National aggregator · 2025–26
Kindergarten cutoff dates by state — 2025–26 school year.
The single sortable table you can cite or embed. Children must turn 5 by their state's cutoff to start kindergarten that fall — most states use September 1, but several use earlier or later dates, and six leave it entirely to local districts.
All 50 states + DC, sortable
| State | Abbr. | Cutoff date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | AL | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Alabama State Dept. of Education |
| Alaska | AK | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Alaska Dept. of Education and Early Development |
| Arizona | AZ | August 31 | Children must turn 5 on or before August 31. | Arizona Dept. of Education |
| Arkansas | AR | August 1 | Children must turn 5 by August 1. | Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education |
| California | CA | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | California Department of Education |
| Colorado | CO | varies | Cutoff is set by individual school districts. Most use August or September. | Colorado Dept. of Education |
| Connecticut | CT | January 1 | Children must turn 5 by January 1 of the school year (Jan 1 falls mid-year). | Connecticut State Dept. of Education |
| Delaware | DE | August 31 | Children must turn 5 by August 31. | Delaware Dept. of Education |
| District of Columbia | DC | September 30 | Children must turn 5 by September 30. | DC Public Schools |
| Florida | FL | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Florida DOE |
| Georgia | GA | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Georgia Dept. of Education |
| Hawaii | HI | July 31 | Children must turn 5 by July 31. | Hawaii Dept. of Education |
| Idaho | ID | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Idaho State Dept. of Education |
| Illinois | IL | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Illinois State Board of Education |
| Indiana | IN | August 1 | Children must turn 5 by August 1. | Indiana Dept. of Education |
| Iowa | IA | September 15 | Children must turn 5 by September 15. | Iowa Dept. of Education |
| Kansas | KS | August 31 | Children must turn 5 by August 31. | Kansas State Dept. of Education |
| Kentucky | KY | August 1 | Children must turn 5 by August 1 (some districts use earlier dates). | Kentucky Dept. of Education |
| Louisiana | LA | September 30 | Children must turn 5 by September 30. | Louisiana Dept. of Education |
| Maine | ME | October 15 | Children must turn 5 by October 15. | Maine Dept. of Education |
| Maryland | MD | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Maryland State Dept. of Education |
| Massachusetts | MA | varies | Cutoff is set by individual school districts (LEA decision). | Massachusetts DESE |
| Michigan | MI | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Michigan Dept. of Education |
| Minnesota | MN | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Minnesota Dept. of Education |
| Mississippi | MS | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Mississippi Dept. of Education |
| Missouri | MO | August 1 | Children must turn 5 by August 1. | Missouri DESE |
| Montana | MT | September 10 | Children must turn 5 by September 10. | Montana Office of Public Instruction |
| Nebraska | NE | September 30 | Children must turn 5 by September 30. | Nebraska Dept. of Education |
| Nevada | NV | September 30 | Children must turn 5 by September 30. | Nevada Dept. of Education |
| New Hampshire | NH | varies | New Hampshire defers kindergarten age requirements to local school districts. | NH Dept. of Education |
| New Jersey | NJ | varies | New Jersey defers kindergarten age requirements to local school districts (most use October 1). | NJ Dept. of Education |
| New Mexico | NM | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | New Mexico Public Education Dept. |
| New York | NY | December 1 | December 1 statewide minimum; districts may set earlier dates. | NYSED |
| North Carolina | NC | August 31 | Children must turn 5 by August 31. | NC Dept. of Public Instruction |
| North Dakota | ND | July 31 | Children must turn 5 by July 31. | ND Dept. of Public Instruction |
| Ohio | OH | August 1 | Children must turn 5 by August 1. | Ohio Department of Education |
| Oklahoma | OK | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Oklahoma State Dept. of Education |
| Oregon | OR | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Oregon Dept. of Education |
| Pennsylvania | PA | varies | Pennsylvania defers kindergarten age requirements to local school districts (most use September 1). | PA Dept. of Education |
| Rhode Island | RI | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | RI Dept. of Education |
| South Carolina | SC | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | SC Dept. of Education |
| South Dakota | SD | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | SD Dept. of Education |
| Tennessee | TN | August 15 | Children must turn 5 by August 15. | TN Dept. of Education |
| Texas | TX | September 1 | Children must be 5 on or before September 1. | Texas Education Agency |
| Utah | UT | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | Utah State Board of Education |
| Vermont | VT | varies | Vermont defers kindergarten age requirements to local school districts. | Vermont Agency of Education |
| Virginia | VA | September 30 | Children must turn 5 by September 30. | Virginia Dept. of Education |
| Washington | WA | August 31 | Children must turn 5 by August 31. | OSPI (Washington) |
| West Virginia | WV | August 31 | Children must turn 5 by August 31. | WV Dept. of Education |
| Wisconsin | WI | September 1 | Children must turn 5 by September 1. | WI Dept. of Public Instruction |
| Wyoming | WY | September 15 | Children must turn 5 by September 15. | Wyoming Dept. of Education |
Methodology + sources
Cutoffs are compiled from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) 50-state comparison and verified against each state's Department of Education. Data is reviewed each spring before the back-to-school cycle.
Per-state Departments of Education (linked from each row).