education: "general_list"; Enrollment in an Umbrella/Private School: "general_list"; Licensed-Teacher Home Instruction: "none"
C.R.S. §22-33-104.5(2)(a)
Instructional time
Varies by pathway. Home-Based Education: true; Enrollment in an Umbrella/Private School: false; Licensed-Teacher Home Instruction: false
- Days per year:
- 172
- Hours per year:
- 688
- Hours per day:
- 4
C.R.S. §22-33-104.5(2)(b)
Testing and assessment
Varies by pathway. Home-Based Education: ["Evaluation by a qualified person selected by the parent (a licensed teacher, a teacher employed by an independent or parochial school, a licensed psychologist, or a person with a graduate degree in education)"]; Enrollment in an Umbrella/Private School: undefined; Licensed-Teacher Home Instruction: undefined
- Accepted types
- Standardized test, Teacher evaluation
- Frequency
- at specific grade levels
- At grades
- 3, 5, 7, 9, 11
- Minimum score
- Composite score above the 13th percentile on a nationally standardized achievement test
If scores fall short:
- Process: Retest opportunity with alternate version or different approved test
- Timeline: At or below the 13th percentile: the child may first be retested (alternate version of the same test or another test from the state board's approved list); if the result stands, placement lasts until the next testing period
- Consequence: School district shall require placement in a public, independent, or parochial school until the next testing period
See our full assessment guide for Colorado for details.
C.R.S. §22-33-104.5(2)(c)
Recordkeeping
Varies by pathway. Home-Based Education: true; Enrollment in an Umbrella/Private School: false; Licensed-Teacher Home Instruction: false
- ✓Attendance records
Records may be reviewed by the district.
C.R.S. §22-33-104.5(2)(d)
Reporting
Varies by pathway. Home-Based Education: true; Enrollment in an Umbrella/Private School: false; Licensed-Teacher Home Instruction: false
- Annual renewal
- Required
C.R.S. §22-33-104.5(3)
Other ways to homeschool in Colorado
This checklist covers Home-Based Education, the most common pathway. Colorado offers 3 different ways to homeschool, each with different requirements:
- •Home-Based Education(this checklist) : You send a written notice to a Colorado school district 14 days before your program begins and each year after that, teach the required subjects for at least 172 days averaging four hours a day, and keep permanent records. At grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, your child takes a nationally standardized achievement test or is evaluated by a qualified person, and you submit the results to the district that received your notice or to a Colorado independent or parochial school. No curriculum approval is required.
- •Enrollment in an Umbrella/Private School : Your child is enrolled for at least 172 days in an independent or parochial school that provides a basic academic education, including reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature and science. The family files no notice with the district and the state sets no testing rule. When the local school board asks, no more than once a month, the school certifies each child's attendance (C.R.S. 22-1-114).
- •Licensed-Teacher Home Instruction : A child instructed at home by a teacher licensed under article 60.5 or 61 of title 22 is exempt from compulsory attendance under its own provision (C.R.S. 22-33-104(2)(i)(I)). The home-based education rules for notice, subjects, instructional time, testing and records in C.R.S. 22-33-104.5 are written for home-based programs and do not apply to this route by their terms. The licensed teacher does not have to be the parent.
Our wizard helps you choose the right one. Compare all pathways for Colorado
Get your personalized checklist
This is the general checklist for the most common pathway. The wizard customizes it for your family's specific situation, including grade, pathway, and IEP status.
Get your Colorado checklistRequirements sourced from C.R.S. 22-33-104.5. Last reviewed October 2026