Illinois Homeschool Requirements Checklist
Everything you need to do to homeschool legally in Illinois, based on 105 ILCS 5/26-1. Illinois is classified as Low regulation.
This is the general checklist for Home-Based Private School. Our free wizard customizes this for your family, including grade, pathway, enrollment status, and IEP.
Your compliance checklist
Do first
Withdrawal letter recommended
A formal letter isn't required, but it is recommended if your child is enrolled in school. Send it to the public school your child attends. Conditions: ISBE offers a voluntary registration form. ISBE strongly recommends giving the school a dated withdrawal letter to avoid truancy referral. ISBE also encourages sending the same letter and the ISBE Home Schooling Registration Form to your Regional Office of Education.
Deadline: Before you start (if enrolled)
Ongoing
Notice to start homeschooling: what applies to you
ISBE offers a voluntary registration form.
Required subjects
language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, physical development and health Conditions: Instruction in these branches must be in the English language.
More details
Conditions: Instruction in these branches must be in the English language..
Review instructional-time requirements
Check the cited source for the school-term or instructional-time rule that applies to your pathway.
Good news
No testing or assessment required
No standardized testing or assessments required under this pathway.
Ongoing requirements
Required subjects
- ✓language arts
- ✓mathematics
- ✓biological and physical sciences
- ✓social sciences
- ✓fine arts
- ✓physical development and health
- Instruction in these branches must be in the English language.
105 ILCS 5/26-1 and 27-1 (branches of education taught in public schools, in English)
What you don't need to worry about
No testing or assessment required
No standardized testing or assessments required under this pathway.
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 Illinois checklistRequirements sourced from 105 ILCS 5/26-1. Last reviewed October 2026