28 Best Excuses for Getting Out of School

You’re going on a family vacation. It’s not uncommon for families to take vacations outside the usual spring breaks and winter breaks, especially if you’re going somewhere farther away. This’ll be an excuse you can prepare ahead of time, letting your teacher know the days you’ll be gone. Don’t get overzealous with this one—unless you’re actually going on a vacation, there’s a chance you’ll get noticed if you decide to take five days off school for a fake vacation. This one’s best for a long weekend for the best chance at success.^[11]

• “My family is going to the lake up north for the weekend. We’ll be driving all day Monday, so I won’t be in class.”
• “Hi Ms. Garcia, I’m just letting you know I’m not going to be here on November 1st or November 2nd—my parents and I are visiting family.”
• “Our flight back from Paris was delayed, so I’m going to miss a day of school while they rebook it.”

You left something at home. Whether it’s your keys or important medicine or your entire backpack, leaving something crucial at home will likely be a great excuse. What exactly it is and how far you live from home can factor into how successful this excuse is, so think about what will buy you the most time before explaining.^[12]

• “Sorry Mr. Hawthorne! I left my medicine at home and had to go back and get it.”
• “I left my homework sitting on the counter.”
• “I nearly locked myself out of the house leaving my keys, so I had to rush back before Mom left for work.”

You had a death in the family. Funerals are a common excuse because people, especially acquaintances, aren’t inclined to grill you with questions. They’ll give condolences and, in most cases, happily give you the time off to grieve. Give a specific date for this one, and remember that it isn’t one you can use often. After the third death of a grandmother, teachers will start to get suspicious, and it can saddle you with more trouble than just detention.

• “My grandmother passed away last night. We’re having a funeral on April 10th.”
• “Mr. Blanchet, I’m not being in class on April 10th. I have to go to a funeral.”

You have a dentist appointment. Medical appointments are among the most used excuses, but the dentist is a good go-to since it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. You’re supposed to get a cleaning every few months, so it’s easier to explain without elaboration.

• "I've had a toothache for the past couple days and needed to go to the dentist for it."
• "My cleaning was scheduled in the middle of class. If I didn't go I would have had to wait another month."
• "My appointment changed suddenly so I had to rush over there."

You were performing an act of kindness. Whether it’s helping an old woman cross the street, guiding a lost dog back to its owner, or helping free a child’s balloon from a tree, acts of altruism likely won’t lead to an argument. Even if your teacher doesn’t entirely believe you, they may waive it aside for the kindness of the task.^[13]

• “I spent most of the day trying to find this lost dog’s owner. He looked so sad!”
• “This kid was sobbing over a toy they got stuck in some pipes. I had to help her!”
• “I had to run to the store before class and ended up helping this old woman with her shopping.”

Your car wasn’t working. Naturally, this excuse only works if you don’t take the bus to school and instead drive yourself or are driven by your parents. However, if it applies, it’s a great, neutral excuse for truancy, since your teacher can understand the frustration, even if there may have been a way to resolve the issue.^[14]

• “Ugh, I’m so sorry, my car just wouldn’t start yesterday.”
• “My dad was trying to fix the car all day but couldn’t get it ready in time.”
• “We got halfway down the road before smoke started coming out of the hood of the car. We had to stop in case it exploded!”

You were helping your parents with something. Since you’re likely still adhering to what your parents tell you, pushing off the reasoning on them can be a good fallback. Say you had to stay behind to help with something around the house, or you were otherwise directed to miss school for a project related to them. This comes with the risk of them contacting your parents, but with enough finesse, you can get away with it once or twice.^[15]

• “Our basement flooded yesterday and my mom needed help sucking up all the water.”
• “The backyard was a disaster after the storm the other night, so dad had me stay home to help clean up all the branches.”
• “We’re having this big family get-together this weekend and mom had me stay home to help with some cooking.”

Bad weather stopped you from coming in. This won’t be an excuse you can use whenever you want—bad weather has to have actually happened. Tell your teacher the recent storm hit your area particularly hard and you were able to get to class at all or on time.

• “A big tree fell over in our driveway—we’re lucky it didn’t hit the house!”
• “That blizzard made the roads a death sentence. Mom had me stay home because she was worried.”
• “The river up north got flooded and made it impossible to get here safely.”

You have a sick pet you need to care for. If you can’t get away with saying you’re sick, your pet certainly won’t need a doctor’s note. This is an especially potent excuse if your parents normally work while you’re at school—you can say there’s no one else that could watch them.^[16]

• “Sorry Ms. Silva, my dog had an ear infection and I had to watch him to make sure he was okay.
• “My parents work all day so I had to bring my dog to the vet on my own.”
• “My cat recently ate something bad for her—I had to watch her until the medicine kicked in.”

You were babysitting a younger sibling. A good excuse if you have them, childcare can be fickle for working parents, and you, the older sibling, may be the last resort for your parents. Tell your teacher your younger sibling, cousin, or other relative needed someone to watch them.^[17]

• “Sorry, the sitter we usually have fell through and I had to watch my little brother.”
• “My mom usually watches my little sister but she had to go on a trip, so I stayed home to watch her.”

You have a job interview. This may not work for younger readers, but for those who are just starting to work after-school jobs, this can be a great excuse. You can push off the interview being at an inconvenient time on the hours of the place you’d be interviewing at or simply the schedule of your potential, future boss. If you are too young to be looking for jobs, say it was an orientation for an afterschool club.^[18]

• “I’m working on getting a job and had this interview yesterday I couldn’t reschedule.”
• ”They rescheduled the knitting club meeting at the library to earlier in the day, so I had to miss class!”

You forgot to eat. This excuse may sound a little silly, but it’s actually a very common problem, especially for breakfast. This likely won’t get you out the whole day, but you could potentially get a free couple hours to ensure you’re well-fed—and prevent the whole class from experiencing you when you’re hungry.^[19]

• “Sorry I’m late—we didn’t have anything to eat at home so I needed to stop somewhere.”
• “I’ve been trying to make myself breakfast every morning and I’m still working on the timing.”

You had a wardrobe malfunction. You certainly can’t come to school dressed poorly, especially if your school has a strict dress code. An easy excuse could be that your uniform (if applicable) was stained or torn and had to be quickly cleaned or replaced. If you don’t necessarily have uniforms, you could simply say something unsightly happened to your outfit on the way to school and you had to go back home and change.^[20]

• “I would have been here early, but then I spilled my coffee all over my shirt.”
• “My dog tore up my uniform pants so Mom had to take me to the store to get more.”
• “The clothes I was going to wear didn’t dry properly this morning, so I had to wait.”