While Mike and I were deciding if we could homeschool, one of the very first things we did was look into the state of Mississippi's homeschool laws. And where is the first place you go when you need to know the answer to a question? Google! After doing some research, I knew I could homeschool in the state of Mississippi — and so can you.
I first wrote this post back in 2019, when I was seven years into homeschooling. We're now fourteen years in — my son graduated from our homeschool in 2026 in a class of 107, and my daughter is going into 7th grade — and I've updated everything below so it's accurate as of July 2026. Here's the good news up front: Mississippi is still one of the easiest states in the country to homeschool in.
The short version of Mississippi homeschool law
Mississippi's homeschool requirements all come from one law — Mississippi Code § 37-13-91, the compulsory school attendance law. For homeschool families, it boils down to this:
- All children between the ages of 6 and 17 (as of September 1st) must be enrolled in school — public school, private school, or homeschool.
- Every year, on or before August 15, you file a simple one-page form called a Certificate of Enrollment with the school attendance officer for your school district. (If you've homeschooled a while, note this deadline is earlier than the mid-September date longtime families may remember — mark your calendar for mid-August.)
- That's it. That is the whole thing.
The state of Mississippi does not require any teacher qualifications, standardized testing, subject requirements, or a specific number of days or hours of homeschooling. The only string attached is that your homeschool has to be a real one — the law says a home instruction program can't be operated just to get around the attendance law. If you're actually educating your children at home, you're exactly what the law has in mind.
What's changed lately? (The reason I re-check every year)
In the first version of this post I told you to check your state's homeschool laws every single year, because laws can change. I still do that myself every summer — and it's how I can tell you what's new:
- The kindergarten change (2024): the law was amended so that if you enroll a five-year-old in a full-day public kindergarten program, that child becomes subject to compulsory attendance — unless you formally withdraw them. Kindergarten itself is still optional in Mississippi, and the Certificate of Enrollment is still only required starting at compulsory age. It just means that if you try public kindergarten and then decide to bring your little one home (been there!), do a formal withdrawal — don't just stop showing up.
- The 2026 legislative session: a bill was introduced this year (House Bill 1512) that would have added annual reporting, portfolios, and standardized testing for homeschool families. It died in committee in February 2026 without becoming law. So nothing about homeschooling in Mississippi has changed — it's still just the one form — but it's a good reminder of why we stay informed. If you homeschool in Mississippi, this is a great year to join or follow a group like HSLDA that watches these bills for us.
What is a Certificate of Enrollment?
A Certificate of Enrollment is a short form that must be filled out every year and turned in to your school district's attendance officer by August 15. It only asks for the following information:
- Your child's name, date of birth, address, and phone number
- The parent, guardian, or custodian's name and address
- The type of education program (for homeschoolers, that's the "home instruction program" option)
- A simple description of your home instruction program — one honest sentence is plenty
- Your signature
The form may look a little different from year to year, but it always asks for the same basic information. You can get the current form and find your district's attendance officer through the Mississippi Department of Education's home school page. Filing it takes me about ten minutes every August — and fourteen years in, it has never once gotten more complicated than that.
One practical tip from experience: keep a copy of every certificate you file. It's the simplest proof there is that your homeschool is legal and current, and it takes one folder in a filing cabinet.
What is Mississippi's school attendance age?
Compulsory attendance in Mississippi covers children from age 6 to age 17 (measured on September 1st) — roughly 1st grade through 12th grade. Kindergarten is not required, so you don't file a certificate for a preschooler or kindergartner at home — your paperwork starts the year your child is 6 by September 1. (Just remember the public-kindergarten wrinkle I mentioned above.) If you're schooling a little one at home anyway, my post on homeschooling kindergarten is where I'd start — short, sweet, play-based days.
What are Mississippi's homeschool graduation requirements?
The state of Mississippi does not set any graduation requirements for homeschoolers — no required credits, no exit exam. As the parent, you decide when your student has completed your program, and you issue the diploma and keep the transcript.
I can now tell you how that plays out in real life: our son Bailey graduated from our homeschool in 2026, walking with a homeschool graduating class of 107 students. If your child plans to attend college, my suggestion is to use the public high school graduation requirements as a guide when you plan high school, and check the admissions requirements of the colleges your child is interested in — they'll tell you exactly what they want to see from homeschool graduates.
For a benchmark, here's what Mississippi's public schools currently require for a traditional diploma: 24 Carnegie units (credits), which breaks down to roughly 4 credits of English, 4 of math, 4 of science, 4 of social studies, a half-credit each of health and P.E., a technology or computer-science credit, a fine-arts credit, and the rest in electives. Public-school students also have to pass state subject-area tests in Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and U.S. History — but that testing requirement is a public-school rule and does not apply to homeschoolers. You don't have to hit these numbers, and many homeschool families tailor their own path; I just find it a helpful yardstick for a college-bound plan. Always double-check the current figures on the Mississippi Department of Education's diploma page, since the state updates them from time to time.
How do you withdraw your child from their current school?
If your child is currently enrolled in a public or private school, you must formally withdraw them before you start homeschooling. Every school has its own withdrawal process, so check with the front office. Then register them as a homeschooler by filing the Certificate of Enrollment with your district's attendance officer — even if it's the middle of the school year.
And if you're making the switch over the summer, you still need to formally withdraw them from their old school first, then file your certificate. Don't skip the withdrawal step — it's what keeps the attendance officer from wondering where your child went.
Should you keep homeschool records?
In the state of Mississippi you are not required to keep any homeschool records. But I highly recommend that you do. We use My Father's World, a boxed curriculum, which makes it easy — the materials themselves become the record. I keep what some call a notebooking system: a 3-ring binder of each child's work for the year organized by subject, a calendar showing the days we homeschooled, and a spiral notebook with grades from oral and written tests.
It costs almost nothing to keep, and it's saved me more than once — for making Bailey's high school transcript, for sports eligibility paperwork, and honestly just for the memories. That stack of binders is fourteen years of our life at the kitchen table.
Is Mississippi a homeschool-friendly state?
Very much so. "Homeschool friendly" usually means a state with little to no regulation — no home visits, no standardized testing, no professional evaluations, no test scores to turn in. Mississippi checks every one of those boxes: one form, once a year, and you're free to homeschool the way that works for your family.
Plenty of other states are just as relaxed, and some ask quite a bit more. If you're outside Mississippi — or you just like knowing how good we have it — my post on homeschool-friendly states breaks it down, and you can look up any state's exact requirements on HSLDA's website.
Ready to start? Here's your next step
If reading this made you think "okay… I really could do this" — you can. Filing one form a year is not the hard part of homeschooling, and the hard parts are more doable than you think. Start with my complete guide to starting homeschooling or the quick version, how to homeschool in 4 easy steps. Wondering what it costs? The homeschool cost calculator will show you real numbers. And when the questions start piling up, I answered the 30 most common homeschool questions in one big post.
I've been a homeschool mom for fourteen years now, and I have enjoyed every year of it. If you currently homeschool or plan to, check your state's laws and requirements every year to make sure nothing has changed — it's a ten-minute habit that keeps your homeschool safe and sound. And if you get stuck on any of this, ask me on the contact page — if I don't know the answer, I will find a homeschool mom who does.
A quick note: I'm a homeschool mom, not a lawyer — this post is my family's experience plus the law as written, current as of July 2026. For legal advice about your specific situation, check with the Mississippi Department of Education or HSLDA.
As always — remember to be kind, be careful, be considerate, and have a great day.