TL;DR
To homeschool high school in New Hampshire, notify your superintendent or a participating nonpublic school, complete one annual evaluation, set your own graduation requirements, keep a transcript, and issue the diploma yourself. New Hampshire sets no graduation requirements and does not issue a diploma, so a parent-issued diploma is what your student carries, and it is valid for college, work, and the military. For college credit, Running Start and Early College through the community colleges are open without enrolling in a public or private school, and the Governor's Scholarship for Dual and Concurrent Enrollment covers two dual-credit courses per year, with homeschoolers explicitly included. One caution: Education Freedom Accounts are universal now, but starting an EFA ends your home education program under RSA 193-A, so it is a choice, not an add-on. Confirm each program's rules.
Verified July 2026 against New Hampshire home education law under RSA 193-A, Community College System of New Hampshire Running Start and Governor's Scholarship for Dual and Concurrent Enrollment rules, and Education Freedom Account guidance. Confirm current dual enrollment and EFA terms at education.nh.gov and ccsnh.edu before relying on this.
New Hampshire High School at a Glance
| Legal basis | Notify your superintendent or a participating nonpublic school within 5 business days; one annual evaluation |
|---|---|
| State graduation requirements | None set for homeschoolers; you set your own |
| Who issues the diploma | You do; the state does not |
| Free dual credit | Governor's Scholarship covers two dual-credit courses a year; homeschoolers included |
| Running Start / Early College | Open without public or private school enrollment |
| Education Freedom Account | Universal, but starting an EFA ends your home education program under RSA 193-A |
How Homeschool High School Works in New Hampshire
New Hampshire gives you two ways to begin. You can notify your resident district superintendent within five business days of starting, or you can notify a participating nonpublic school that agrees to oversee your program. Either way you teach the required subjects, including science, math, language, government, health, and the arts, and you complete one annual evaluation of your choice, such as a standardized test or a portfolio reviewed by a certified teacher. New Hampshire sets no graduation requirements, so through high school you decide what your diploma requires, you keep the transcript, and you issue the diploma. A parent-issued New Hampshire homeschool diploma is valid for college, work, and the military, with no GED required. We cover both notification paths in the New Hampshire homeschooling guide.
Set Graduation Requirements and Build the Transcript
Because New Hampshire sets no requirements for homeschoolers, you set your own, often modeled on a standard college-prep pattern: four years of English, three or four of math, three of science and social studies, plus electives, the arts, and physical education. Write the plan at the start of ninth grade and build the transcript as you go, listing each course, its credits, and the grade, with a cumulative grade average. Keep it clean and signed. If your student takes dual-credit courses, those college credits also appear on a college transcript, so note the dual credit on your own record and keep both. Check the free reading assessment here so you can see where your student stands before you map the four-year plan.
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Free Dual Credit: Running Start and the Governor's Scholarship
This is where New Hampshire pulls ahead of most states for homeschoolers. Running Start and Early College, run through the Community College System of New Hampshire, let a high schooler take college courses for credit that lands on both a high school and a college transcript, and you do not need to be enrolled in a public or private school to participate. On top of that, the Governor's Scholarship for Dual and Concurrent Enrollment covers two dual-credit courses per academic year, and homeschoolers are explicitly included, so your student can bank real college credit at little or no cost. Contact the community college's Running Start office to confirm how homeschoolers register, which courses qualify, and how to claim the Governor's Scholarship for the term. Stack a couple of courses a year across the high school years and your student can enter college with a semester or more already done. We link the details in our New Hampshire homeschooling guide.
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The EFA Tradeoff, the Diploma, and College Admission
New Hampshire's Education Freedom Accounts became universal after the state removed income limits, and the account is worth several thousand dollars a year, so many families ask whether to take one. Here is the piece to understand before you do: enrolling in an EFA is not the same as home education, and under RSA 193-A your home education program is terminated when your student begins an EFA. That is a real fork, not an extra, and it changes which rules govern your program, so weigh it deliberately, and see our New Hampshire homeschool funding guide for the account itself. For admission, New Hampshire colleges, including the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth, admit homeschool graduates on a parent transcript, and dual-credit coursework strengthens it with outside grades. When your student meets the requirements you set, you issue the diploma, dated and signed, and it stands for college, employment, and the military. Our step-by-step guide is a useful resource for planning the high school years.
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Students With Learning Differences
If your student had an Individualized Education Program in public school, those services end when you begin home education, and that includes high school. You can build accommodations into your own program, and college disability services open once your student enrolls, including through Running Start. Plan documentation early, since colleges and testing accommodations can ask for recent records.
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☕ Buy us a coffee ($5)A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You
New Hampshire hands homeschool families something genuinely valuable and easy to overlook: free college credit that does not require enrolling your teenager in a school. Use it. A couple of Running Start courses a year, with the Governor's Scholarship covering two of them, can turn into a semester of college by graduation. Build a clean transcript to hold it all, and choose your notification path at the start.
The one decision to make with open eyes is the Education Freedom Account, because taking it ends your home education program under state law rather than sitting alongside it. Our New Hampshire homeschooling guide covers both notification paths.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a New Hampshire Homeschool Diploma Valid?
Yes. New Hampshire sets no graduation requirements for homeschoolers, so you set your own and issue the diploma. It is valid for college, work, and the military, and no GED is required.
Can New Hampshire Homeschoolers Get Free Dual Credit?
Yes. Running Start and Early College are open without school enrollment, and the Governor's Scholarship for Dual and Concurrent Enrollment covers two dual-credit courses a year, with homeschoolers included.
How Do I Notify to Homeschool in New Hampshire?
Notify your resident district superintendent or a participating nonpublic school within five business days of starting, teach the required subjects, and complete one annual evaluation of your choice.
Does an Education Freedom Account Affect Homeschooling in New Hampshire?
Yes. Under RSA 193-A, starting an EFA terminates your home education program, so it is a choice rather than an add-on. See our New Hampshire homeschool funding guide.
Do New Hampshire Colleges Accept a Homeschool Diploma?
Yes. The University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth, and other campuses admit homeschool graduates on a parent transcript, and dual-credit coursework strengthens the application.