The commissioner, Anne Longfield, wants the register to be introduced "without delay", after she found high numbers with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) were among those who are electively home educated, and their parents struggling to cope with delivering their education.
Up to 60,000 children are known to have been home educated in England last year, according to Longfield's report Skipping School: Invisible Children - How Children Disappear from England's Schools. The report suggests that illegal pupil "off-rolling" is behind the surge.
Off-rolling refers to the practice used by some schools who seek to remove challenging or poorly performing students from the roll through tactics such as encouraging parents to take up home schooling.
The report states: "Parents who are home educating their children should be required to register their children with the local authority.
"In a survey of local authorities in Autumn 2018, all 92 respondents agreed that a mandatory register would aid them in their work."
It adds that the register should include the address at which they are being educated and parents should be asked why they are home educating their child.
Ofsted has previously suggested there are 300 schools where this could be an issue, but the watchdog's chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, said only two had been identified following inspections.
Longfield has also raised concerns that children had been withdrawn to attend illegal schools, where education and welfare standards are unchecked.
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