How to Be a Homeschool Provider in the Philippines (DepEd)

2026年10月22日

For education founders in the Philippines

To be a homeschool provider in the Philippines, you need to run a private school that already holds Government Recognition from DepEd, and then apply to the DepEd Regional Office, through your Schools Division Office, for a Permit to Offer the Homeschooling Program, which is valid for two years. A tutor, a consultant or a learning center can support homeschooling families, but under DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2022 it cannot enroll homeschool learners on its own.

This guide is based on the text of DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2022 and on regional memoranda that repeat it. It is not legal advice. Each Regional Office applies the rules, so confirm every point in writing with yours.

In this article

What a homeschool provider is in the Philippines
Homeschooling in the Philippines: the DepEd rules at a glance
Who can enroll in a homeschool program
How families enroll with a provider
How to become a homeschool provider, step by step
Permit to Offer: the documents DepEd asks for
What a provider has to run every year
How much is homeschooling in the Philippines?
Not a school? Other ways to work in homeschooling
Building a school for children who do not fit school
Questions and answers

What a homeschool provider is in the Philippines

In everyday Filipino usage, a “homeschool provider” is the school a homeschooling family enrolls with. DepEd’s own term is different. DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2022, the Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program, signed on 21 January 2022 and in force from School Year 2022-2023, defines the Homeschooling Program as one of the Alternative Delivery Modes (ADMs) of public and private elementary and secondary schools, “where the learner’s education is managed by parents/guardians and happens primarily at home”.

That has three consequences for a would-be provider:

The provider is a school. A homeschool learner is officially enrolled in a public or private school but does not attend its regular classes, and has a Learner Reference Number (LRN) in DepEd’s Learner Information System (LIS).
Parents teach; the school supervises. Parents or guardians are “the primary agent of the teaching-learning process, including its design and execution”. The school enrolls, coaches, assesses and keeps records.
The curriculum is DepEd’s. The K to 12 Curriculum is the minimum for every school offering the program. Content may be contextualized and reordered within a quarter.

The order repealed DECS Memorandum No. 216, s. 1997 and the home school section of Annex 3 of DepEd Order No. 021, s. 2019. Articles that quote those older rules are out of date.

Homeschooling in the Philippines: the DepEd rules at a glance

Question	What DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2022 says
Who may offer homeschooling?	Any public or private school, as an Alternative Delivery Mode
Which private schools?	Only private schools with Government Recognition
What authority do they need?	Private schools: a Permit to Offer from the Regional Office, applied for through the Schools Division Office. Public schools: authorization from the Regional Office
How long does it last?	Two years. The Regional Office may revoke it for valid grounds, after due process
Which grades?	Kindergarten to Senior High School
Who may enroll?	Only learners residing in the Philippines. A family that moves abroad during the year may finish that school year
Who teaches?	Parents or guardians, who may also hire a tutor
Who assesses?	Parents run formative assessment; summative assessments are taken at the school; learners take the NCAE and NAT with other learners

2 yearsvalidity of a Permit to Offer

7documents listed for a private school’s application

K to 12the minimum curriculum for every provider

Jan 2filing date for applications before the school year

Figures are taken from DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2022 and DepEd NCR Regional Memorandum No. 570, s. 2025, which reiterates it.

Who can enroll in a homeschool program

The order lists eight groups of learners, “including, but not limited to”:

learners at risk of dropping out
learners with special educational needs
learners who cannot report to school regularly because of a medical condition
learners in emergency situations, a national emergency, or conflict areas
learners who had unpleasant experiences in regular school that affect their health and well-being
learners who dropped out for personal reasons
learners whose parents or guardians have jobs that require constant travel
learners whose studies were interrupted by the relocation of parents, within the Philippines or as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)

It also serves learners “whose parents opt them to be educated at home by themselves”. Learners out of school for a year or more may take the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) to find their grade level.

How families enroll with a provider

This is what your school will handle for every family.

Letter of Intent. The parent writes to the school head and fills in the Homeschooling Form (Annexes 3 and 2 of the order).
Enrollment in the LIS. A new learner receives an LRN; a learner switching from regular classes keeps it and is tagged as a homeschool learner.
Homeschooling Program Agreement. Learner, parents and school sign it (Annex 4).
Orientation and the Learning Plan. Parents are oriented, then write a weekly, monthly or quarterly plan of learning areas, competencies and tasks (Annex 1).
Learning at home, assessed at school. Parents run formative assessment; the learner submits a quarterly portfolio and takes summative tests at the school.
Quarterly conferences. Parents meet the homeschool coordinators; learners may join PE and school activities.

A Filipina homeschool coordinator in her forties goes through a learning plan notebook with a mother at a wooden table in a bright, simple living room (illustrative image) — Under DepEd’s rules the parent teaches, and the school’s homeschool coordinator coaches, monitors and keeps the records. (Illustrative image)

How to become a homeschool provider, step by step

Becoming a provider is a two-stage project: first a recognized school, then a homeschool program inside it.

Set up the legal entity. Private schools register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). When DepEd gave some schools a two-year transitional period in 2023 (DepEd Order No. 26, s. 2023), SEC registration was expressly excluded from that relief.
Secure the site and the building. Under DepEd Order No. 41, s. 2022, which amended Section 160 of DepEd Order No. 88, s. 2010, a private school must own its site, or show a deed of sale, a deed of donation, or a usufruct or lease of at least 15 years. An occupancy permit from the local government unit is also mandatory.
Get a Government Permit to operate. Under DepEd Order No. 88, s. 2010, the 2010 Revised Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in Basic Education, authority is of two kinds: a permit, per year level, and recognition. The Regional Director approves new private schools.
Earn Government Recognition. Recognition is for an indefinite period while the school keeps meeting the standards. It is the condition for offering homeschooling.
Apply for the Permit to Offer the Homeschooling Program. Send a Letter of Intent to the Regional Director through the Schools Division Superintendent, with the documents below. In NCR this runs through the QUADPRO system.
Run, report and renew. Apply for renewal on or before January 2 of the permit’s second year.

Steps 1 to 4 are the same as for any private school and take most of the time and money; see how to start a school in the Philippines. Steps 5 and 6 are specific to homeschooling.

Permit to Offer: the documents DepEd asks for

A Filipino founder and an accountant check registration papers together at a wooden table in a small office (illustrative image) — Most of a Permit to Offer application is paperwork the school writes itself: a manual, an organizational chart, a calendar and a fee schedule. (Illustrative image)

Section VI, item 15 of DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2022 lists what a recognized private school submits with its Letter of Intent:

An original copy of the Board Resolution to offer the Homeschooling Program as an ADM
A Homeschooling Program Manual covering at least the program standards, program management, curriculum, instruction and assessment
A homeschool organizational chart, including the homeschool coordinator, with each member’s roles and responsibilities
A certification that learning resources aligned with the K to 12 Curriculum are available
An orientation and training plan for parents and guardians
An annual Homeschooling Program calendar
A schedule of tuition and other school fees for the Homeschooling Program

The application also follows Section 30.5 of DepEd Order No. 88, s. 2010: schools file with the Regional Office on or before January 2 preceding the opening of the school year. Public schools send a letter of intent with an implementation plan and a parent training plan.

Ask your Regional Office before you write anything. Regions use their own checking committees and sometimes run orientations for private schools. Ask for the current regional memorandum and filing date.

Want to build a school for children who do not fit school?

NIJIN Academy is an alternative school in Japan for children who do not fit conventional school, opened in September 2023. It combines a metaverse campus, about 100 live online classes a month and 52 physical classrooms across Japan. NIJIN is looking for one person to start and lead NIJIN Academy Philippines, as both business head and principal. Teaching experience is not required.

See the Country Head role in the Philippines

What a provider has to run every year

These are the roles your organizational chart and manual must describe.

Role	Main duties under the order
Parents or guardians	Enroll the child; follow the K to 12 Curriculum; prepare the learning plan and yearly schedule; provide resources; run formative assessment; report progress
Homeschool Coordinator (a teacher designated by the school head)	Keep the learner in the LIS; monitor progress; coach parents; give summative assessments; make home visits when necessary
Teacher-Adviser and learning area teachers	Prepare assessments; keep accurate records of each learner
The school	Provide materials; agree a coordination plan; hold quarterly conferences; help learners transfer if the permit is revoked
Schools Division Office	Monitor every school offering the program and report violations to the Regional Office
Regional Office	Issue and revoke permits; send an updated list of schools offering the program to DepEd’s Bureau of Learning Delivery every January

All homeschool learners take the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) and the National Achievement Test (NAT) at the school where they are enrolled, on the official list of test-takers. Parents must follow DepEd’s Child Protection Policy (DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012).

How much is homeschooling in the Philippines?

There is no official national fee. DepEd does not publish a price for homeschooling. What it does is require each private school to submit a schedule of tuition and other school fees for its Homeschooling Program as part of the Permit to Offer application, so each provider sets and declares its own fees.

For a founder, the fee must cover what the order makes you provide: coordinators’ time, assessments, records, learning materials, conferences and parent training, on top of running a recognized school. We quote no typical fees, because we found no official figure.

Not a school? Other ways to work in homeschooling

If you want to work with homeschooling families without running a school, the order leaves room: parents may “hire a tutor”, and learning may happen in other suitable environments.

A young Filipino tutor sits at a low table with three children who read and write in a quiet, simple study room (illustrative image) — A tutor or learning center can support homeschooled children, but the child’s enrollment stays with a school that holds DepEd authority. (Illustrative image)

Role	Can it enroll homeschool learners?	What it can do	Main approval
Recognized private school with a Permit to Offer	Yes	Enroll, coordinate, assess and report learners	DepEd Regional Office
Public school with authorization	Yes	The same, for its own learners	DepEd Regional Office through the SDO
Tutor or homeschool consultant	No	Teach or advise families on behalf of the parent	Ordinary business registration
Learning or tutorial center	No	Offer a place, small groups and support alongside a provider school	Business registration; ask DepEd how it is classified

We found no DepEd rule creating a “homeschool certification” for individuals. For the center route, see how to start a learning center in the Philippines.

Building a school for children who do not fit school

DepEd’s list includes children at risk of dropping out and children who had unpleasant experiences in regular school. Those are the children NIJIN Academy was built for in Japan: a hybrid school with a metaverse campus, live online classes and physical classrooms, now running through to high school age.

1,000+children enrolled since September 2023 (cumulative)

97%attendance recognition among families who applied

52physical classrooms across Japan

400+students who have graduated or returned to school

Figures are those published on NIJIN’s official websites. “Attendance recognition” means the child’s registered school counts learning at NIJIN Academy as school attendance.

NIJIN is looking for a Country Head to start and lead NIJIN Academy Philippines, as business head and principal. What form fits the Philippines is a question for the interview. It is not a franchise. You can start on a service contract, even alongside your current work, or co-own a local company with NIJIN (for example 20% for you, 80% for NIJIN). Investment is optional. As a guide, compensation is 10% of revenue excluding tax, up to JPY 50 million; JPY 100 million of revenue gives JPY 10 million. It is not a promise of income: with no revenue, the formula pays nothing.

Questions and answers

What are the requirements for homeschooling in the Philippines?

Families must reside in the Philippines, enroll with an authorized school, submit a Letter of Intent and the Homeschooling Form, follow the K to 12 Curriculum with a learning plan, and have the child take summative tests, the NCAE and the NAT at the school. Parents must be able to teach or hire a tutor.

Is homeschooling in the Philippines recognized by DepEd?

Yes, when it runs through a school authorized to offer DepEd’s Homeschooling Program. It is an Alternative Delivery Mode, and the learner is officially enrolled, with an LRN.

Is there a list of homeschool providers in the Philippines?

Each Regional Office sends DepEd an updated list every January, but we found no published national list. Ask your Regional or Schools Division Office which schools hold a current permit.

How much is homeschooling in the Philippines?

DepEd sets no national price. Each private provider files its own fee schedule with its permit application, so ask each school for it.

How do I become a homeschool consultant?

The order creates no consultant license. A consultant or tutor works for the family, while enrollment, assessment and records stay with an authorized school. Be clear with families that you are not their school.

Can a learning center become a homeschool provider?

Not on its own. Only recognized private schools can obtain a Permit to Offer. A center can work alongside a provider school, or become a recognized school first.

Is this a job or a business?

Becoming a homeschool provider means running a school, so it is a business. The NIJIN Academy Country Head role is also closer to founding a business than to a salaried job: pay follows revenue, as a guide 10% up to JPY 50 million. You can start on a service contract, even as a side job. Details are discussed in the interview.

Will you start NIJIN Academy Philippines?

If you want to build a school for children who do not fit school, and you have led and hired a team, read the role. Teaching experience is not required, investment is optional, and English alone is enough to apply.

See the Country Head role in the Philippines

Where to go next

NIJIN Academy Country Head pages are open for several countries, and the global page covers every other country.

Related guides for founders

Sources

The text of DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2022 was read in the copy enclosed with the Muntinlupa City division memorandum below, because deped.gov.ph could not be opened. Please check DepEd for later updates.