North Dakota calls homeschooling "home education" and regulates it through a dedicated chapter of the school code. The annual paperwork is one statement of intent to the local superintendent, but the chapter attaches real substance: a qualification standard for the supervising parent, a minimum of four hours of instruction across 175 days, standardized testing in four grades with broad opt-outs, and an annual academic record kept at home. North Dakota is also one of the few states whose law lets a school district issue a diploma to a home educated student, though in practice the parent issues it.
Legal framework
Home education is governed by North Dakota Century Code chapter 15.1-23. A parent is qualified to supervise home education by holding a high school diploma or a GED (15.1-23-03); a parent without one may still homeschool but is monitored by a state-licensed or approved teacher for the first two years, with the monitor spending an average of one hour per week in contact with the child and parent, at the school district's expense unless the parent hires their own (15.1-23-06 and 15.1-23-07).
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction's home education page hosts the official forms, and its home education FAQ is the state's own reading of the chapter. Instruction must cover the subjects required by law of public school students and run at least four hours each day for a minimum of 175 days each year (15.1-23-04).
Notification & registration
The Statement of Intent to Home Educate (state form SFN 16909) goes to the superintendent of the child's school district of residence, or to the county superintendent where the district employs none. Under 15.1-23-02 it is filed at least five days before beginning home education, or within fourteen days of establishing residence in a district, and once each year thereafter, for each child. The statement lists the child's name, address, date of birth, and grade level; the supervising parent's name, address, and qualifications; any public school courses or extracurricular activities the child intends to join; and the child's immunization record and proof of identity. There is no approval step, but DPI notes the parent must wait the five days after submitting before starting.
Recordkeeping
Under 15.1-23-05 the parent maintains an annual record of courses taken by the child and the child's academic progress assessments, including any standardized achievement test results. In grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 the child takes either the school district's standardized test or a nationally normed standardized achievement test, administered by a licensed or approved teacher (15.1-23-09). Two exemptions swallow much of that rule: no testing is required if the parent files a philosophical, moral, or religious objection with the district, or if the parent is licensed to teach, holds a baccalaureate degree, or has met the cutoff score of a national teacher exam. When a test is taken and the composite lands below the 30th percentile nationally, the child is assessed for learning problems and instruction continues under a remediation plan (15.1-23-11); DPI's FAQ adds that scores below the 50th percentile trigger monitoring by a licensed teacher.
Graduation requirements
North Dakota sets no graduation requirements for home educated students; the supervising parent decides when high school is complete. Uniquely, 15.1-23-17 permits, but does not require, a school district, an approved nonpublic school, or the North Dakota Center for Distance Education to issue a high school diploma to a home educated student whose parent submits course descriptions and a transcript of grades 9 through 12, including a route based on completing at least 22 units of high school coursework. Whether any district does so is a matter of local board policy, so treat that route as optional, not promised.
Who issues the diploma
As the DPI home education FAQ puts it, typically the parent overseeing the home education is responsible for issuing the child's high school diploma. The parent issues it in the name of the family's program and backs it with the annual course records the statute already requires. The optional district-issued diploma under 15.1-23-17 exists alongside this, but the parent-issued diploma plus transcript is the standard credential, and it is what the state's own scholarship program is built to accept.
College & military recognition
The North Dakota Scholarship , worth $6,000 toward approved in-state colleges, universities, and apprenticeship programs, has a published path for home educated applicants: a signed and notarized Home Education Transcript form (SFN 60374) covering grades 9 through 12, a notarized home education verification form, statement of intent forms on file with the district for all years of home education, and official ACT, WorkKeys, or ASVAB scores.
The public universities take the parent-built transcript as the application document. The University of North Dakota has home-schooled applicants follow the same admission process as everyone else, adding a curriculum description or transcript that lists completed classes against the North Dakota University System core course requirements, and North Dakota State University is test-optional, deciding on GPA and core coursework from a transcript signed by a school official, which for a home school is the parent administrator. Homeschool graduates qualify for Tier 1 military enlistment under current DoD policy.
Official source
For current statutory text, forms, and procedural updates, the authoritative source is the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. Homeschool laws change, so confirm specific requirements directly with the state before relying on them.
North Dakota homeschool organizations
State agencies publish the rules, but they rarely help you interpret them. For that, North Dakota homeschool families generally turn to North Dakota Homeschool Association (NDHSA), the statewide homeschool association. Groups like this one track legislative changes, run conventions and support-group networks, and answer the practical questions that statutes leave open. We are not affiliated with them and receive nothing for the mention; they are simply the most useful next stop after the state's own guidance.