Is Homeschooling Legal in France? What American Families Need to Know (2026)

Homeschooling in France is legal, but only with an authorization from the Dasen of your département, on limited grounds, for a child between 3 and 16 who lives in France, whatever their nationality (Service-Public). It is not the freely available option it was before 2022. A fundamental change in French law, which came into full effect for new cases in September 2022, replaced the previous declaration-based system with a mandatory state authorization process. American families who move to France expecting to homeschool under norms similar to those in most US states will encounter a system that is substantially more restrictive, requires pre-approval on specific grounds, involves a yearly academic inspection and an inquiry by the mayor every two years, and can end with a formal notice to enroll the child in school if two successive academic inspections find the child’s education insufficient. This article explains the current legal framework, who can obtain authorization, how the inspection process works, what role the CNED plays, and what Americans need to know before making homeschooling part of their France relocation plan. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration or legal advice. Rules change, and your situation may differ: always verify current requirements with the relevant French authorities or a licensed immigration professional.

What Changed in 2022: The New Authorization Requirement

Before September 2022, French law treated homeschooling (known in France as instruction en famille, or IEF) as a presumptive right. Families who chose to educate their children at home were required to declare it every year to the mairie and to the education authority (déclaration), and the education authority checked at least once a year that the teaching met the child’s right to instruction. The Education Ministry states that since the 2022 school year the declaration regime has been replaced by a regime of prior authorization.

The law changed with the passage of the loi n° 2021-1109 du 24 août 2021 confortant le respect des principes de la République. The full text is available on Légifrance. Article 49 of this law amended Article L. 131-5 of the Education Code: schooling at home is now an exception to compulsory instruction (from age 3 to 16) that requires prior authorization from the education authority, granted only on one of four defined grounds. This change applied to all new homeschooling cases starting from the 2022-2023 school year.

The four authorized reasons for homeschooling under Article L. 131-5 of the French Education Code are:

First: the child’s state of health or disability. This requires a medical certificate: for health, a certificate less than one year old in a sealed envelope; for disability, a certificate (cerfa no. 15695) or the decisions of the CDAPH on the child’s instruction.

Second: the child’s intensive sports or artistic activities. You provide proof of registration with a sports or arts organization and a presentation of the child’s time, commitments and constraints showing that the child cannot attend a public or private school.

Third: the family’s itinerancy in France, or the geographic remoteness of the child’s home from any public school. You provide any document showing that itinerancy prevents the child from attending a school, or showing the geographic distance.

Fourth: a situation specific to the child that justifies the educational project. The request must include a written presentation of the project, a commitment to give the instruction mainly in French, and documents proving the capacity of the person who will teach, including a copy of the baccalauréat or an equivalent, or a foreign title or diploma comparable to a level 4 diploma of the French national qualifications framework, and documents showing that the person who will teach is available. The written project must set out precisely the situation specific to the child.

Approval is not guaranteed. The law provides that the authorization is granted without any reason other than the best interests of the child being invoked, and the Conseil constitutionnel held that this does not infringe freedom of conscience or opinion (decision 2021-823 DC). Religious, philosophical or ideological preferences are not among the grounds, so a request resting on one of them has to rest on the child’s own situation.

How to Apply for Authorization: The Process for American Families

Applications for instruction en famille authorization are submitted to the Direction des Services Départementaux de l’Éducation Nationale (DSDEN) for your department. Each department has its own DSDEN office. The application must be submitted between March 1 and May 31 (inclusive) before each school year for which homeschooling is planned. Outside that window it is possible in two cases: when the child’s health, disability or geographic remoteness reason arose after May 31 (you must show it), and at any time when, after discussion with the head of the child’s school, the child’s physical or moral integrity is found to be threatened (the head gives a written opinion on your project). Authorization is not automatically renewed: it must be re-applied for annually, unless it was granted for more than one year. In principle it is granted for one school year; for a child’s health condition or disability it can be granted for up to three school years.

The application asks you to identify which of the four categories applies, provide the supporting documentation for that category, and describe your educational project in detail. For the fourth category, the description of the educational project is the core of the application. It must set out the essential elements of the teaching and the pedagogy, adapted to the child’s abilities and pace of learning. You must also provide a copy of the baccalauréat or an equivalent of the person who will teach the child, and a sworn statement that the instruction will be given mainly in French.

The authority checks that the project contains the essential elements of the teaching and pedagogy adapted to the child’s abilities and pace of learning, and that the person who will teach is able to give the child the socle commun de connaissances, de compétences et de culture (Conseil constitutionnel, decision 2021-823 DC).

Authorization decisions are notified within two months of receipt of the complete application, and without an answer in that time the request is accepted. If your application is refused, you have 15 days from its notification to appeal the decision to a commission chaired by the recteur d’académie, a step that is compulsory, and if the commission confirms the refusal you can go to the administrative tribunal. A refusal means your child must be enrolled in school, public or private, for the relevant school year.

Source: Service-Public, Instruction dans la famille.

The fallback place has to exist by the start of the school year, appeal or no appeal, and decisions are notified within two months of a complete application. Work the fallback out before you file.

The request goes to the DSDEN of the department where your child lives, and the file includes proof of address and identity documents for you, your child and the person who will teach, so plan the timing around your move. For the visa side of the move, see our long-stay visa guide.

Annual Inspections: What They Cover and Who Conducts Them

If authorization is granted, two separate controls are required by law.

The first inspection is conducted by the Education Nationale: an academy inspector, who may be assisted by a school psychologist, checks the child at least once a year, from the third month after the authorization is issued. It can be announced (a letter gives the date and place at least one month ahead) or unannounced. The inspector checks the child’s knowledge and skills in an interview with you, in which you must describe the approach and teaching methods you use. The child then does written or oral exercises suited to their age and state of health, which let the inspector decide whether the knowledge and skills are sufficient, in particular at the end of each teaching cycle. The results are sent to you within three months.

The second inspection is an inquiry conducted by the mairie, from the first year and then every two years until the child turns 16. Its purpose is to verify that the reason given to obtain the authorization is real and that the instruction is compatible with the child’s state of health and the family’s living conditions. The parents must provide a medical follow-up certificate.

The academic check is organized in principle at the home where the child is taught, and the administration alone decides where it takes place. The academic inspection is at least yearly; the mayor’s inquiry comes in the first year and then every two years.

If the inspector judges the results of the academic inspection insufficient, a second inspection is scheduled at least one month after the first results are sent, and if its results are also judged insufficient, the DASEN (directeur académique des services de l’éducation nationale, the official who decides on the authorization) gives the family formal notice to enroll the child in a public or private school within 15 days of its notification. The child must then attend a public or private school for the current school year and at least until the end of the following one.

Both controls are legally required, so keep ready what each one looks at. For the academic inspection, the Education Ministry says the control includes a presentation by a parent of the work the child has done during the instruction, and an interview about your educational choices, methods and materials. For the mayor’s inquiry, you must provide a medical follow-up certificate (attestation de suivi médical) for your child.

The CNED: France’s Official Distance Learning Option

The CNED (Centre National d’Enseignement à Distance) is France’s official public distance education provider, a national public administrative body under the supervision of the ministers in charge of education and higher education. It provides complete classes from the petite section of maternelle to the terminale, with contents that follow the official programs of the Ministry of Education, and courses for higher education students.

For families who are homeschooling under authorization, CNED enrollment is not legally required, and some families choose it for two reasons. First, CNED materials provide a structured, complete curriculum that directly aligns with what the inspection authority will assess, which makes preparing for inspections more straightforward. Second, children enrolled in a CNED class under regulated status are registered for the baccalauréat under school status by the CNED, while those under free status register as individual candidates (candidats libres), which provides an official French educational credential at the end of their schooling.

The CNED offers two enrollment statuses. Regulated enrollment (inscription réglementée) is for pupils who do not attend a school, subject to supporting documents: enrollment is free of charge when the authorization was granted for the child’s health, a disability, intensive sport or arts practice, the family’s itinerancy or geographic remoteness, since Service-Public states that the authorization then counts as a favorable opinion for free enrollment in that track. Free enrollment (inscription libre) is open without any condition of enrollment. The choice of status is final once the enrollment is validated. For a child who does not attend a school in person, the Education Ministry requires the home instruction authorization before enrolling in distance learning, free enrollment included. Once a child is enrolled in a regulated CNED class, the CNED handles the pedagogical follow-up: it sends the DSDEN a monthly list of pupils and checks attendance and results, and the DASEN carries out the pedagogical check when the CNED reports a lack of attendance or insufficient results.

Service-Public does not say the same for an authorization granted for an educational project, so check with the CNED before counting on free enrollment in that case. For the other formulas (free enrollment, subjects taken one by one), check current prices at cned.fr.

For American families who homeschool their children using an American curriculum (such as an accredited US homeschool program), the CNED is not required, but the inspection checks the child’s gradual acquisition of the socle commun against the goals set for the end of each teaching cycle, while taking into account the educational choices you have made. Families who use non-French curricula exclusively should be prepared to demonstrate how their program meets the French educational objectives at inspection time.

What This Means for Americans: Key Practical Implications

The authorization requirement means that homeschooling in France cannot be assumed. American families who are planning to move to France with the intention of homeschooling must apply for authorization before the school year begins, receive a positive decision, and maintain compliance with the inspection requirements every year. Planning should start before arrival, not after.

French law treats schooling at home as an exception to compulsory instruction, which applies from age 3 to 16 whatever the child’s nationality, and grants it only on prior authorization and for the limited grounds above.

For American families whose homeschooling is motivated primarily by religious or philosophical preference, the fourth category of the French authorization framework requires framing the request in terms of the child’s specific educational needs rather than parental belief. Consulting with a French attorney familiar with education law before submitting the application is worth considering for families in this category.

For families whose homeschooling is motivated by a child’s health condition, a documented disability, geographic necessity, or a competitive sports or arts career, the first three authorization grounds rest on documents you can attach: a medical certificate, proof of registration with a sports or arts organization and the child’s timetable, or proof of itinerancy or geographic remoteness.

Giving a child home instruction without authorization is punished by a fine of €1,500. Refusing to enroll a child in a school after a formal notice from the DASEN carries a risk of six months in prison and a €7,500 fine, and the DASEN reports it to the public prosecutor (Service-Public).

For the alternative of enrolling children in French public or private school, our enrollment guide and French school system explainer cover what that path looks like.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Assuming the pre-2022 system still applies is the most serious planning error. Information on the internet about French homeschooling is heavily weighted toward the pre-2022 declaration-based system, which no longer governs new cases. Americans who have researched French homeschooling based on blog posts or forum discussions from before 2022 may have a fundamentally incorrect understanding of what the current law requires. Verify against the current Education Code text on Légifrance, against the Education Ministry’s page on home instruction, or directly with your departmental DSDEN.

Not applying for authorization in time means your child is not authorized to be home-educated that year. Outside the March 1 to May 31 window a request is possible only in the cases described above, and giving home instruction without authorization is punished by a fine of €1,500. If you have not enrolled your child in a school either, your child is not meeting the compulsory instruction requirement.

Applying under the fourth category with a thin project is a risk. The written presentation must set out precisely the situation specific to the child and the essential elements of the teaching and pedagogy, adapted to the child’s abilities and pace of learning, with the approach and methods you will use. A vague statement that you prefer personalized learning does not do that. Getting that plan accepted is the whole hurdle, and a consulting call will tell you what the inspection is really looking for.

Arriving at the first inspection without the child’s work to present is a preparation gap. The control can be unannounced and can take place from the third month after the authorization is issued. It includes a presentation of the work the child has done and written or oral exercises by the child.

Assuming that an American accredited homeschool curriculum automatically satisfies the French inspection is incorrect. The inspection checks the gradual acquisition of each domain of the socle commun against the goals set for the end of each teaching cycle, whatever curriculum is used.

Practical Checklist

At least three months before your planned school year start: research the current authorization process for your specific department by contacting the DSDEN. Requirements are national, but in some academies you can apply online: check your academy’s website.

Between March 1 and May 31 before the school year starts: file your authorization application with the DSDEN, since a request sent after May 31 is possible only if your health, disability or geographic remoteness reason arose after that date, which you must justify, or if your child’s integrity is threatened. For the fourth category, develop a full educational project document including: the essential elements of the teaching and the pedagogy, a copy of the baccalauréat or an equivalent of the person who will teach, and a sworn statement that the instruction will be given mainly in French.

Gather supporting documentation for your chosen category: medical certificates if applicable, proof of registration with a sports or arts organization and the child’s timetable for the sports or arts category, proof of itinerancy or remoteness for the third, or the full educational project for the fourth category.

Submit the application to your department’s DSDEN and retain all confirmation of submission.

If approved: enroll with CNED if you plan to use French curriculum materials, or confirm your alternative curriculum and how you will demonstrate alignment with national standards at inspection.

For each inspection: prepare the work the child has done during the year and an account of your educational choices, methods and materials. For the mayor’s inquiry, have the medical follow-up certificate ready.

Annual renewal: unless your authorization was granted for more than one year, submit a new application between March 1 and May 31 before each subsequent school year.

When to Get Help

Americans who are firmly committed to homeschooling in France and whose situation does not clearly fit the first three categories (health or disability, sport or arts, itinerancy or distance) should consult a French attorney or legal advisor familiar with education law before submitting the fourth-category application. The stakes of a refusal are high, since a refused authorization means immediate school enrollment is required, and a well-prepared application written with knowledge of how the DSDEN evaluates these requests is meaningfully better than a general description.

For families who are weighing homeschooling against French school enrollment, our school choice article covers the full range of options including sections internationales and bilingual schools, which provide significant flexibility within the formal school system.

If your situation does not fit the health or disability, sport or arts, or itinerancy or distance grounds and the fourth is your only route, talking the DSDEN file through with us tells you how strong your case actually is.

FAQ

Is homeschooling legal in France for foreign nationals including Americans?

Yes. The instruction en famille authorization framework applies to any child living in France, whatever the nationality (a French child living abroad is not covered). Nationality does not provide an exemption from French compulsory education law, and the authorization process is the same regardless of citizenship.

What is the CNED and do homeschooling families in France have to use it?

The CNED (Centre National d’Enseignement à Distance) is France’s official public distance learning provider, offering complete curriculum-aligned courses from primary through secondary level. Families with IEF authorization are not legally required to enroll with CNED, but many do because CNED materials directly align with the national curriculum that inspectors assess, and CNED classes prepare for national exams such as the brevet and the baccalauréat (the CNED registers regulated-status pupils for the baccalauréat, while free-status students register themselves as individual candidates). Families who use other curricula, including American accredited homeschool programs, can legally do so but must be ready for the inspection to check progress toward the socle commun. Current CNED enrollment options and the difference between the regulated and free statuses are detailed at cned.fr.

Can homeschooling authorization be refused or revoked?

Yes. Authorization can be refused at the application stage if the stated reason is not one of the legal grounds or the file does not meet the conditions. Homeschooling can also be ended during the school year: if a second academic inspection also finds the child’s instruction insufficient, the DASEN gives the family formal notice to enroll the child in a school within 15 days. Two refusals of an inspection without a legitimate reason can also lead to that notice. A refusal can be appealed, first to a commission chaired by the recteur d’académie, and after a formal notice the child must attend school for the current school year and at least until the end of the following one.

How does homeschooling interact with the French long-stay visa and permit renewal?

This guide states no visa or permit rule: the official pages read for it (Service-Public, the Education Ministry) do not link the home instruction authorization to a visa or a residence permit, so check your own file with the consulate or the prefecture. What those pages do say is that the request goes to the DSDEN of the department where the child lives and that home instruction without authorization is punished by a fine. For the broader permit renewal process, see our residence permit renewal guide.

What does the annual inspection actually look like, and how should families prepare?

The Education Nationale inspection is carried out by an academy inspector, in principle at the home where the child is taught, at least once a year. The inspector checks the child’s knowledge and skills in an interview with the parent, who describes the approach and methods used, and the child then does written or oral exercises suited to their age and state of health. Families prepare by maintaining an organized portfolio of the child’s completed work across all core subjects, keeping a log of study hours and activities, and ensuring the child can articulate what they are learning in each subject. The mayor’s inquiry checks that the reason given for the authorization is real and that the instruction is compatible with the child’s state of health and the family’s living conditions, rather than academic content.

Conclusion

Homeschooling in France is legally possible for American families, but it requires advance authorization, renewal each year unless the authorization was granted for longer, and compliance with two separate controls: a yearly academic inspection and the mayor’s inquiry. The system has been substantially more restrictive since 2022, and the fourth authorization category (educational project) requires a well-developed and credible application that speaks directly to French national curriculum standards.

Families considering homeschooling as part of their France move should start the authorization research and application process before arrival, not after, and should verify current requirements directly with the DSDEN of their target department. Families for whom homeschooling authorization proves difficult to obtain, or who want to understand the full range of schooling options available in France, will find the other options in our school guides, linked above.

Homeschooling in France is legal but tightly controlled, and if it is part of a larger move, a consulting call is the place to check it against your visa and timeline.