Home education in Germany (2026)

Last reviewed: 9 October 2026

In short: School attendance is compulsory under the school laws of the Länder. The sources read show no general right to home education; national rules were not found.

RuleWhat applies
Legal status of home educationChildren of compulsory school age⚠ Not yet verified
Nature of the parental dutyChildren of compulsory school ageDuty to attend or be enrolled at school [1]
Approval or notification neededChildren of compulsory school age⚠ Not yet verified
Compulsory schooling ageChildren of compulsory school ageFull-time compulsory schooling starts in the year the child turns six and lasts nine years (ten years in Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen and Thuringia). Part-time vocational schooling follows for young people not in full-time education. [2]
Legal status of home educationChildren of compulsory school age; BavariaNo general right; narrow exemptions only [3]
Nature of the parental dutyChildren of compulsory school age; BavariaDuty to attend or be enrolled at school [3]
Compulsory schooling ageChildren of compulsory school age; BavariaCompulsory schooling lasts twelve years: full-time compulsory schooling ends after nine school years, followed by vocational school attendance. Children become subject to it at the start of the school year in which they turn six (with deferral rules). [4]
Nature of the parental dutyChildren of compulsory school age; HesseDuty to attend or be enrolled at school [5]

Notes

  • School legislation is a matter for the 16 Länder. A single national rule on home education was not found, so the national value is to be verified.
  • Exemption and approval rules differ by Land and were not read for all 16 Länder.
  • Duration differs by Land: North Rhine-Westphalia has nine or ten years depending on the educational path. Start dates and deferral rules also differ.
  • Only Bavaria's school law was read. Article 36 lists the schools at which the duty is fulfilled and does not list home education. Other Länder may differ.
  • Federal Constitutional Court decision of 31 May 2006 on a Hessian case: home teaching with an unrecognised correspondence school did not satisfy the duty to attend school. The decision concerns that case.

Sources

  1. European Commission, Eurydice (Eurypedia): Organisation of primary education (Germany) (consulted 9 October 2026) · all sources
  2. European Commission, Eurydice (Eurypedia): Organisation of the education system and of its structure (Germany) (consulted 9 October 2026) · all sources
  3. Bayerische Staatskanzlei (gesetze-bayern.de): Art. 36 BayEUG - Erfüllung der Schulpflicht (consulted 9 October 2026) · all sources
  4. Bayerische Staatskanzlei (gesetze-bayern.de): Art. 35 BayEUG - Schulpflicht (consulted 9 October 2026) · all sources
  5. Bundesverfassungsgericht: Beschluss vom 31. Mai 2006 - 2 BvR 1693/04 (consulted 9 October 2026) · all sources

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