hello expatGuideBlog
Create my account
The guide · Czechia

School

Enrolling your children, international schools, childcare.

Checked on 23 October 2026

How to enrol your child in school in Czechia: compulsory schooling, registration (zápis), free Czech lessons and international schools

In Czechia, school is compulsory for 9 years, generally from 6 to 15 years old, for any child who is a citizen of the EU and stays there for more than 90 days. Registration for Year 1 (zápis) takes place once a year, from 15 January to 15 February of the year of entry (for the 2027 school year: from 15 January to 15 February 2027), at the school for your catchment area. Does your child arrive without speaking Czech? They are entitled to 100 to 400 hours of free Czech lessons during their first 24 months of schooling in Czechia.

Costs
State school (základní škola): free. Czech language preparation (jazyková příprava): free, 100 to 400 hours. International schools: fee-paying, each school sets its own fees.
Timeframes
Registration for Year 1: from 15 January to 15 February of the year of entry (for the 2027 school year: from 15 January to 15 February 2027, Ministry leaflet of October 2026). Czech lessons: no later than 30 days after the request.

Steps

  1. Check the obligation. It applies to children who are Czech citizens and citizens of other EU countries who stay in Czechia for more than 90 days, and to other foreigners authorised to stay there for more than 90 days. It lasts 9 school years, until the end of the school year in which the child turns 17 at the latest. It starts at the beginning of the school year following their 6th birthday.
  2. Find the school for your catchment area (spádová škola) at your town hall: each municipality divides its territory into school catchment areas. Children from the catchment area have priority; for foreigners, what counts is the place of stay (instead of the permanent address).
  3. Entering Year 1: register your child at the zápis (registration) between 15 January and 15 February of the year in which they start school (for the 2027 school year: from 15 January to 15 February 2027). Each head teacher sets the precise days and publishes them, including online. You can choose the school for your catchment area or another one, and apply to several schools. You can submit the application in person, by post, by email with an electronic signature or via datová schránka; your presence and the child's are not compulsory. A single parent can sign.
  4. Arriving during the school year or at an older age: contact the catchment-area school directly. A foreign child is placed in the class for their age; if necessary, they can be placed one class below depending on their level.
  5. Request the language preparation (jazyková příprava). Within the week following admission, the head teacher must inform you of this right. You make a written request to a určená škola (school designated by the region), stating in-person or remote; the school must start no later than 30 days after your request. The list of designated schools is published by the krajský úřad (regional office).
  6. Ask for the help of an adaptation coordinator or an interpreter. The National Pedagogical Institute (NPI ČR) offers schools free adaptační koordinátoři (adaptation coordinators) and interpreters.
  7. Or choose a foreign or international school authorised by the Ministry (see below).

Documents

  • The admission application (žádost o přijetí): the child's name and date of birth, address, target school, and where they attended the compulsory nursery school (or a statement that they were not subject to it).
  • Your ID document, to be shown on request.
  • Proof of address and, if the school asks for it, the child's residence certificate: the list of documents varies from one school to another, ask the school.
  • For a child already in school: their foreign school reports and school documents (translation useful).
  • For a request to defer school entry (odklad): opinion of a školské poradenské zařízení (school counselling centre) and of a doctor or psychologist, depending on the date of birth.

Costs and timelines

  • State school: free. You still pay for the canteen, some supplies and outings (amounts set by each school).
  • Language preparation: free, 100 to 400 hours depending on the child's level, over 20 months of lessons at most, during school time (the child is exempted from the lessons that overlap), in groups of 2 to 8 pupils at the 1st stage, 2 to 10 at the 2nd stage, 2 to 5 remotely.
  • Admission decision: without delay, no later than 30 days after the application. Appeal possible within 15 days to the krajský úřad, via the head teacher.
  • Fine: failing to register your child at the zápis is an offence, punishable by a fine of up to CZK 5,000.
  • 2026-2027 calendar:
    • start of the school year: Tuesday 1 September 2026;
    • autumn holidays: Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October 2026;
    • Christmas holidays: from Wednesday 23 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027;
    • 1st-term report: Thursday 28 January 2027, then a day off on Friday 29 January;
    • spring holidays (jarní prázdniny): one week between 1 February and 14 March 2027 depending on the district (for example Prague 1 to 5: from 22 to 28 February 2027; Prague 6 to 10: from 1 to 7 March 2027; Brno city: from 22 to 28 February 2027);
    • Easter holidays: Thursday 25 March 2027;
    • end of classes: Wednesday 30 June 2027; summer holidays from 1 July to 31 August 2027.

Common pitfalls

  • Missing the zápis. It only takes place once a year and the period has changed: since the September 2025 reform, it runs from 15 January to 15 February (and no longer in April). For the 2027 zápis (from 15 January to 15 February 2027, Ministry leaflet of October 2026), the amended decree 48/2005 (in force since 01/09/2026) provides that the school publishes online, before the zápis, its criteria, the number of places and the submission deadline, and that the informal part (meeting with the child, 30 minutes at most) only takes place with your consent. The Ministry is preparing a new accompanying text: check it in early 2027.
  • Counting on a place outside your catchment area. The school may refuse children from outside the catchment area, or even not accept them at all if its criteria provide for it. If your child is not accepted at the school for your catchment area, the Ministry advises you to contact your municipality, which must ensure them a place.
  • Waiting for the Czech lessons. The right runs during the first 24 months of schooling in Czechia; ask for them straight away.
  • Believing that language preparation is automatic at primary school. You have to request it in writing (it is automatic only in nursery school).
  • Thinking that an international school exempts you from the obligation. Only the foreign schools on the Ministry's list allow you to fulfil compulsory schooling in Czechia.

What changes by country of origin

  • Authorised foreign schools (Ministry list, October 2026): among others the Lycée français de Prague (Agency for French Education Abroad, Prague 5), the Deutsche Schule Prag, the International School of Prague, the Prague British International School, Riverside School, Park Lane International School, the Brno International School, The Ostrava International School, the American Academy in Prague and in Brno, the Bulgarian school Dr. Petar Beron and the Japanese school of Prague. Registration and fees directly with each school.
  • EU citizens: compulsory schooling from 90 days of stay, with no other residence permit condition.
  • United Kingdom (including Scotland), Switzerland and EEA: the obligation applies to foreigners authorised to stay for more than 90 days; same access to state school and Czech lessons.
  • Slovakia: same regime as other EU citizens; the similar language makes integration easier, but language preparation remains available if the child needs it.
Official sources (7) ›
  • e-Sbírka, zákon č. 561/2004 Sb., školský zákon, § 36 (9 compulsory years, 90 days of stay, age of entry) and § 20
  • MŠMT (Ministry of Education), "Zápis k povinné školní docházce" and document "Informace k organizaci zápisů k povinné školní docházce v roce 2026"
  • MŠMT, "Organizace školního roku 2026/2027"
  • MŠMT, "Vzdělávání dětí a žáků cizinců" and "Metodický materiál MŠMT k poskytování bezplatné jazykové přípravy" (updated 2025/2026)
  • MŠMT, "Zahraniční školy v České republice" (list of foreign schools authorised for compulsory schooling)
  • e-Sbírka, vyhláška č. 48/2005 Sb., o základním vzdělávání, § 3a (organisation of the zápis: informal part with the parent's consent, online publication of the criteria), version in force on 01/09/2026
  • MŠMT, leaflet "Zápis do základní školy : informace pro zákonné zástupce k zápisu do 1. ročníku základních škol v roce 2027" (window from 15 January to 15 February 2027, submission, choice of school)
Moovy

Moovy, our AI assistant

A question about your situation?

Find out what applies to you in Czechia, at any hour: Moovy prepares your file step by step and tells you where to check.

Create my free accountFounders offer on every paid plan, for your first subscription.
Checked on 23 October 2026

Nursery school (mateřská škola) and toddler care in Czechia: from what age, how to register, how much does it cost?

In Czechia, the mateřská škola (nursery school) takes children from about 2 to 6 years old; it becomes compulsory and free (in the state sector) from the start of the school year following the child's 5th birthday. Registrations for the following school year take place between 15 March and 15 April, and children aged 3 and over who live in the catchment area have priority. Before age 3, there is no right to a place: also consider the dětská skupina (children's group), possible from 6 months.

Costs
State nursery school: free from the start of the school year following the child's 5th birthday; before that, fees set by the municipality (since 01/01/2024) plus the canteen. Dětská skupina: free or fee-paying depending on the provider.
Timeframes
Nursery school registration for the following school year: between 15 March and 15 April. Admission during the year possible if there is room.

Steps

  1. Find the nursery school for your catchment area (spádová mateřská škola) at your town hall. You can also apply to another nursery school: it will accept you if it has room.
  2. Register your child at the zápis (registration) between 15 March and 15 April, on the dates and at the place set by each head teacher. The head teacher decides on admission according to criteria published in advance; they may provide for a trial period of 3 months at most.
  3. Understand the priorities. The municipal nursery school must first accept children who will be at least 3 at the start of the school year and whose place of stay (for foreigners) is in the catchment area. If it has no room, the municipality must find one elsewhere. Before age 3, admission depends on room and on the school's conditions.
  4. Last year before school: nursery school is compulsory. It applies to children who are EU citizens and stay in Czechia for more than 90 days (and to other foreigners authorised to stay for more than 90 days), at least 4 hours a day, starting between 7:00 and 9:00. Parents can choose individuální vzdělávání (home education, checked by the school) instead. If your child lives abroad for more than 90 days during the year, a simple written statement to the catchment-area nursery school is enough.
  5. Czech lessons: as soon as a nursery school has at least 4 foreign children (or Czech children with another mother tongue) in the compulsory year, it opens a Czech preparation group of 1 hour per week. Your child is enrolled automatically; with 1 to 3 children concerned, the school provides individual support.
  6. Before age 3 or if there is no room, look at the dětská skupina. It is a non-profit childcare service, from 6 months until school entry, in groups of 24 children at most (4 in a sousedská dětská skupina, a neighbourhood group). If the provider receives state operating support (the usual case), a parent (or their spouse or partner living with them) must prove one of these situations: employment or public service, full-time study, registration as a jobseeker, payment of social contributions, self-employed pension advance payments made, or care of a dependent relative (degree II to IV) (Act 247/2014, § 11).
  7. The jesle (crèches) also exist, often private or municipal; conditions and fees to be checked with each facility (not verified against an official source).

Documents

  • The nursery school admission application (the school's form).
  • Your ID document and proof of the child's place of stay.
  • The vaccination record or paediatrician's certificate: a nursery school or dětská skupina may only admit a child who has received the compulsory vaccinations, who is immune or who has a contraindication; this rule does not apply to the last compulsory year of nursery school (Public Health Act 258/2000, § 50).
  • For a dětská skupina: the contract with the provider and proof of your situation (employment contract, statement on honour of a self-employed person who pays their pension advance payments, etc.).

Costs and timelines

  • State nursery school: free from the start of the school year following the 5th birthday (and during a deferral of school entry). Before that, a monthly contribution set by the municipality (rule in force since 01/01/2024), capped at 8% of the monthly minimum wage in force at the time it is set (decree 14/2005, art. 6), reduced if closure days exceed 5 days in the month. Families receiving the new state social assistance benefit (dávka státní sociální pomoci) can be exempted from it since October 2025.
  • What you really pay: the contribution (if the child is under 5) and the canteen. The rest (tissues, bedding, materials) is paid by the school; outings are optional.
  • Dětská skupina: free, or with a partial or full contribution according to the criteria published by the provider.
  • Registration: from 15 March to 15 April for the September start; appeal against a refusal to the krajský úřad, via the head teacher.

Common pitfalls

  • Missing the 15 March to 15 April window. After that, you depend on the places left.
  • Believing a place is guaranteed before age 3. It is not: plan for a dětská skupina or a private solution.
  • Not registering the 5-year-old. It is a legal obligation; failing to do so is an offence.
  • Thinking nursery school only closes in summer. The head teacher can close it in July or August by giving two months' notice, with no obligation to find you another place.
  • The registration dates have changed recently. Some older pages still mention registrations in May: the law in force provides for 15 March to 15 April.

What changes by country of origin

  • EU citizens: compulsory nursery school from 90 days of stay, as for a Czech child.
  • United Kingdom (including Scotland), Switzerland and EEA: obligation for children authorised to stay for more than 90 days; same access and same catchment-area priority.
  • Foreign schools: several international schools have a nursery section (see CZ-ECOLE-TOUS-001); they are fee-paying.
Official sources (7) ›
  • e-Sbírka, zákon č. 561/2004 Sb., školský zákon, § 34 (age, compulsory nursery school at 5, registration from 15 March to 15 April, priority from age 3), § 34a and § 123 (free of charge)
  • MŠMT, "Dotazy a odpovědi" (nursery school: free of charge, admission, absences, stay abroad)
  • MŠMT, "Informace a sdělení" (nursery school fees set by municipalities since 01/01/2024)
  • MŠMT, "Jazyková příprava" and 2025/2026 methodology (Czech preparation in nursery school)
  • e-Sbírka, zákon č. 247/2014 Sb., o poskytování služby péče o dítě v dětské skupině (from 6 months, 24 children at most, free of charge or with a contribution)
  • e-Sbírka, zákon č. 258/2000 Sb., o ochraně veřejného zdraví, § 50 (vaccinations for admission to nursery school and dětská skupina), version in force on 12/06/2026
  • e-Sbírka, vyhláška č. 14/2005 Sb., o předškolním vzdělávání, § 1c (4 hours a day, start between 7:00 and 9:00), § 3 (closure in July or August, 2 months' notice), § 6 (contribution of 8% of the minimum wage at most, exemptions), version in force on 01/01/2026
Checked on 23 October 2026

How to get a diploma or school report obtained abroad recognised in Czechia (nostrifikace)

For a foreign school report or diploma at primary, secondary or higher vocational level (non-university) to be recognised in Czechia, you apply for a nostrifikace (recognition of equivalence) at the krajský úřad (regional office, education department) for your place of stay. Allow CZK 3,000 in fees and 30 days once the file is complete. If your diploma comes from an EU country and gives access to university in that country, the application must be accepted. With Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia, equivalence agreements often exempt you from this procedure (with Germany, the agreement only covers higher education).

Costs
Nostrification application fee: CZK 3,000. Sworn translations and legalisations: at your expense, rates vary.
Timeframes
30 days from a complete file (up to 30 more days in particularly complex cases). Appeal: 15 days.

Steps

  1. Check whether there is an equivalence agreement. Czechia has them with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia; the one with Germany only covers higher education. In these cases, your document is valid in Czechia directly; you are only advised to submit a certified copy with an official translation into Czech. You can still ask the krajský úřad for a certificate of recognition.
  2. Otherwise, prepare the nostrification. The form is available from the regional offices.
  3. Have your documents legalised if no agreement exempts you: the signature and stamp on the original, and the recognition of the school by the state of origin, must be verified by the Czech embassy or consulate and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of origin (or a notary in that country). The Czech Ministry of the Interior distinguishes three cases depending on the country: bilateral treaty (no legalisation), apostille (countries of the 1961 Hague Convention) or super-legalisation by the Czech embassy; check which case your country falls under on its page and on the Hague Conference list.
  4. Have everything translated into Czech by a translator registered in Czechia on the list of experts and translators (znalci a tlumočníci). Documents in Slovak do not need translation.
  5. Submit your application to the krajský úřad for your place of stay (for a foreigner, the place of stay; failing that, the place of submission).
  6. Wait for the decision. The office compares the content of your education with the equivalent Czech curriculum:
    • comparable content: it issues the nostrifikační doložka (nostrification clause);
    • partial differences, or missing documents: it has you sit a nostrifikační zkouška (nostrification exam);
    • major differences or failed exam: refusal.
  7. University degree? That is a different procedure: the nostrifikace of a university degree is requested from the veřejná vysoká škola (public university) of your choice that teaches in the field concerned, or from the Ministry of Defence or of the Interior for the military and security fields. A foreign university degree is in principle valid in Czechia without this procedure, which does not give the right to practise a regulated profession (Ministry page on the nostrifikace of higher education).

Documents

  • The original of the foreign report or diploma, or a certified true copy.
  • A document describing the content and duration of the education (curriculum, transcript).
  • If the diploma does not show it, proof that the school is part of the education system of the state that issued it.
  • The sworn translation into Czech of these documents (except documents in Slovak).
  • The required legalisations (unless an agreement provides otherwise).
  • Proof of your place of stay in Czechia.
  • A written power of attorney if someone submits for you.
  • Proof of payment of the CZK 3,000 fee.

Costs and timelines

  • Application fee: CZK 3,000 (the krajský úřad tells you how to pay).
  • Decision time: 30 days from receipt of a complete file (or after the nostrification exam, if there is one); up to 30 more days in particularly complex cases.
  • Appeal: within 15 days of notification, to the Ministry of Education, via the krajský úřad.
  • Translations and legalisations: at your expense, rates vary.

Common pitfalls

  • Having something nostrified for nothing. With an equivalence agreement (Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia; Germany for higher education), it is often unnecessary.
  • Forgetting the course curriculum. Without proof of the content of the education, the office may impose an exam on you.
  • Having the translation done abroad. The translation must come from a translator registered in Czechia.
  • Mixing up school and university. The krajský úřad does not handle university degrees.
  • Reports from a foreign school located in Czechia. The foreign schools authorised by the Ministry (Lycée français de Prague, international schools…) follow their own rules: check on the Ministry page.

What changes by country of origin

  • EU countries: differences in content are not taken into account if your diploma is comparable under European standards, and the application is accepted if your diploma gives access to university in the country that issued it.
  • Slovakia: equivalence agreement of 2013 in force since 28/03/2015, and no translation needed.
  • Poland, Hungary, Slovenia: equivalence agreements. Germany: the agreement only covers higher education; for a German school report or diploma, it is the standard nostrification (with the rule favourable to EU diplomas).
  • United Kingdom (including Scotland) and Switzerland: no agreement cited by the Ministry: standard nostrification. Both countries are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention (like Czechia): the apostille is enough, without super-legalisation by the embassy, plus the official translation into Czech.
Official sources (6) ›
  • MŠMT, "Uznání zahraničního vzdělání (s výjimkou VŠ)" (equivalence agreements, nostrification by the krajský úřad, documents, fees, timelines)
  • MŠMT, "Uznávání zahraničního a českého studia" (school diplomas, higher education, use for health insurance and benefits)
  • MŠMT, "Zahraniční školy v České republice"
  • Ministry of the Interior, "Ověření cizích veřejných listin" (treaty, apostille or super-legalisation, official translation; 16/11/2022)
  • Hague Conference on Private International Law, status table of the Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961 (Czechia 1999, United Kingdom 1965, Switzerland 1973)
  • MŠMT, "Nostrifikace" (recognition of a foreign university degree: public university, Ministry of Defence or of the Interior; foreign qualifications valid without further procedure)

These guides give the general rules. Your situation can change the answer: Moovy looks at it with you and tells you when you need a professional.

Other topics

  • Public services and online portals
  • Tax number
  • Healthcare
  • Work
  • Housing
  • Banking
  • Driving licence and car
  • Retirement
  • Customs and daily life
hello expat
GuideBlogNeed protection?Create my accountLegal noticePrivacyTerms and conditionsLivro de Reclamações (complaints book)
© 2026 Hello Expat