How to start home education in Portugal, step by step

Starting home education in Portugal is a written, deadline-driven process with a school. None of it is complicated, but each step has a legal basis and a clock. This guide follows the order set in Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, from choosing the school to signing the protocol. Before you begin, check that the educator meets the requirements in Who can teach.

Step 1: choose the school of enrolment

Your child will be enrolled in a school of enrolment (escola de matrícula), which follows progress and runs the end-of-cycle tests.

• State school: the request goes to "the director of the school in the pupil's area of residence that offers the intended level".11. Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, de 3 de agostoDiário da República In practice this is the school cluster (agrupamento de escolas) or stand-alone school that serves your address and teaches your child's year.
• Private or cooperative school: you may instead apply to a private or cooperative school of your choice.1 These schools may charge fees, and the free textbooks and school social support in the law apply only to state schools.1

Experience varies a lot between schools. A family association told the press in 2024 that some enrolments were being blocked.77. Burocracia afasta pais e alunos do ensino doméstico (9 August 2024)Jornal de Notícias A short, well-documented request helps.

Step 2: prepare the request

The formal request (requerimento) is addressed to the school director. Article 9.º of DL 70/2021 lists what it must contain:1

The grounds do not need to follow an approved list. The law describes these regimes as meant for families who, "for strictly personal reasons or professional mobility", want to take on greater responsibility for their children's education.1 A few calm paragraphs about your reasons and a reference to DL 70/2021 are enough.

Our request letter template in Portuguese, with an English mirror, follows this structure.

Step 3: attach the documents

Source: article 9.º n.º 3 and 4 of DL 70/2021.1

The ministry's 2021 model protocol says the pupil's educational plan (projeto educativo) is sent together with the enrolment request.55. Protocolo de colaboração no âmbito do ensino individual e do ensino doméstico: nota explicativa e minuta (DGEstE, August 2021)DGEstE (copy hosted by Arlindovsky blog) This is guidance rather than a legal requirement of article 9.º, but many schools expect it. The annual plan explains what to put in it.

Step 4: submit, and keep proof of the date

The law says the request should preferably be sent by e-mail or through an electronic platform.1 Keep the sent e-mail, or ask for a stamped copy if you deliver it in person. The decision deadline counts from the date your request is registered, so that date matters.

Step 5: the interview

The school calls the pupil and the guardian to an interview (entrevista) "with a view to getting to know the pupil and his or her educational plan".1 Bring a copy of your plan and be ready to explain how a normal week looks, which resources you use and how you will collect evidence for the portfolio. The interview is part of the enrolment, not a test of your child.

Step 6: the decision

Source: article 11.º of DL 70/2021.1

A refusal must be preceded by a hearing in which you have at least 10 working days to respond, followed by a reasoned decision within 10 working days.1 The grounds listed in the law include: the educator cannot teach in person, lacks the required qualification, is not a relative or co-resident (for ensino doméstico), or the request is incomplete or missing documents.1 You can appeal within 10 working days.1

Step 7: negotiate and sign the protocol

Approval comes with a draft (minuta) of the collaboration agreement (protocolo de colaboração). From there:1

1. You send your proposal for the protocol within 10 working days, based on the draft.
2. You and the school negotiate for up to 10 working days.
3. Both sides sign.

The enrolment "must be considered conditional" and becomes effective only when the protocol is signed.1 The school then registers your child in the ministry's system.1 See The protocolo for what to agree.

When you can apply

The request follows the general enrolment calendar.1 For 2026/27 the normal windows were:22. Despacho n.º 4472-A/2026, de 6 de abril (enrolment calendar 2026/27)Diário da República33. Despacho n.º 8885-A/2026, de 14 de julho (amends Despacho 4472-A/2026)Diário da República (copy hosted by Agrupamento de Escolas de Moimenta)

The 2027/28 calendar is normally fixed each spring and had not been published at the time of writing.

Mid-year starts are possible. DL 70/2021 allows a move into ensino doméstico or ensino individual "during the school year", following the same request procedure.1 The 2026/27 enrolment despacho applies its "any time of year" rule, with the necessary adaptations, to these regimes.2 The ministry's enrolment FAQ also confirms that a mid-year change is possible.44. FAQs Matrículas (questions 8 and 45)DGEstE If your child currently attends school, ask the school in writing how attendance will be handled while the decision is pending.

Renewing each year

The protocol normally lasts one school year.1 Renewal depends on having complied with the protocol and on renewing it or signing a new one.1 The 2026/27 enrolment despacho says a renewal request is needed only for a school transfer, a change of cycle, a change of guardian or a curricular choice; other renewals are automatic.2

How schools combine automatic renewal with the annual protocol varies. Plan to renegotiate and re-sign the protocol each year, and to submit a new request at each change of cycle (for example from 4.º to 5.º ano).

If the school does not answer

The law sets clear deadlines but does not say what happens if the school simply lets them pass. Do not assume silence means approval. A calm sequence usually works:

1. Check the dates. Count 15 working days from the date your request was registered (ensino doméstico).
2. Write a short reminder. Refer to article 11.º of DL 70/2021, give the date of your request, and ask for the decision or for the state of the process. E-mail is fine; keep a copy.
3. Ask for a named contact. Often the delay is a missing person, not a refusal.
4. Escalate in writing if needed. If there is still no answer, or the school says it does not accept requests, read If things go wrong. Parents' associations such as ANPED and MEL can also help with experience of how other schools handled the same situation.

Checklist

• Educator's degree certificate (or teaching qualification and criminal record certificate)
• ID and NIF for the guardian, the educator and the pupil
• Written grounds for the request
• A short educational plan for the year
• Proof of the date you sent the request
• Calendar note for the 15 working days and for each 10 working day step after approval

You can check eligibility first with the eligibility checker, and find key dates in the calendar.