This paper examines the emergence of compulsory adult literacy in the Iranian Reza Shah period (1925-1941). Throughout the 1930s, the Ministry of Education (vizārat-i maʿārif) tapped into an existing school infrastructure to form adult literacy classes in the evenings. Under Iranian law, rank-and-file employees of the state, aged 18 to 50, were obligated to become literate or lose their jobs. Moreover, the state compelled local businesses, such as bakers, butchers, and barbers, to attend classes or risk their municipal permits. Adults needed a literacy certificate when receiving state services, with the exception of the courts of law. The state used a combination of coercion and encouragement to incentivize class attendance. Encouragement included state-organized sermons and lectures across the country on the benefits of functional literacy and knowledge more generally. Moreover, Iranian cinemas showed infomercials on the benefits of adult literacy during their movie screenings. Ministry of Education inspections and statistical reports reported favorably on state efforts. There were notable increases in the number of adult literates by the late 1930s. This historical narrative is based on previously unexamined Persian-language material from the Document Center (sāzmān-i asnād) of Iran’s National Archives. Moreover, the historical and descriptive material is grounded in a conceptual, cross-disciplinary discussion on the relationship between mass education and state formation. In drawing adults towards functional literacy, the paper posits, the Reza Shah state taught adults how to read and write at a functional level, while reminding them of its own authority to punish, reward, and rule the population. This paper is a chapter from a book monograph in preparation on relationship between statemaking, nationalism, and mass literacy in twentieth-century Iran in the context of modern world history.