Homeschooling in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• You live in Portugal with a child of compulsory school age and want to teach them at home.
• You want to hire a qualified teacher to teach your child one to one, outside a school.
• You are moving to Portugal and already homeschool your children.

Not for you if: you want a normal school place, public, private, or international. Read Schools and Childcare in Portugal instead.

Homeschooling is legal in Portugal, but it is not a way out of school. Your child must still be enrolled at a school, follow the national curriculum, and pass Portuguese exams at the end of each cycle. There are two routes. In home education (ensino doméstico), a family member or someone who lives with the child teaches, and they need at least a bachelor's degree. In individual tuition (ensino individual), a qualified teacher teaches one child. You apply to your local school. The school must decide on home education within 15 working days.

The two routes

• Home education (ensino doméstico). A relative of the child, or a person who lives with them, teaches the child at home.
• Individual tuition (ensino individual). A qualified teacher teaches a single pupil outside a school.

Both routes are for children of compulsory school age who would follow general basic education (years 1 to 9) or the general science and humanities courses in secondary school (years 10 to 12). Vocational courses are not covered. School is compulsory from age 6 until 18 or the end of year 12.

The guardian registered with the school (encarregado de educação) is responsible for the child's education, or the young person themselves once they turn 18.

Who can teach

Home education. The person who teaches (the responsável educativo) must:

• be a relative of the child, or live with the child
• hold at least a bachelor's degree (licenciatura), in any subject
• be able to teach the child in person

Individual tuition. The teacher must be legally qualified to teach in Portugal. You must also provide the teacher's criminal record certificate.

One child per teacher. As a rule, the person teaching takes on only one pupil. The exception is children from the same household, such as brothers and sisters.

If the parent who would teach does not have a degree, home education is not open to you. Individual tuition by a qualified teacher is the alternative, at your own cost.

How to apply

1. Send a written request to the head of the state school for your area that offers your child's school year. You can choose a private or cooperative school instead, and apply there. Requests and documents can usually be sent by email or online.
2. Include in the request: your details, the details of the person who will teach, your child's details and school year, the route you want, and your reasons.
3. Attach the documents listed below.
4. Attend an interview. The school invites you and your child to an interview to get to know your child and your plans. This is part of enrolment, not a formality.
5. Wait for the decision. See the next section.
6. Sign the collaboration agreement (protocolo de colaboração) with the school. Enrolment only becomes final once it is signed.

Documents to attach:

• the academic certificate of the person who will teach (a degree for home education, a teaching qualification for individual tuition)
• the teacher's criminal record certificate, for individual tuition
• the identity and tax numbers (NIF) of you and of the person who will teach, as shown on your identity documents
• any other documents you think will help your request

How the decision works

Home education. The school head decides within 15 working days of receiving your request.

Individual tuition. The school head gives an opinion within 10 working days. The Directorate-General for Schools (DGEstE) then decides within 15 working days.

You are told of an approval within 10 working days. It comes with a draft collaboration agreement. You then have 10 working days to send your proposal back, and up to 10 more working days to agree the final text with the school.

Reasons for refusal include: the person teaching cannot teach in person, lacks the required qualification, or, for home education, is not a relative or does not live with the child. A request missing information or documents can also be refused. Before refusing, the school must let you respond, giving at least 10 working days. You can appeal a refusal within 10 working days.

The collaboration agreement

The agreement usually lasts one school year. You can renew or change it by agreement with the school. It sets out:

• how you will cover the curriculum, so the school can check progress against the national essential learning goals and citizenship topics
• how the school will monitor progress, including at least one in-person session at the school at the end of the year, with your child and the person teaching
• that Portuguese is the language of schooling
• that your child will sit the required exams
• how long the agreement lasts

The agreement can also let your child use the school library and resource centre. If it does, your child is covered by school insurance there.

To renew enrolment the next year, you must have kept to the agreement and renew it or sign a new one.

Teaching in Portuguese

The law requires Portuguese as the language of schooling, and every exam is in Portuguese. Parts of the curriculum can be taught in a foreign language that is part of the national curriculum, through a bilingual approach. Both of these must apply:

• the person teaching proves they are fluent in that language
• the school where your child is enrolled offers that bilingual option

In practice, you cannot meet compulsory schooling in Portugal by teaching entirely in English. Nationality is not a condition, but you must teach the Portuguese curriculum and prepare your child for Portuguese exams. For many international families, a qualified Portuguese teacher, or a school, is the realistic choice. To build your own Portuguese, see Learning Portuguese in Portugal.

How your child is assessed

During the year. The school names a tutor teacher (professor-tutor) to follow your child. You keep a portfolio of your child's work, with your child's own self-assessment and a report from the person teaching. You send it to the school as often as the agreement says, and discuss it with the tutor. The tutor then sends you a short written assessment, with any recommendations, within 10 working days.

At the end of each cycle. Your child sits exams at the school as an external candidate:

• Basic education: equivalence exams (provas de equivalência à frequência) in the last year of each cycle, which are years 4, 6, and 9.
• Year 4: Portuguese (written and oral), Mathematics, Environmental Studies, English (written and oral), and Art and Physical Education.
• Secondary: equivalence exams in the last year of each subject.
• National exams come first. Where a national final exam exists for a subject, it replaces the equivalence exam.

Your child can also sit the national learning monitoring tests (ModA) in years 4 and 6, if you ask the school head.

Children with significant curriculum adaptations. Pupils who have significant curriculum adaptations under the inclusive education rules do not sit these exams. They are assessed under those rules instead.

When the arrangement can end

The school can cancel home education, after hearing you, if:

• you do not keep to the collaboration agreement, unless you show it was not your fault
• your child fails the end of a basic education cycle two years in a row
• your child fails the final subjects of year 11, or the end of secondary school, two years in a row

For individual tuition, the school proposes cancellation and the Directorate-General for Schools decides. If home education is cancelled, your child must move to a school, from the tenth working day after you are told. You can appeal to the Ministry within 10 working days, but the appeal does not normally stop the move.

What support you get

If your child is enrolled at a state school, they have the right to:

• free textbooks adopted by that school, which they may need to return (see Getting Free School Textbooks in Portugal)
• school social support (ação social escolar), if your household qualifies
• curriculum enrichment activities
• school insurance, if the agreement lets your child use the school library or resource centre (see Claiming on School Insurance (Seguro Escolar) in Portugal)

Moving between home and school

You can switch to home education or individual tuition during the school year. The same application rules apply. To move your child back into a school, you follow the normal enrolment rules. See Enrolling Your Child in a Portuguese Public School.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change often; check the official source before you act, and confirm the details with your school.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

• Ministry of Education (DGE), Ensino Individual e Ensino Doméstico: https://www.dge.mec.pt/ensino-individual-ensino-domestico (definitions, who it covers, enrolment request to the local school or chosen private school, interview, degree for home education, qualified teacher for individual tuition, agreement contents, Portuguese and bilingual conditions, tutor and portfolio, 10-day assessment, exams in years 4, 6, and 9, year 4 subjects, national exams replace equivalence exams, ModA tests, exemption for significant curriculum adaptations, transitions, rights to textbooks, school support, enrichment, and insurance; first amendment by Decreto-Lei n.º 8/2025), checked 2 October 2026
• Diário da República, Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, of 3 August: https://files.dre.pt/1s/2021/08/14900/0000900021.pdf (request contents and documents, criminal record for individual tuition, electronic submission, renewal, decision periods of 15 and 10 working days, DGEstE decision for individual tuition, notification and agreement negotiation periods, grounds for refusal, hearing and appeal, agreement duration and deposit, cancellation for breach or two consecutive failures, move to school from the tenth working day, appeal without suspension, one pupil per teacher except same household), checked 2 October 2026
• Eurydice (European Commission), Portugal overview (updated 18 March 2026): https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/portugal/overview (compulsory education from age 6 to 18 or the end of upper secondary), consistent with verified guide W2B-21, checked 2 October 2026

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.