Exams for homeschooled pupils in Portugal (2025/26 to 2027/28)

A homeschooled child in Portugal is not tested every year. External tests happen at the end of each cycle of ensino básico and in the final year of each secundário subject. In between, the school follows progress through the portfolio (portefólio) and the meetings with the tutor teacher (professor-tutor) 22. Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, de 3 de agostoDiário da República.

The rules for the school years 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28 are set in a single regulation, Despacho Normativo n.º 3/2026 11. Despacho Normativo n.º 3/2026, de 23 de fevereiro (Regulamento das Provas de Avaliação Externa e das Provas de Equivalência à Frequência)Diário da República / Júri Nacional de Exames. This guide gives the overview. The year-by-year guides go into detail: 4.º ano, 6.º ano, 9.º ano and secundário.

The principle: your child sits as an external candidate

Homeschooled pupils complete a cycle by passing tests at the school of enrolment (escola de matrícula), as self-entered candidates (autopropostos). In ensino básico they take equivalence tests (provas de equivalência à frequência (PEF)) in the terminal year of each cycle. Where a national test exists (the 9.º ano provas finais, or a secundário national exam), it replaces the equivalence test for that subject 2.

All tests are in Portuguese, except the foreign-language tests 1.

Who sits what

Sources: DN 3/2026 arts. 6.º, 19.º, 27.º, 28.º, 55.º and 66.º 1.

Provas ModA (4.º and 6.º ano)

ModA stands for learning monitoring (Monitorização da Aprendizagem). The tests are digital, not public, and marked centrally. There is no review of the marking. Results come as an individual report that complements internal assessment 1. They do not decide whether your child completes the cycle. For a homeschooled pupil, the equivalence tests do that.

Português and Matemática are tested every year. A third subject rotates: Educação Artística (4.º) and Inglês (6.º) in 2026, Educação Física (and Educação Visual in 6.º) in 2027, and Ciências Naturais in 2028 1.

You do not need to register for ModA. It is still sensible to confirm with the school, early in the year, that your child is on the list. Some older ministry pages still describe ModA as optional for homeschoolers, and that wording is out of date.

Equivalence tests (PEF)

The PEF are made by each school, under its pedagogical council, in two versions per subject. Oral and practical parts are held before a panel of three teachers, none of whom may be your child's teacher 1. Some subjects have one component (written, oral or practical); others have two. When there are two, both must be taken in the same phase. Missing one means no grade for that subject 1.

At the end of 1.º, 2.º and 3.º ciclo, homeschooled pupils must sit the PEF in every listed subject in the 1.ª fase. In the 2.ª fase they retake only the subjects below level 3 (or "Insuficiente" in 1.º ciclo), and they may choose to sit only those needed for approval 1. If your child misses a 1.ª fase test without a serious, documented reason, they cannot take that test in the 2.ª fase 1.

The Informação-Prova

Each school publishes an test information sheet (Informação-Prova) for every PEF subject. It sets out what is assessed, the structure, the weighting, the materials allowed and the duration. Look for it on your school cluster's website under "provas e exames" 1111. Informação-Prova de equivalência à frequência (example index of a school cluster)Agrupamento de Escolas Henriques Nogueira. It is the single most useful document for preparing, because PEF differ from school to school. For provas finais and national exams, EduQA publishes the Informação-Prova centrally.

Registration windows

Registration is online, on the PIEPE platform, and free for pupils within compulsory schooling who register on time 199. Guia Geral de Exames 2026Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior. Late registration in ensino básico costs a single fee of EUR 20; in secundário the late fee is EUR 25 1. Registering is the parent's legal duty 2.

Source: DN 3/2026, Quadros I and II 1. Add these dates to your diary now; the calendar lists them with reminders.

Approval at the end of a cycle

Approval follows the general rules of Portaria n.º 223-A/2018 55. Portaria n.º 223-A/2018, de 3 de agosto (consolidated)Diário da República. Your child is not approved if:

• 1.º ciclo: "Insuficiente" in both Português and Matemática, or "Insuficiente" in one of them plus two other subjects.
• 2.º and 3.º ciclos: below level 3 in both Português and Matemática, or below level 3 in three or more subjects.
• 9.º ano: not sitting the provas finais also means non-approval.

The 1.º ciclo uses descriptive grades (Insuficiente, Suficiente, Bom, Muito Bom). The 2.º and 3.º ciclos use levels 1 to 5. The tests themselves are marked from 0 to 100 and converted 15.

Two consecutive failures

One failed cycle does not end home education. Your child repeats the terminal year or retakes tests in the 2.ª fase. However, the director cancels the home-education authorisation after non-approval for two consecutive years at the end of a cycle of ensino básico, or two consecutive years in the terminal subjects of 11.º ano or at the end of secundário 2. The same happens if the protocol is breached through the family's fault.

The parent is heard first (at least 10 working days). After cancellation the child must attend school from the tenth working day after notification. An appeal to the Minister does not suspend this unless the Minister decides otherwise 2. The law does not define "two consecutive years" further; we read it literally. See If things go wrong.

The 2026 calendar and what to expect next

The 2025/26 calendar put the 1.º ciclo PEF between 6 and 15 July 2026 (1.ª fase) and the 2.º and 3.º ciclo PEF between 17 June and 7 July 66. Despacho n.º 14616-A/2025, de 9 de dezembro (calendar of provas and exames 2025-2026)Diário da República. Many tests fall in a few weeks, so plan rest days around them.

In July 2026 the digital marking of the national secundário exams failed. The Government moved the secundário results to 17 July and the 2.ª fase to 20 to 24 July 88. Exames nacionais: calendário é ajustado para garantir rigor na classificação (3 July 2026)Governo de Portugal, then created an extraordinary exam season on 3, 4, 7 and 8 September 2026 for all pupils eligible for the 2.ª fase, where the best grade counts 77. Despacho Normativo n.º 8-B/2026, de 21 de julho (extraordinary exam season)Diário da República. We have not confirmed whether the ensino básico results dates also moved.

The exam calendar for 2026/27 has not been published yet. The previous one appeared on 9 December 2025, so expect the new one around December 2026. The registration windows above are already fixed 1.

Where to go next

• 4.º ano tests in detail
• 6.º ano tests in detail
• 9.º ano provas finais and PEF
• Secundário exams
• What the curriculum requires