Homeschooling in New Hampshire: The Portfolio-and-Evaluation Two-Step

New Hampshire homeschooling under RSA 193-A: five-day notification, a two-year portfolio rule, annual evaluation options explained, the equal-access law for sports, and what UNH actually asks for.

Last reviewed August 15, 2026

New Hampshire sits in the sensible middle of homeschool regulation: more structure than free-for-all neighbors like Vermont's southern cousin states, far less than New York's quarterly reports. You notify once when you start, keep a portfolio, and complete an annual evaluation — but here's the part that surprises newcomers: the evaluation results stay with you. Nobody collects them, and the statute expressly says they can't be used to shut your program down.

So the real work in New Hampshire isn't satisfying a bureaucrat — it's making a series of small, annual decisions well: which of the evaluation options fits this child this year, who should do the portfolio review, what belongs in the portfolio, and how all of that quietly compounds into the transcript UNH will eventually see. Live free, but choose wisely.

The Rules in Plain English

Home education is governed by RSA 193-A; the NH DOE's FAQ and the NH Homeschooling Coalition both track it closely.

No hours requirement, no curriculum approval, no parent qualifications.

Choosing Your Evaluation Lane (the Annual Decision That Matters)

The evaluation menu is New Hampshire's signature feature, and each option has a distinct personality:

• Portfolio review by a certified teacher. The most popular route. You hire an evaluator (typically a modest fee), they review the log and work samples, and you get a written evaluation. The catch is springtime evaluator hunting — good evaluators book up, and finding one whose philosophy fits your homeschool style takes asking around. NHHC and Granite State Home Educators circulate evaluator lists.
• National achievement test. Clean and comparable (and useful practice for a college-bound student), but it converts your whole year into one data point, which is a poor fit for asynchronous learners.
• State assessment. Free, but ties you to the public school testing calendar and instrument.
• Mutually agreed measure. The flexible catch-all, negotiated with your participating agency.

Two structural notes. First, because results stay with you, the evaluation's real audience is future you — it becomes third-party evidence of progress that strengthens a college file or answers any later question about your program. Don't treat it as a throwaway. Second, the portfolio isn't optional even if you test: the log-plus-samples requirement and the two-year retention rule stand on their own.

LearnHaven's portfolio checklist keeps the log and sample collection continuous instead of a May scramble, and the compliance dashboard tracks your evaluation deadline and the two-year retention window per child. See the record-keeping guide for what evaluators actually want to see.

Sports, Classes, and Clubs: Equal Access Is the Law

New Hampshire is one of the friendlier states in the Northeast on this front. RSA 193:1-c gives students in home education programs access to curricular courses and cocurricular programs — sports, music, theater, clubs, even testing — offered by the public school in their district. Per Granite State Home Educators:

• Every school administrative unit was required to adopt an equal-access policy (deadline was August 31, 2022), so ask the district office for theirs by name.
• Access is on the same basis as full-time students, where space is available — you can try out for the team, but the law doesn't guarantee a roster spot or the lead in the musical.
• Homeschoolers meet the same requirements as enrolled students: academic eligibility, physicals, honor codes, placement prerequisites for advanced courses.
• Practical fine print: participating gets your student a state ID number in the student data system, and equal access doesn't extend to general resources like the school library or to special education services.

Since academic eligibility checks apply to homeschool athletes too, keep grade documentation current during sports seasons — a one-page term summary from LearnHaven's report card generator answers an athletic director's eligibility question in one email. The sports access guide covers tryout-season logistics.

College Admissions: UNH Is Welcoming — the Documentation Question Comes at Enrollment

UNH states plainly that it welcomes applicants educated at home, and the application process is refreshingly normal: homeschoolers self-report coursework through the STARS system like any US high schooler, submit one recommendation letter, and test scores are optional.

The homeschool-specific moment comes at enrollment, when UNH requires documentation of completed secondary studies — one of: a final homeschool transcript, GED or HiSET results, or a certificate of completion from the district or state board. If your program doesn't produce a traditional diploma, UNH asks you to contact admissions and agree on final documentation in advance. Do that in fall of senior year, not July before move-in.

New Hampshire adds a helpful cultural fact, per the NH Homeschooling Coalition: it's a "self-certifying" state — no state-issued diploma exists, parents certify completion, and the Community College System of NH is notably homeschool-friendly, with dual-enrollment options (like eStart) that put third-party grades on your student's record early. Since parent grades "will always be examined critically," that outside validation — dual enrollment, evaluations, test scores — is what makes a parent transcript land.

Build the transcript continuously with LearnHaven's transcript generator, compute a defensible GPA with the GPA calculator, and issue your credential with the diploma generator. The college admissions and transcripts and GPA guides show how evaluations and portfolios can strengthen a NH application file.

The Quiet Pain Points

• Three possible notification agencies (commissioner, superintendent, nonpublic school) means families sometimes can't remember where they filed. Keep the stamped or acknowledged copy — it's your compulsory-attendance proof.
• The 5-business-day window on starting and the 15-day window on terminating are short. Mid-year withdrawals from school need same-week paperwork.
• The two-year portfolio retention rule outlives the school year — label and archive each year's portfolio rather than recycling it in June.
• Evaluator quality varies. A cursory review is a wasted opportunity; ask co-op veterans for names. New Hampshire's support network is strong — NHHC and GSHE are active statewide and both maintain current legal guidance.

Bottom Line

• Notify within 5 business days of starting (commissioner, superintendent, or nonpublic school principal) — then there's no annual re-notification.
• Keep the portfolio (reading log + work samples) for two years, every year, even if you evaluate by test.
• Pick your annual evaluation deliberately; results stay with you and can't be used to terminate your program — so make them useful for the college file.
• RSA 193:1-c guarantees space-available access to public school courses, sports, and clubs under the district's equal-access policy.
• UNH treats homeschoolers like any applicant until enrollment, when you'll need a final transcript or equivalency credential — settle the documentation question in the fall of senior year.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. LearnHaven is not a law firm, and reading this site does not create any attorney-client or other professional relationship. Requirements change — always confirm details with your state's official sources before making decisions.