Can Expats Homeschool in France? 2027 Rules and Steps

Moving to Paris with children brings one question before all others: where will they go to school?

Some American and British families want to continue homeschooling, especially during a two- or three-year assignment. But homeschooling in France does not work like it does in the US or the UK. French law places strict conditions on home education, known as instruction dans la famille (IEF), and those rules apply to foreign families in exactly the same way.

The system has become much more selective since 2022. According to the Cour des comptes, 30,644 children held a homeschooling authorization in 2025, compared with 72,369 children declared as home-educated in 2021, as reported by the CAF.

This guide explains who qualifies, how to apply in Paris, and which school options make sense if homeschooling is refused.

Yes. Homeschooling is legal in France, but only as an exception that requires official approval.

The rules apply to every child living in France. Your nationality is irrelevant; the authority looks only at your child's circumstances and the legal ground you invoke.

French homeschooling laws and the 2022 changes

Education has been compulsory in France for children aged 3 to 16 since September 2019. Most children meet this obligation by attending a public or private school.

Before September 2022, parents could homeschool after a simple declaration to the town hall and the education services. The law of 24 August 2021 (loi confortant le respect des principes de la République) replaced that declaration with a system of prior authorization. Since the 2022 school year, families need permission from their local education authority before home education starts.

Transitional "automatic" authorizations ended after 2023-2024, so every family now applies every year.

Compulsory education does not mean every child must sit in a classroom, but teaching at home without authorization breaks the law. According to the Ministry of Education's sanctions summary, homeschooling without authorization can lead to:

• A fine of up to €1,500, or €3,000 for a repeat offence
• A formal notice ordering you to enroll your child in a school within 15 days
• Heavier criminal penalties if you ignore that notice without a valid reason

The CAF has also confirmed that it cannot pay family allowances for a child educated at home without state authorization.

Bills to bring back the old declaration system have been tabled in Parliament, but none have been adopted as of October 2026. Plan your move on the assumption that the authorization system will apply in 2027.

Do foreign families have the same rights?

Yes. American, British, EU and other international families follow the same homeschooling rules as French families.

California's homeschooling rules stop applying once your child lives in Paris, and a UK council-registered arrangement does not carry over.

Several common situations do not, on their own, qualify a family for homeschooling:

• Parents prefer an American or British curriculum.
• The child does not speak French.
• A parent works remotely and wants flexible teaching hours.
• The family plans to stay in France for only one year.
• The child already attends an international online school.

None of them replaces a legal ground. If you are moving from the US, our guide for American citizens settling in Paris covers the wider relocation steps.

Immigration is a separate track. A valid long-stay visa or a Paris residence permit lets you live in France, but it does not permit you to homeschool.

France only grants homeschooling authorization when an application fits one of the legal grounds listed in Article L131-5 of the Code de l'éducation.

For the 2025-2026 school year, the Ministry of Education authorized 79.3% of the 36,309 applications it examined, according to a written answer published by the Assemblée nationale in June 2026. That share has fallen since the reform began.

The education authority can also invite the child and the parents to an interview to assess the situation and the family's capacity to teach.

What about bullying or threats to a child's safety?

A specific procedure exists when a child's physical or moral integrity is threatened at school, for example in a serious bullying case.

Parents must first discuss the situation with the head of the child's school. If that discussion establishes the threat, the family can apply at any time of the year. The file includes the head teacher's detailed opinion and any evidence of the threat.

Once the application has been filed, parents can start teaching the child at home while the authority examines it. This interim arrangement ends as soon as the decision is issued.

Does an expat education plan qualify?

An expat education plan is not automatically a valid ground. A British family on a two-year assignment who want to keep their 10-year-old on the English National Curriculum does not qualify on that preference alone.

If the parents apply under the child-specific ground, the Conseil d'État has made clear that the project must be built around the child's own situation, not the family's general choice of lifestyle. The application must explain the child's needs, why the proposed approach suits them, and how the child will progress toward French learning standards.

The person teaching must also commit to providing instruction mainly in French. This creates a real obstacle for families planning an English-only curriculum, so evaluate your child's needs and your French-language capacity before applying.

The documents depend on the ground you use, and applications are tied to the child's place of residence, so families moving from abroad should start early.

Step 1: Find your local education authority

Applications are reviewed by the Directeur académique des services de l'Éducation nationale (DASEN), the education authority for the department where your child lives.

If your family lives in Paris, you apply to the Rectorat de l'Académie de Paris, which handles home education for the city's 20 arrondissements. If you move to a nearby suburb, such as Neuilly-sur-Seine or Boulogne-Billancourt, your application goes to the education services of the Hauts-de-Seine department, which belongs to the Académie de Versailles.

A family renting in the 15th arrondissement follows the Paris procedure; a family in Saint-Cloud contacts the Hauts-de-Seine services. Confirm which authority covers the address where your child will actually live.

Step 2: Prepare your homeschooling application

Parents submit an official request using Cerfa form n° 16212. Both holders of parental authority must sign it, even if the child was already homeschooled the previous year.

The core documents generally include:

• The completed and signed Cerfa n° 16212
• Proof of identity of each parent or legal guardian
• Proof of the child's identity
• Proof of your main residence, such as a lease or a recent utility bill
• Identity documents for any other person who will teach the child
• Supporting evidence for the legal ground you are using

The Académie de Paris homeschooling page lists the additional documents required for each ground.

Applications based on a child-specific educational situation

These applications need the most preparation. Parents must explain:

• The child's individual situation: why this education suits this particular child.
• Learning objectives: how the child will acquire the knowledge and skills of each area of the French core curriculum.
• Teaching methods: how lessons, exercises and assessments will be organized.
• Learning materials: which books, digital resources and other tools will be used.
• Weekly organization: the rhythm and length of learning activities.
• Distance-learning providers: the name of any online school involved and what it contributes.
• Teaching capacity: evidence of the teacher's availability.
• Language of instruction: a signed declaration to teach mainly in French.

The person teaching must also hold the French baccalauréat or an equivalent. The DASEN can accept a foreign diploma comparable to French level 4, which is the baccalauréat level. A US high school diploma or British A-levels may be assessed on that basis, so prepare a certified translation.

A strong application explains the child's actual needs. A file that presents homeschooling as a lifestyle preference is likely to be refused.

Step 3: Submit your application and track the decision

The standard application window runs from 1 March to 31 May before the school year concerned. For a family planning to homeschool from September 2027, that means applying between 1 March and 31 May 2027, if the rules stay unchanged.

Late applications are only possible under the legal exceptions: a health condition or disability that appears after the deadline, or a threat to the child's integrity at school.

After receiving your file, the education authority sends an acknowledgement of receipt. If anything is missing, it tells you which documents to send and by when.

The DASEN then has two months from receipt of the complete application to decide. If no decision arrives within that period, the application is deemed accepted.

Keep copies of your application, proof of submission, any request for more information and the final authorization. These records help during later checks and if you move to another department.

Step 4: Respond if your application is refused

Not every application is approved. If the DASEN refuses, you must first file a mandatory administrative appeal, the recours administratif préalable obligatoire (RAPO), within 15 days of receiving the written refusal.

A commission chaired by the rector of the académie reviews the appeal. If it confirms the refusal, you can then take the case to the administrative court within two months.

The appeal does not suspend the refusal. Your child must attend a public or private school while the case is reviewed, so arrange a lawful school place in parallel.

Before appealing, review the reasons for refusal against the documents you sent. If the file did not show how the project fits the child's needs, that is the point to fix. Where the grounds are unclear, advice from a French education lawyer can be worth the cost.

For expat families, the calendar is often harder to manage than the teaching itself. A family relocating from London or New York may not know its Paris address until weeks before the move, and arriving after the deadline creates no exemption.

Applying before or after moving to Paris

Your arrival date shapes your strategy.

1. Moving before the application deadline

A family plans to arrive in Paris in April 2027. They can identify the right education authority, organize their housing documents and prepare the educational evidence within the March-to-May window.

If their housing is still being finalized, they should confirm with the authority which proof of residence it will accept. A signed lease is the cleanest option, which is one reason to start your Paris apartment search at the right time.

2. Moving during the summer

A family receives a job offer in June and plans to arrive in August. The ordinary window closed on 31 May.

An international move does not entitle them to a late application. They must check whether a legal exception applies, contact the education authority, and secure a school place in case homeschooling is not authorized.

3. Moving during the school year

A family relocates to Paris in January. A mid-year arrival does not qualify them for homeschooling on its own.

Applications during the school year are possible only for a health condition or disability that appeared after the deadline, or when the child's integrity is threatened at school. Confirm your eligibility before changing your child's current education arrangements.

What makes homeschooling different in Paris?

The national rules apply everywhere, but Paris adds two constraints: the distance ground never applies inside the city, and families must coordinate education plans with one of Europe's most competitive rental markets.

Your address determines your education authority and, if your child attends a state school, the local school assignment. Before choosing an apartment, decide whether your child is likely to attend a local French school, follow an authorized home education plan, or apply to an international school.

Plan education and housing together, and never make either depend on an authorization you do not yet have.

It depends on the authorization ground, the learning arrangements and whether the program meets French requirements.

Teaching in English and following foreign curricula

France does not prohibit foreign educational resources. Parents can use English-language mathematics books, British literature or American science resources as part of their child's learning.

Using them does not remove the French requirements. Under the child-specific ground, parents must commit to teaching mainly in French, so a fully English-language program is unlikely to fit that ground.

Families planning bilingual instruction should explain the balance, for example English books as support while most lessons are delivered in French.

No American or British curriculum receives automatic approval.

CNED and international online schools

The Centre national d'enseignement à distance (CNED) is France's public distance-learning body. It offers full school programs and individual subjects under two types of enrollment.

Regulated enrollment (classe complète réglementée) is a full school program monitored by the state. According to the CNED, only children authorized on the first three grounds (health or disability, intensive sport or arts, itinerancy or distance) can access it. The authorization must be presented at enrollment.

Open enrollment (inscription libre) is available to anyone, but it does not satisfy the authorization requirement by itself. Families authorized under the child-specific ground typically use this option or another provider.

The same applies to American or UK online schools: enrollment never replaces French authorization.

Before paying for any program, check its language of instruction, who supervises daily learning, and how the child will show progress during official checks.

Receiving authorization is only the beginning. Parents must keep providing suitable education and cooperate with official checks.

Learning standards and annual education checks

Children educated at home must progress toward the French core curriculum, the socle commun de connaissances, de compétences et de culture. It covers five areas:

• Languages for thinking and communicating, including French, a foreign language, mathematics and the arts
• Methods and tools for learning, including digital skills
• Personal and civic development
• Natural and technical systems, mainly science and technology
• Representations of the world and human activity, mainly history and geography

The education authority runs a pedagogical check at least once a year. In Paris, a primary school inspector usually carries it out at home or in local inspection offices. For secondary level, subject inspectors may visit the home or meet the child at a school or the rectorat. Inspectors review the materials, discuss the teaching approach and assess the child through exercises suited to their age.

Keep a weekly learning plan, samples of written work and progress notes in reading and mathematics to make the check easier.

If the first check is unsatisfactory, a second check follows after time to improve. If the second check also fails, the family receives a formal notice to enroll the child in a school within 15 days.

Home visits, renewals, and moving addresses

Homeschooling families also receive a visit linked to the town hall. In Paris, the City's services carry out a social inquiry at home during the first year of home education, then every two years. It looks at the family's circumstances and living conditions, and it is separate from the pedagogical check.

Authorization usually covers one school year, so families must reapply each spring before 31 May. Authorizations based on health or disability can cover up to three school years.

If you move, French law gives you eight days to complete the same formalities for your new address. If the move takes you into another department, contact the new education authority as well.

This rule matters for expats who start in temporary housing. Many families spend their first weeks in a short-term apartment in Paris before signing a long-term lease, which means a second set of formalities.

Refusing official checks twice without a valid reason can also lead to an order to enroll the child in school.

Some families will not meet a legal ground; others will find the paperwork or the French-language requirement impractical. Paris offers strong alternatives.

French public, private, and international schools

The right choice depends on your child's age, language skills, school history and how long you plan to stay.

For a long stay, a French school builds fluent French and local friendships; families planning a return often prefer an international curriculum. Compare international schools in Paris and their admission requirements before you commit to a neighborhood. If you want both languages, our guide to choosing a bilingual school in Paris explains how school choice and arrondissement work together.

Check out education options in the table below.

If the French system is new to you, the names alone can be confusing: maternelle, école élémentaire, collège, lycée, then the brevet and the baccalauréat. This short overview walks through each stage, the typical ages and the main exams, so you can see where your child would fit if homeschooling is refused or only covers part of your stay in Paris.

Supporting children who do not speak French

A child does not need fluent French to join the French school system.

Newly arrived pupils who speak another language are assessed so the school can place them at the right level. In Paris, this assessment is coordinated by the CASNAV, the académie's service for newly arrived pupils. Depending on needs and available places, children may then join a UPE2A (unité pédagogique pour élèves allophones arrivants), a support unit where they learn French while attending regular classes. Younger children often adapt through immersion with classroom support.

Parents help most by introducing French through books and games, keeping the home language alive and staying in close contact with teachers. A language gap does not make homeschooling the only option. Our guide to living in France without speaking French shows how families manage the language gap day to day.

Where you live shapes your child's learning and your family's daily routine.

A family homeschooling with authorization needs a quiet room for lessons and space for books and materials. A family choosing an international school may want to live near the campus or on a direct metro or RER line. For a French state school, your address determines the assigned school.

When comparing Paris apartments, check:

• Living space: is there a quiet room where children can study?
• Internet access: is the connection reliable enough for online classes?
• Outdoor activities: are parks, sports facilities and libraries within walking distance?
• School access: can children reach school without a difficult daily commute?
• Rental documents: will the lease give you the proof of residence needed for school or homeschooling paperwork?
• Move-in timing: is the apartment available before the school year or the 31 May filing deadline?

The 15th, 16th and 17th arrondissements combine residential streets, parks and good transport, and living in the 16th arrondissement puts you close to several international schools. Compare the house options when you’re searching for where to live in Paris with your family.

Finding the right rental while managing school decisions from abroad is difficult. Relocation in Paris offers a personalized property search service in Paris for newcomers, built around your budget, school plans and preferred location. The team organizes viewings, including live video visits while you are still abroad, prepares your rental application, reviews the lease and supports you through move-in.

Securing the lease early also gives you the proof of residence that schools and the education authority ask for.