Free tool
Homeschool hours calculator
State figures last verified June 2026 against primary sources
Pick your state, enter what you have logged so far, and see how much of your instructional year is left. The figures come from the same verified state data behind the rest of this site. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is saved.
Select your state to see what it asks for.
This tool counts against the figure your state sets. It does not check subjects taught, records kept, notices filed, or testing, which are separate requirements. Open your state page for those.
Which states set a countable figure
Only 15 of the 51 jurisdictions set a number you can count against. The other 36 set no instructional-day or hour figure at all, which does not mean they ask nothing of you: several still expect particular subjects to be taught, or records to be kept in case anyone asks.
- Day counts. Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Vermont set a number of instructional days and nothing more.
- Hours per day. Colorado, North Dakota, and Tennessee express instruction as a number of hours across a set number of days, so the daily figure is the test rather than an annual total.
- Annual hours. Missouri and Wisconsin set a single yearly total. Montana, Nebraska, and New York set different totals for younger and older students.
- Either one. Pennsylvania is satisfied by the day count or the hour count, so you pick whichever your year fits.
Counting hours honestly
The number itself is the easy part. What trips families up is deciding what counts, and then remembering months later what they decided. States rarely define an instructional hour tightly, which leaves room for judgement, and judgement is fine as long as it is consistent and written down as you go rather than reconstructed at the end of the year.
Keep the record contemporaneous. A log filled in each week is credible in a way that a spreadsheet assembled in June is not, and the difference matters if anyone ever asks to see it. It is also the only version that can warn you in February that you are behind, while there is still a year left to fix it.
Common questions
How many hours a year does homeschooling require?
It depends entirely on your state, and most states set no hour figure at all. Of the 51 jurisdictions, 15 set a countable number of instructional days or hours and the other 36 set none. Where an hours figure exists it commonly lands between 875 and 1,080 a year, and several states set a different total for younger and older students.
Do I count days or hours?
Whichever your state uses, and a few use both. Some states count instructional days, some count total hours for the year, and some express instruction as a number of hours per day across a set number of days. Pennsylvania lets you satisfy either the day count or the hour count rather than both. This calculator follows whichever form your state actually uses.
What counts as an instructional hour?
States rarely define this tightly, which is part of why families worry about it. In practice most families count time spent on instruction and directed learning, including reading, field trips, and project work, rather than only formal seat time. Keep the record consistent and contemporaneous, since a log written as you go is far more credible than one reconstructed in June.
What if I am behind?
Find out early enough and it is usually recoverable, which is the entire reason to check mid-year rather than in spring. An hours-based state is the easier one to catch up in, since a heavier week offsets a lighter one. A day-count state is stricter, because a day is a day. Look at what remains on your calendar before assuming the year is lost.
Does this tool store what I enter?
No. It runs entirely in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and nothing is saved when you close the page. If you want a running total that keeps itself, the Homeschoolio app counts your days and hours as you log them, free.
Keep reading
Homeschoolio helps you keep records. It isn't legal advice. Homeschool requirements vary by district and change over time, so always verify your state and district's current rules.