School

Steps

1. Register your residence (see RO-SEJOUR-TOUS-001): the CNP and the address are generally required for enrolment, and your home address determines the school for your catchment area; confirm the list of documents with the school.
2. Find the school for your catchment area: state nursery and primary schools (except aptitude schools, alternative-pedagogy schools, special schools, or the only school in a municipality teaching in a national minority language) have a zone of streets (circumscripție școlară) set each year by the school inspectorate. Children living in the zone have priority; a school outside your catchment area is possible if places remain. For upper secondary school, admission follows other rules: it is based on the national assessment at the end of the 8th grade (Eurydice); ask the school inspectorate how your child can be placed.
3. Preparatory class: your child enters it if they turn 6 by 31 August of the year of enrolment. If they reach that age between 1 September and the end of the year, you can ask for them to be enrolled, with a recommendation on their development. A deferral of up to one year is possible for a legitimate reason.
4. Submit a written request to the school; ask the school or the school inspectorate for the enrolment dates for the year (to be confirmed) and, if you arrive during the school year, contact the school directly. The head teacher then signs an education contract with you.
5. Child already in school abroad: contact the school inspectorate of your county for the equivalence of their years of study (grades I to XII). The CNRED (national centre for the recognition of diplomas) deals with school-leaving diplomas and may work with the inspectorate.
6. For a course taught in French: look for the accredited schools in Romania (notably in Bucharest) in the official AEFE list, with their levels and fees (not verified here).

Documents

• ID of the child and of the parents, registration certificate (with CNP).
• Proof of address.
• Foreign school reports and school certificates, with translation (translation and legalisation requirements to be confirmed with the school inspectorate).
• Other documents vary by school and grade: ask the chosen school for the list.

Costs and timelines

• State school: free of charge (Eurydice).
• Meals: the national "Masă sănătoasă" programme gives a hot meal (or a food parcel) free of charge every school day to the children of participating schools; according to the ministry (page from June 2024), about one school in three offers one. Elsewhere, whether there is a canteen and what it costs depend on the school: ask the school.
• 2026-2027 school year: from 7 September 2026 to 18 June 2027, 36 weeks of classes (ending on 4 June 2027 for the 12th grade, on 11 June 2027 for the 8th grade; the technological upper secondary classes, except the 9th grade, and vocational education have 37 weeks and end on 25 June 2027). One week of holiday in February-March is set by each county between 15 February and 7 March 2027; the other holidays (ministerial order no. 3194/2026, Monitorul Oficial of 16/02/2026): 24 October to 1 November 2026, 23 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, 24 April to 4 May 2027 (Easter), then summer from 19 June to 5 September 2027. No classes on 5 October (Education Day) or on public holidays.
• Crèche (creșă) and nursery school (grădiniță): Eurydice indicates that early childhood education (from 3 months to 6 years) is free of charge in state establishments; available places, access conditions and any additional fees depend on the municipality and the establishment: confirm with your town hall.

Common pitfalls

• Thinking nursery school is optional. The last two years (from about age 4) are part of compulsory education.
• Choosing a school outside your catchment area without a plan B. Children from the catchment area come first.
• Arriving without equivalence documents. Keep the reports and certificates from the last school; the school inspectorate will need them to place your child in the right grade.
• Assuming automatic support in Romanian. Ask the school or the inspectorate what language support exists (arrangements to be confirmed).

What changes by country of origin

• EU and Swiss citizens: access to state school on the same terms, whatever the mother tongue (Eurydice).
• British citizens (Scots included): if you are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement (settled before 31/12/2020 and registered with the IGI), your family and you have the same treatment as EU citizens for access to education and school fees; if you arrived after 31/12/2020, the rules for third-country nationals apply to you, which the Ministry of Education's Brexit page sets out explicitly for university and, for school, refers to a specific enrolment procedure.
• French citizens: if your child is in school (or being enrolled) in a French educational establishment in Romania, you can apply for a school grant at the French Embassy in Bucharest: the parent who submits the application must be registered in the register of French citizens living abroad (even if they are not French), the child must be French, registered in the register, at least 3 years old during 2026 and living with their family, and the family must no longer receive family benefits from the CAF (except in the case of a secondment). There are two campaigns (consular councils) per school year; for 2026-2027, the second, reserved for certain families (settled in the district since March 2026, postponed files, requests for review or appeal, cases of force majeure), ran from 31 August to 18 September 2026 at 12:30, with an appointment in all cases, online on the AEFE's Scolaide portal or by paper file. It has therefore ended: ask the embassy about the next campaign.