Montana Notice of Intent to Homeschool: MCA §20-5-109 Explained

Montana's homeschool law is among the least burdensome in the country. Under Montana Code Annotated §20-5-109, the state's primary requirement is an annual Notice of Intent — a document you file once per school year to legally register as a homeschooler. But the NOI trips up many families because of where it goes (not the school), what it actually requires (less than most county forms suggest), and what it does not require (which is almost everything schools tend to ask for).

What MCA §20-5-109 Actually Requires

The statute specifies exactly three things your Notice of Intent must include:

1. The names and ages of the children who will be receiving home school instruction
2. A list of subject areas to be covered during the school year
3. The parent or guardian's qualifications to provide instruction — Montana requires a high school diploma or equivalent; there is no college degree requirement

That is the complete statutory requirement. The NOI does not need to include curriculum provider names, teaching methodology, sample lesson plans, daily schedules, immunization records, building inspection certifications, or any other information that some county forms request. HB 778, signed in May 2025, specifically removed the immunization records requirement and the building safety certification requirement that had previously been embedded in some county processes.

If a county form asks for those things, the form is overreaching the statute. You are only legally required to provide what §20-5-109 specifies.

Where the NOI Goes — and Why It Matters

This is the most common confusion in Montana's homeschool process. The Notice of Intent does not go to:

• Your child's school principal
• The school district superintendent
• The district office

It goes to the county superintendent of schools. This is an elected county official whose office is located at the county courthouse — entirely separate from the school district's administrative structure. In most Montana counties, the county superintendent is a different person from anyone associated with your child's school.

To find the correct filing address, search for "[your county name] county superintendent of schools Montana" — the county website will list the office contact and address. In larger counties like Yellowstone, Gallatin, and Missoula, the county superintendent's office has its own dedicated staff and may have a specific NOI form they prefer you use.

Filing Deadlines

The NOI deadline depends on when you start homeschooling:

• Starting at the beginning of a school year: File by September 1
• Starting mid-year (switching from school to homeschool at any other time): File within 10 days of beginning home instruction

The 10-day clock starts when you begin teaching, not when the school processes your withdrawal letter. If you pull your child out on a Monday and start instruction that Tuesday, you have until the following Thursday to file the NOI. Families who wait until after the school confirms the withdrawal often find they have already been providing instruction for a week or two and are running against the deadline.

The NOI must be refiled annually. It is not a one-time registration.

County Forms That Go Beyond the Statute

Several Montana counties distribute NOI forms that request information beyond what MCA §20-5-109 requires. Yellowstone County (Billings), Gallatin County (Bozeman), and Missoula County have each had versions of forms requesting:

• Curriculum provider or textbook information
• Teaching schedule or daily hours breakdown
• Immunization records (now removed by HB 778)
• Building or facility safety documentation (also removed by HB 778)

If you receive a county form that includes these fields, you have two options. You can complete only the statutory fields — names, ages, subjects, and parental qualification — and submit the form with those fields blank, attaching a brief note citing §20-5-109. Or you can skip the county form entirely and submit your own NOI document that includes only what the statute requires, addressed to the county superintendent.

Using your own statutory NOI format is legal and has the advantage of not implying by omission that you refused to answer optional fields — you are simply submitting what the law requires.

What a Statutory NOI Looks Like

A compliant NOI for Montana needs to cover the three statutory elements clearly. Formatted as a letter, it might read:

[Date]

[County Name] County Superintendent of Schools [Address]

Dear County Superintendent,

Pursuant to Montana Code Annotated §20-5-109, I am providing notice of my intent to provide home school instruction for the [school year] academic year.

Students receiving instruction: [Child's Name], age [X] [Child's Name], age [X] (if applicable)

Subject areas to be covered: Mathematics, Language Arts (reading, writing, and spelling), Social Studies (including American History and the U.S. Constitution), Science, Health and Physical Education, Fine Arts, and Vocational Education.

Instructor qualification: I hold a [high school diploma / GED / equivalent], satisfying the qualification requirement under §20-5-109(2).

[Your Name] [Your Address] [Your Phone/Email]

That document satisfies §20-5-109 in full. It does not reference a specific curriculum, does not identify a school name, and does not volunteer information the statute does not require.

The NOI and the Withdrawal Letter Are Separate

Families switching from public school to homeschooling mid-year often ask whether they need both a withdrawal letter to the school principal and the NOI to the county superintendent. The answer is yes — both are required, and they serve different purposes.

The withdrawal letter ends enrollment at the school and prevents unexcused absence flags. The NOI is your legal registration as a homeschooler under state law. Sending one without the other leaves a gap: either your child is still technically enrolled and accruing absences, or you are homeschooling without the legal registration that MCA §20-5-109 requires.

After You File

Once you have filed the NOI with the county superintendent, Montana requires nothing further in terms of ongoing reporting. There is no:

• Follow-up inspection
• Mid-year check-in
• Portfolio submission
• Standardized testing requirement

You are required to maintain attendance records at home for at least three years, and those records are private — you do not submit them to the county or the district. The only recurring obligation is refiling the NOI each year by September 1.

Getting the NOI Right

The statute is simple, but the county-level variation in forms and expectations means families routinely either over-report (using county forms that ask for curriculum details they are not required to provide) or file with the wrong office (sending the NOI to the district instead of the county superintendent).

The Montana Legal Withdrawal Blueprint includes a statutory NOI template that complies with MCA §20-5-109 without volunteering excess information, complete county superintendent contact details for all Montana counties, and guidance on handling county forms that exceed statutory requirements.

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