To homeschool legally in Arizona, you file a notarized Arizona Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool with your County School Superintendent within 30 days of the day your child begins home instruction, and you attach proof of the child’s identity and age. It’s a one-time filing. Once it’s on file, you decide the curriculum, the schedule, and the teaching methods, and Arizona does not require standardized testing, portfolios, or academic evaluations.
Who Has to File and When
Arizona’s compulsory attendance law covers every child from age six through sixteen. If you’re educating your child at home instead of enrolling them in a public, private, or charter school, the affidavit is what documents your exemption from mandatory attendance.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-802 – School Instruction; Exceptions; Violations; Classification; Definitions Without it, the child isn’t enrolled anywhere and you have no documented exemption.
The filing deadline is 30 days from the day home instruction begins.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-802 – School Instruction; Exceptions; Violations; Classification; Definitions For a child turning six and starting homeschool for the first time, the clock runs from when instruction begins, not from the birthday.
Arizona also lets parents delay the start of formal instruction until age eight. If your child isn’t eight by September 1 and you want to wait, you still file an affidavit, but it states that you don’t wish to begin instruction yet rather than that instruction has started.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 15-802 – School Instruction; Exceptions; Violations; Classification; Definitions This matters because compulsory attendance begins at six. Doing nothing between six and eight can trigger a truancy complaint.
If You’re Using an ESA, You Do Not File This Affidavit
One boundary worth clearing up first. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program funds families educating children outside the public school system, and ESA money can pay for curriculum, tutoring, and educational therapies. But ESA participants are not classified as homeschoolers under state law. Arizona specifically requires that ESA parents not have a homeschool affidavit on file, because the ESA contract itself documents that the child is being educated.3Arizona Department of Education. ESA 2025-2026 Parent Handbook If you filed an affidavit and later signed an ESA contract, contact your County School Superintendent’s office to withdraw the affidavit.
What to Gather Before You File
The affidavit form is available from your County School Superintendent’s website. Each county publishes its own version, and they all collect the same core information: the child’s full legal name, date of birth, grade level, the physical address where instruction will take place, and the names, phone numbers, and addresses of the custodial parents or guardians. The filing parent signs.
You also submit proof of the child’s identity and age. The standard document is a certified copy of the birth certificate.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-828 – Birth Certificate; School Records; Exception A certified copy from Arizona vital records costs $20, and mail processing can take several weeks, so start early if you don’t already have one.5Maricopa County. Frequently Asked Questions
If a certified birth certificate isn’t available, the statute accepts a baptismal certificate, an application for a Social Security number, or original school registration records. When you use one of these substitutes, you must also include a separate affidavit explaining why the birth certificate can’t be provided.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-828 – Birth Certificate; School Records; Exception The superintendent’s office copies your identity documents and returns the originals.
Notarizing the Affidavit
The affidavit must be notarized before you turn it in. Arizona caps notary fees at $10 per signature.6Legal Information Institute. Arizona Administrative Code R2-12-1102 – Notary Public Fees Banks, credit unions, and UPS Store locations commonly offer notary services, and some banks notarize documents free for account holders. Bring a valid photo ID; the notary has to verify who you are.
Where and How to Submit
Deliver the notarized affidavit and identity documents to the County School Superintendent’s office in the county where you live. Most counties accept in-person and mailed submissions, and some offer online portals.
This is a one-time filing. You don’t re-submit each year. The affidavit stays on file unless homeschool instruction is terminated and later resumed, in which case you file a new one within 30 days of restarting.7Apache County. Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool
What Arizona Requires of You After the Affidavit Is Filed
You are legally responsible for providing instruction in five subject areas: reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-802 – School Instruction; Exceptions; Violations; Classification; Definitions Beyond that, curriculum, textbooks, daily schedule, and teaching approach are up to you. There is no required number of school days, no minimum weekly hours, and no approval process for what you teach.
Arizona does not require homeschooled students to take standardized tests, submit portfolios, or undergo academic evaluation while being homeschooled. You can administer standardized tests voluntarily for your own tracking, and doing so is often useful for college applications later, but nothing in state law compels it.
If you suspect your child has a learning disability or developmental delay, your local school district still has an obligation to identify and evaluate the child under the federal Child Find mandate, even though the child is homeschooled.8Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sec. 300.111 Child Find Contact the district’s special education department to request an evaluation.
When You Need to Notify or Refile
Three situations require action after your initial filing:
- If your child enrolls in a public, private, or charter school, notify the County School Superintendent within 30 days. The homeschool file will be inactivated.9Pima County Schools. Homeschool Information
- If you move to a different county, file a new affidavit with the superintendent’s office in your new county within 30 days of the move.
- If you stop homeschool instruction and later resume it, file a new affidavit within 30 days of restarting.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 15-802 – School Instruction; Exceptions; Violations; Classification; Definitions
Also report any change of address or phone number within the same county to your superintendent’s office so your file stays current.9Pima County Schools. Homeschool Information
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Arizona treats two failures differently. A parent who provides no homeschool instruction and does not enroll the child in any school is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, because the child is receiving no education at all. A parent who is genuinely providing instruction but did not file the affidavit is guilty of a petty offense, a lighter penalty.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 15-802 – School Instruction; Exceptions; Violations; Classification; Definitions Missing paperwork while actually teaching your child is not treated the same as filing a sham affidavit and providing no instruction.