The rule in one paragraph
For APS cohorts 2025 and beyond, 75 hours of community service, or half a Carnegie unit, is a graduation requirement. Students who enroll in APS after their freshman year should sit down with their school counselor to make a plan for the hours.
What counts and what does not
- Counts: school and district activities such as PTA-coordinated events, school beautification, planning food, clothing or blood drives, after-school peer tutoring, Special Olympics and Best Buddies.
- Counts: service outside school with a nonprofit that has held IRS 501(c)(3) status and been operating for at least a year.
- Counts: student leader roles such as Student Ambassadors, JROTC or Peer Leaders, only when the Office of Student Services approves them.
- Does not count: buying or donating items for a drive.
- Does not count: testing, screeners and general surveys.
- Does not count: work at hotels or motels, or for for-profit small businesses.
- Does not count: groups without nonprofit status, paid work, and service during class time.
How to record your hours
APS records hours in Tiersphere, and from 2025-26 paper submissions are no longer accepted. You cannot upload hours yourself: the sponsor or event organizer approves them, ideally within 30 days. Since August 1, 2025, events have to be registered in Tiersphere, and school activities posted before the event.
Serving with an organization that is not in Tiersphere? Bring the paperwork to school staff, who verify and upload the hours: the organization's EIN letter, a letter on its letterhead describing your service, and its contact information.
A simple pace
APS suggests 20 hours a year for three years and 15 in senior year: 20, 20, 20, 15. That is about half an hour a week during the school year, and it keeps senior spring free.
Keep your own record, free
Your school's system is the official record; keep your own copy too, with the date, the hours and who supervised you. Print the free volunteer hours log, work out your weekly pace with the volunteer hours calculator, or track it in My Award Tracker: pick the Atlanta Public Schools graduation requirement goal and see the hours left and the pace you need as you log.
Other states and districts: see community service hours to graduate, every state.
Frequently asked questions
How many community service hours do Atlanta Public Schools students need?
Students in APS cohorts 2025 and later need 75 hours of community service, or half a Carnegie unit, to graduate.
What counts as community service for APS?
Approved school and district activities, and service with a nonprofit that has held IRS 501(c)(3) status and been operating for at least a year. Donating or buying items for drives, testing, surveys, hotel or for-profit business work and groups without nonprofit status do not count.
How do I submit my hours?
Through Tiersphere. Your sponsor or event organizer approves the hours, ideally within 30 days; paper submissions are no longer accepted from 2025-26. For organizations not in Tiersphere, school staff verify your documents and upload the hours.
How many hours should I do each year?
APS suggests 20 hours in each of your first three years and 15 in senior year.
I transferred into APS after 9th grade. What now?
Talk with your school counselor about a plan for the requirement.