No place in a state kindergarten? What you are entitled to and what to do

If your child was not admitted to a municipal kindergarten in your school district because there was no room, appeal within 15 days. If no place is found, the municipality will tell you by 10 July at the latest about another kindergarten with free capacity. You submit a new application there by 20 July. If your child is not admitted there either, you can apply at the Labour Office for the extended parental allowance. From 1 January 2026 it is €364.80 a month, or €500.10 a month if you previously received maternity benefit. In the meantime your child can attend a private kindergarten. Below you will find the whole procedure step by step, with a timeline, a list of documents, a sample appeal and the most common mistakes. The information reflects the situation as of October 2026. The rules change, so check them with the Labour Office, Social Affairs and Family before you apply.

A note for families from abroad: the Labour Office, Social Affairs and Family (Úrad práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny, ÚPSVaR) is the state office that pays family allowances in Slovakia. The right to a kindergarten place is tied to your child’s permanent residence (trvalý pobyt), and whether you can receive the parental allowance depends on your residence and insurance status in Slovakia. If you are not sure how this applies to your family, ask the Labour Office before you rely on the allowance.

Who has a right to a kindergarten place

From the 2025/2026 school year, children who turn 3 by 31 August have a right to be admitted to kindergarten. For the 2026/2027 school year that meant children who turned 3 by 31 August 2026. The right applies at a kindergarten in the public school district according to your child’s permanent residence, in other words the kindergarten that used to be called the catchment kindergarten (spádová škôlka). Which kindergartens belong to your district is decided by the municipality or city district. You will find the list on its website or at the local district office.

In admissions, priority goes to children for whom pre-primary education is compulsory, that is five-year-olds. After them come children with a right to a place. The kindergarten admits younger children only if a place remains free after these children. If your child is under 3, they do not have a right to a place yet and the procedure in this article does not apply.

The procedure step by step

1. Application in May. You submit the application to the head of the kindergarten in your school district between 1 and 31 May. In recent years it was submitted online through the ePrihlášky portal or in person. The exact dates for the following year are published by the Ministry of Education and the kindergartens.
2. Decision not to admit. If the kindergarten has no capacity, the head issues a decision not to admit your child and gives the reason. Keep it, because you will need it when you apply at the Labour Office.
3. Appeal within 15 days. You can appeal against the decision within 15 days of receiving it. You submit the appeal at the kindergarten. If the head does not change the decision, the appeal is decided by the founder, that is the municipality or city district.
4. The municipality’s notice by 10 July. If no place is found in the founder’s other kindergartens either, the municipality will tell you by 10 July at the latest about a kindergarten with free capacity. It should be the kindergarten closest to where you live or the one easiest to reach by public transport.
5. A new application by 20 July. You submit a new application to the kindergarten named by the municipality by 20 July at the latest. The May application does not carry over to it. Without a new application you may lose your entitlement to the allowance.
6. Application at the Labour Office. If your child is not admitted there either, you apply for the extended parental allowance at the Labour Office for your place of permanent residence.

A timeline with an example

This is how the procedure might look for a child who turns three in June:

The exact dates for decisions are set each year by the Ministry of Education, so check them for the year in question.

Extended parental allowance: amount and payment

The allowance is paid for the school year, from 1 September to 31 August. You can apply at any time during the school year. However, it is paid retroactively for a maximum of six months, so do not put off applying until spring.

The amount is the same as the standard parental allowance (rodičovský príspevok). From 1 January 2026 it is €364.80 a month, or €500.10 a month if you received maternity benefit before the parental allowance.

Documents to prepare

• the decision not to admit from the kindergarten in your school district,
• proof that you submitted an appeal,
• the municipality’s notice naming a kindergarten with free capacity, or stating that there is no free place,
• proof that you applied to the named kindergarten, and its decision,
• a completed application for the parental allowance on the Labour Office form.

When you are not entitled, or lose entitlement

• You do not appeal and do not apply by 20 July to the kindergarten named by the municipality.
• You already receive the parental allowance for another child under three.
• Your child starts at another kindergarten run by a municipality or the city. Entitlement then ends, and you must report the change to the Labour Office within eight calendar days.

Can my child attend a private kindergarten in the meantime?

Yes. According to the Ministry of Labour, once the conditions are met you are entitled to the parental allowance even if you work and your child attends a private kindergarten. The parent’s income is not a deciding factor. The Labour Office lists starting at another municipal or city kindergarten as a reason for entitlement ending. It does not list a private kindergarten among these reasons. Before you decide, confirm this with your Labour Office to be sure.

For many families this is the most practical solution: you go back to work, your child attends a private kindergarten and the allowance helps cover part of the monthly fee.

How to write an appeal

The appeal does not have to be long or written in legal language. In it, state:

• your name, address and your child’s name and date of birth,
• the number and date of the decision you are appealing against,
• that you disagree with the decision not to admit and request that your child be admitted,
• a short reason, for example that your child has permanent residence in the school district of this kindergarten and a right to be admitted,
• the date and your signature.

The appeal must be in Slovak. A sample sentence could read: “Odvolávam sa proti rozhodnutiu o neprijatí č. … zo dňa … a žiadam o prijatie môjho dieťaťa …, nar. …, ktoré má trvalý pobyt vo verejnom školskom obvode vašej materskej školy a dovŕši 3 roky do 31. augusta.” In English this means: “I appeal against decision not to admit no. … of … and request the admission of my child …, born …, who has permanent residence in the public school district of your kindergarten and turns 3 by 31 August.” Submit the appeal at the kindergarten that issued the decision and ask for written confirmation that it was received, or send it by registered post. The 15-day deadline runs from the day you receive the decision.

Extended parental allowance or childcare allowance?

Parents are often confused by two allowances with similar names. The table shows the difference:

If you receive the childcare allowance, you cannot get the parental allowance alongside it. If your child has just turned 3, check with the Labour Office which allowance applies to you and from when.

Other kinds of support

• City district contributions. Some Bratislava city districts contribute to families whose child attends a private kindergarten because they did not get a place in a municipal one. Ask at your local district office (miestny úrad).
• A place during the year. In municipal kindergartens a place sometimes comes up during the year, for example when a family moves away. Ring the head teacher and ask whether she can put your name down.

The most common mistakes

• Applying only to a kindergarten far away. The right is tied to the kindergarten in your school district according to your permanent residence. If you apply only elsewhere, you will not meet the conditions for the allowance.
• Missing the appeal deadline. The deadline is short. Read the decision as soon as it arrives and submit the appeal the same week.
• Not applying to the alternative kindergarten. Even if the kindergarten named by the municipality does not suit you, apply there. Without that application you may lose your entitlement.
• Applying for the allowance late. The allowance is paid retroactively for a maximum of six months.
• Not reporting a change. If your child starts at another municipal kindergarten, tell the Labour Office within eight days, otherwise you will have to pay the allowance back.

When you need a solution now

The whole procedure, from the May application to the decision on the allowance, takes several months. Many families who need to go back to work sooner therefore choose a temporary solution: their child starts at a private kindergarten or a children’s group, and in the meantime the parent sorts out the municipal kindergarten and the allowance. When deciding, work out how much a private kindergarten will cost you after deducting allowances. How much does a private kindergarten cost in Bratislava will help. Ask the kindergarten from when your child can start. Also find out the notice period in case a place comes up in a municipal kindergarten later.

What to do while you wait for the decision

Two months pass between the May admissions round and the municipality’s notice in July. If you need to start work in September, do not sit and wait until summer:

• Look at private kindergartens nearby in May. Demand for free places is highest in summer.
• Book a visit and ask how long they will hold a place for you and what they need from you.
• Prepare the documents for the Labour Office: the decision not to admit, any appeal and the municipality’s notice.
• Work out your budget. The extended parental allowance is €364.80 or €500.10 a month, depending on whether you received maternity benefit before the parental allowance. Find out how much of the monthly fee it covers.
• Plan settling in. If your child starts in August, the first weeks at kindergarten will be calmer than in the September rush.

How to decide: at home or at a private kindergarten

According to the Ministry of Labour, while you receive the extended parental allowance your child can stay at home with you or attend a private kindergarten. So the decision depends on what your family needs. If you are going back to work, a private kindergarten solves childcare and the allowance covers part of the monthly fee. If you are at home, consider at least half-day attendance. Your child gets used to a group and to rules, so starting at a municipal kindergarten, or later at school, will be easier. Whatever you decide, apply to a municipal kindergarten for the next school year as well. Your child keeps the right to be admitted and may get a place later.

Situations parents ask about most

Your child turns 3 after 31 August

Such a child does not have a right to be admitted in the coming school year. They will be admitted only if a place remains free. The right to be admitted, and with it the option of following this article, arises only in the following school year.

You also have a younger child under 3 at home

If you already receive the parental allowance for a younger child, you are not entitled to the extended parental allowance for the older one. The parental allowance is paid only once, even if you have more children. Check with the Labour Office which option is better for your family.

You are working

Working does not cancel your entitlement. According to the Ministry of Labour, the parent’s income is not a deciding factor for the extended parental allowance. You are entitled even if you work and your child attends a private kindergarten.

The municipality has not been in touch by 10 July

Check your electronic mailbox on slovensko.sk and your post. If you cannot find the notice, ring the school office of your city district and ask for it in writing. Without it you will have problems with your application for the allowance.

A place comes up during the year

If a municipal kindergarten offers you a place during the year and your child starts there, your entitlement to the extended parental allowance ends. Report the change to the Labour Office within eight days. Before you accept the offer, work out which option is better for your family.

How we do it at Sovička

If your child did not get a place in a municipal kindergarten, you do not have to wait for September or the next May admissions round. Your child can start at Sovička at any time of the year if we have a free place, between the ages of two and six. First, come and have a look with your child. Then you fill in the online application in the Kinderio app and receive an invoice for the €100 registration fee. In the first days your child will stay at kindergarten for a shorter time so they can get used to it without stress, and we extend it once we see they are doing well.

If you are waiting for a municipal kindergarten’s decision or the outcome of an appeal, your child can attend Sovička in the meantime and you can go back to work. This does not get in the way of the municipal kindergarten procedure or the allowance. You will find the current admissions status in Kramáre, Ružinov and Vrakuňa on the Vacancies page, the fees on the Prices page and how admissions work on the Admissions page. You can book a visit here.