Enrolling children in school

Overview

Spain offers public, semi-private (concertado) and private school options. Public school enrollment is managed regionally, tied to your empadronamiento address, and runs on an annual admissions cycle with a separate late-enrollment process for arrivals mid-year.

Requirements

• Empadronamiento at your current address, which affects your priority zone for public school admission
• Your child's previous school records, ideally translated

Step-by-step process

• Check the admissions calendar for your region — main enrollment usually happens in spring for the following school year
• If arriving outside that window, contact your regional education authority about mid-year admission
• Submit the application with required documents to your preferred schools
• Confirm placement and complete any additional registration once assigned

Required documents

• Empadronamiento certificate
• Child's passport/NIE
• Previous school records (translated, if not in Spanish)
• Vaccination records

Common mistakes

• Missing the regional admissions window and not realising a separate mid-year process exists
• Not registering your address (empadronamiento) before applying, affecting your priority zone

Practical tips

• Contact schools directly, even outside the main admissions window — availability can open up
• Ask about language-support programmes for non-Spanish-speaking children — many regions offer them

How Tuchati can help

Regional admissions rules and calendars vary. Tuchati can confirm your region's specific process and deadlines.