Kindergarten admissions in Slovakia 2027/2028: dates, documents and steps

In recent years, kindergarten admissions in Slovakia for state and municipal kindergartens ran from 1 to 31 May. You apply online through the ePrihlášky portal or in person at the kindergarten. With the application you need a certificate from your paediatrician confirming that your child is fit to attend, including their vaccination record. Five-year-olds get priority, and so do children who turn three by 31 August, at the kindergarten in their own school catchment area. The exact dates for the 2027/2028 school year will be published by the Ministry of Education and by the kindergartens in spring 2027. Private kindergartens often take children all year round when they have a free place. Below you will find the dates, the documents, the process step by step and a calendar for the whole year. The information reflects the situation in October 2026.

In Slovakia, the zápis (admissions) is the once-a-year period when parents apply for a place in a public kindergarten. If you have moved here from abroad, the system can feel unfamiliar, so we explain each step as we go.

Kindergarten admission dates

The law allows applications from 1 April to 31 May. For the 2026/2027 school year, though, the period was 1 to 31 May, just as in previous years. Bratislava’s city districts published it in their notices. For the next year, keep an eye on the Ministry’s announcement and on the website of the kindergarten or city district you choose. Kindergartens publish their admission dates and criteria in advance.

The head teacher decides on admission by a deadline set by the Ministry. The kindergarten then publishes a list of admitted children. The day the list is published counts as the day you received the decision. If more than one kindergarten admits your child, you have three working days to confirm which one you choose. If your child is not admitted, you receive the decision within five working days of it being issued.

Who gets priority

1. Children in compulsory pre-primary education, meaning children who turn 5 by 31 August. In Slovakia, the year before primary school is compulsory.
2. Children with a right to a place. Since the 2025/2026 school year, these are children who turn 3 by 31 August, at the kindergarten in the public school catchment area of their permanent residence.
3. All other children, if places are left, for example two-year-olds or children from another catchment area.

From September 2027, compulsory pre-primary education will extend to 4-year-olds, and from September 2028 to 3-year-olds. This may change the order at the spring 2027 admissions, so do read our article Compulsory pre-primary education: what changes from 2027.

City districts and kindergartens may add their own criteria, such as a sibling already at the same kindergarten. You will find them in the admissions notice on the kindergarten’s website.

Documents you will need

• The application form with your child’s details and the details of both legal guardians.
• A certificate of your child’s fitness to attend from your child’s GP for children and adolescents (in Slovakia, this is your paediatrician). It includes a record of compulsory vaccinations. Book the appointment early, because surgeries get busy before admissions.
• A statement from a counselling centre if your child has special educational needs.

How to apply step by step

Online through ePrihlášky

1. Register on the ePrihlášky portal (eprihlasky.iedu.sk), the Ministry’s online application system. You can register in advance, before admissions open.
2. Fill in the details of your child and the legal guardians.
3. Choose the kindergartens you are applying to.
4. Attach the paediatrician’s certificate and submit the application.
5. Save the confirmation that it was sent.

In person or by post

Many kindergartens also accept a paper application on the Ministry’s form, delivered in person or by post. Check this on the website of the kindergarten you are interested in.

Tips for a smooth application

• Have the details of both legal guardians and your child’s birth details ready.
• Scan or photograph the paediatrician’s certificate so that it is legible, complete and straight.
• Don’t leave the application until the last day. If something goes wrong technically, you will have time to sort it out.
• Check your e-mail and your mailbox on slovensko.sk (the Slovak government portal), because decisions come with short deadlines.

How to choose kindergartens for your application

You can apply to more than one kindergarten. A well-chosen list makes it more likely that your child gets a place somewhere:

• The kindergarten in your school catchment area should always be on the list, because the right to a place for a three-year-old and the procedure for the extended parental allowance are tied to it.
• A kindergarten near your work makes sense if you will take your child on your way to the office.
• Capacity. The head teacher can usually tell you roughly how many children they admit and how many applications they receive.
• Opening hours and summer. You will find these on the kindergarten’s website, so look before admissions.

How to prepare for a visit and which questions are really worth asking is covered in our article How to choose a kindergarten: questions worth asking on a visit.

What to do if your child is not admitted

You can appeal against the decision within 15 days. If your child still has no place after the appeal, the municipality will tell you by 10 July about another kindergarten with a free place. You apply there by 20 July. If you meet the conditions, you can then apply for the extended parental allowance. We describe the whole process in our article No place in a state kindergarten?

A year-round calendar for parents

When you need a place during the year

If you are going back to work in November, February or April, the May admissions won’t help you. Municipal kindergartens can admit children during the year, but only when they have a free place. In Bratislava they are often full. In that case:

• ask the head teachers of nearby kindergartens directly whether a place has come up,
• look at private kindergartens that admit children all year round,
• if your child is under three, find out whether the childcare allowance (príspevok na starostlivosť o dieťa) could help you.

How private and municipal kindergartens differ in cost and day-to-day running is compared in our article Private or state kindergarten?

How to prepare your child between admission and the first day

You handle the paperwork, but you can use the time before the start to help your child look forward to kindergarten too:

• Visit the kindergarten together. Walk past it and look at the playground. Tell your child they will be coming here.
• Play kindergarten. In the morning you “drop them off” as part of the game and come back in the afternoon. Your child gets used to the idea that you always come back.
• Practise doing things alone. Putting on shoes, washing hands, drinking from a cup. If your child is out of nappies, they should be able to say when they need the toilet.
• Get used to the routine. Gradually shift the times of waking, meals and sleep so they match a kindergarten day.
• Talk about kindergarten calmly. Don’t use it as a threat and don’t make it sound better than it is. Say what will happen there and who will pick your child up.

More about the first days is in our article How long does settling in take?

When you are moving or changing your permanent address

The right to a place is tied to the kindergarten in the public school catchment area of your child’s permanent residence. If you are moving shortly before admissions, ask your local municipal office which catchment area your child will belong to and which kindergarten to choose. You can apply to a kindergarten outside your catchment area, but you have no right to a place there.

The most common mistakes

• A late paediatrician’s certificate. Without it the application is incomplete. Book an appointment in April.
• Leaving out the catchment-area kindergarten. Without it you won’t meet the conditions of the procedure if your child is not admitted.
• A missed decision. The deadlines are short, so check your post and your electronic mailbox.
• Waiting for May when you need a place sooner. If you are going back to work during the year, look for a solution straight away.

Applying for a two-year-old

You can apply for a two-year-old at a municipal kindergarten, but your child will only get a place if one is left after the five-year-olds and three-year-olds. In Bratislava that is rare. If you need a kindergarten for a child under three, apply to the municipal kindergarten anyway. At the same time, look for a private kindergarten or a children’s group (detská skupina) that takes two-year-olds. A working parent of a child under three can receive the childcare allowance towards a private setting. What a two-year-old should manage before starting is covered in our article Kindergarten from age 2.

How admissions differ at municipal and private kindergartens

Open days and visits before admissions

Many municipal kindergartens hold an open day in spring. It is often the only chance to look inside before you apply. Kindergartens publish the dates on their own websites or on the city district’s website. If there is no open day, try calling the head teacher and asking whether you could come for a short visit. Private kindergartens usually offer a visit at any time by arrangement. What is worth finding out on a visit is in our article What to ask when you visit a kindergarten.

What to do once your child is admitted

When you receive the decision and the kindergarten asks for it, confirm in good time that you accept the place. Then there are a few more steps:

• Find out the monthly contribution and the meal fee and how to pay. At a municipal kindergarten, the contribution is set by the city district in a generally binding regulation.
• Ask about a meeting for new parents. Many kindergartens hold one in June or at the end of August.
• Agree on settling-in. Talk to the head teacher about whether the first days can be shorter and whether you can stay with your child for a while.
• Get to know the kindergarten’s rules. They apply to every family in the same way and protect your child and the other children. Feel free to ask questions. For a longer conversation, arrange a time with the head teacher so the teacher can stay with the children in the class.
• Get your child’s things ready: indoor shoes, spare clothes, pyjamas, a cup and anything else the kindergarten asks for. Label everything with your child’s name.
• If you have accepted a place elsewhere, let the other kindergartens know. The freed place can then go to the next child in line.

Applying for a child with special educational needs

If your child has a disability, delayed speech or another special need, the application should include a statement from a counselling and prevention centre and a doctor’s recommendation. Arrange these early, because counselling centres are booked up in spring. Before admissions, ask the head teacher what the kindergarten can offer, for example whether a teaching assistant can work in the class. An open conversation in advance helps your child far more than a surprise in September. Based on the recommendations, the head teacher can also agree a gradual start or shorter days at the beginning. If you are not sure whether your child has a special need, talk to your paediatrician first. They will tell you whether to book an appointment at a counselling centre before admissions.

Applying for a child who is not a Slovak citizen

Children of foreign nationals with residence in Slovakia have the right to attend kindergarten on the same terms as Slovak children. You apply in the same way, during the same period and with the same doctor’s certificate. If your child doesn’t speak Slovak yet, write this in the notes on the application and ask the head teacher how the kindergarten helps children whose first language is different. Families from Ukraine will also find up-to-date information on the Ministry of Education’s website.

What to write in the notes on the application

If the application has a notes field, use it for information that helps the head teacher and teachers:

• a sibling who already attends the kindergarten,
• your preferred start date, if it is not September,
• a health condition or allergy the kindergarten needs to know about,
• special educational needs and the contact details of the counselling centre.

How we do it at Sovička

If you need your child to start kindergarten sooner, at Sovička you don’t have to wait for the May admissions. We welcome children aged two to six at any time of year when we have a free place. Admission takes four steps:

1. A visit. You come to see us with your child at a quiet time, when the kindergarten isn’t busy, and we fit the time around you. Your child can look around the classroom and you can ask us anything you like.
2. Online application. You fill it in through the Kinderio app in a few minutes, from home, whenever suits you.
3. Registration fee. After the application you receive an invoice for the €100 registration fee. It is paid once and is not deducted from the monthly fee.
4. Settling-in. For the first few days your child stays for a shorter time, and we make the days longer once we see they are doing well. If it helps your child, you can stay with them at the beginning.

With the application you will also need a paediatrician’s certificate about your child’s health, including their vaccination record. Because we are authorised to provide compulsory pre-primary education, your child can stay with us right up until they start school and doesn’t have to change setting in the pre-school year. You will find the details on our Admissions page, current places on the Vacancies page, and you can book a visit here.