How school admission works and when to apply

Terms used

• Matrícula — The matrícula is your child's formal enrolment at the school they were assigned, done after the definitive list.
• Comisión de escolarización — The comisión de escolarización is the local body that assigns school places and handles late or mid-year arrivals.
• Padrón — The padrón is the town hall's register of residents, used as proof of address.
• Concertado — A concertado school is privately run but publicly funded, and uses the same admission process as public schools.
• ESO — ESO is compulsory secondary education, from about age 12 to 16.
• Bachillerato — Bachillerato is the two-year post-16 school stage that prepares for university.

Key rules

• Regional system: Each region sets its own calendar, portal and office names, so always use your region's current call.
• Compulsory age: Children aged 6 to 16 must be given a school place, even if they arrive after the application window.
• Enrolment: Being admitted is not enough: you must also enrol at the assigned school after the definitive list.
• Address: The address you register can decide which schools you get, so choose it before you apply and back it with documents.

The short version

School admission is a yearly cycle run by each region, not by the national government. You apply in spring for the school year starting in September. Then come a provisional list, a short claims period, a definitive list and enrolment. Some stages need action from you and others happen on their own.

The yearly cycle

1. Application window. Usually March to April for the September start. Dates are set each year by your region.
2. Provisional list. Usually May. It shows who was admitted and the points each applicant got. You then have a short period to make claims, for example to correct an error or add missing proof.
3. Draw. Where schools use one, it breaks ties between applicants with equal points.
4. Definitive list. Usually late May or June.
5. Enrolment (matrícula). You must enrol at the assigned school. This is a separate step from applying. It is usually in June or early July for infant and primary, and late June to July for ESO and bachillerato.
6. Waiting lists and a second round. If you have no place, these run in July or September.

Applying and claiming need action from you. The lists are published for you, but enrolment needs you to act again.

When and where you apply, and how regions differ

Each region sets its own calendar, portal and rules. Applications are mostly online through the regional education portal. Some regions also accept paper forms at your first-choice school. Typical timing:

• Madrid: mid-March to early April, provisional lists in May, definitive lists in June.
• Catalonia: preinscripció in March to early April. Infant and primary are often mid-March, ESO and bachillerato slightly later.
• Andalusia: 1 to 31 March, with lists from April to June.
• Valencia: late March to mid-April, lists in May and June.

Other regions follow the same pattern with their own dates. Exact dates change every year, so check your region's calendar for the coming school year. The resource below lists where to find each region's rules. Private schools enrol directly and do not follow this calendar.

Which stages need a new application

You apply when your child:

• starts infant school, usually at age 3
• moves from infant to primary, or from primary to ESO, at a different school
• starts bachillerato
• changes school at any point

Children usually continue automatically within the same school when it offers both stages. In regions with linked schools, children move automatically to the linked ESO or bachillerato school. You apply only if you want to change. A school that offers only some stages means a new application.

How your address affects your options

Address is a main criterion. Homes inside a school's catchment area earn extra points, and the home address counts for more than a parent's workplace. When a school has more applicants than places, points decide who gets in. So the address you use changes which schools are realistic.

How zones work depends on the region. Madrid treats the whole municipality as one zone, so address matters less there. Catalonia uses municipality or district zones. Andalusia and Valencia set areas around each school.

You must back the address with a padrón registration or a rental or purchase contract. A false address can cost you the place. The address usually has to be valid when the application window opens or closes. Some regions use the date you submit, and some accept a justified change such as a job transfer. Check the cut-off in your region's current call before you choose where to live or register.

If your child arrives late or mid-year

A child who arrives after the window, or during the school year, applies out of period. Contact your region's admissions commission (comisión de escolarización), the district office, or the school itself, depending on the region. Bring your child's passport or ID, proof of address and prior school records.

Children aged 6 to 16 must be given a school place, even if they arrive after the application window. The commission assigns a place in a school with vacancies, usually within days to a few weeks. Some regions open extra places above the usual class size. The school may not be your first choice. Places for infant children and for those over 16 are not guaranteed.

Compare your move date with the calendar

Do this before you fix your move date:

• Find your region's calendar for the coming September.
• If you can arrive and register your address before the cut-off, and before the window closes, apply in the normal window.
• If you will arrive after that, plan to apply out of period. Contact the commission before you move to learn what it will need.

The decision, process and checklist below walk through this.

Who assigns places, and who to call if there is none

The regional education department (consejería) assigns places in public and concertado schools through its admissions commission or district office. Education is devolved, so names differ: in Madrid it is the Dirección de Área Territorial, in Catalonia the Servei Territorial, and in Andalusia the Delegación Territorial. Ceuta and Melilla are run by the national Ministry of Education.

If no place is available, contact that commission, the provincial education delegation or the education inspection service. The school's management can point you to the right office.

Choosing between options

Should you apply in the regular window or out of period?

• Apply in the regular spring window: Your child will have a valid address in the region before the window closes, so you can apply between March and May for the September start.

• Apply out of period: Your child arrives after the window or mid-year; the admissions commission, district office or school assigns a place in a school with vacancies, usually within days to a few weeks.

• Contact the commission before moving: Your move date falls close to the window and you are unsure which address or cut-off will count in your region.

Apply in the regular window if you can have your address registered by the cut-off in your region's call; otherwise apply out of period. Children aged 6 to 16 must be given a school place, even if they arrive after the application window, but the assigned school may not be your first choice. Your address affects which schools you are likely to get, as homes in a school's catchment area earn extra points when places are short.

Applying for a school place online, step by step

• Choose how you will identify yourself: a digital certificate, a Cl@ve account (the government's online ID), or a regional login or access code sent by the school: before you start

• Use your NIE or passport number as your ID. If you have no certificate or Cl@ve, file on paper at your first-choice school or the education office and show your passport or NIE: before you start

• Gather the parents' or guardians' ID, the child's identity document or family book, and proof of address (a padrón certificate or your rental or purchase documents): before you start

• Gather proof only for the points you claim: a sibling already at the school, family income, a large-family or single-parent title, a disability certificate, or proof of special educational needs. Many regions check income and other data automatically and ask for paper proof only if you refuse consent: before you start

• Fill in the single regional application form with your schools ranked in order of preference, and submit it online or on paper where your region allows: during the application window

• Submit only one application per child, because duplicates can lead to exclusion: during the application window

• Edit your application or send a new one if you spot a mistake. The last one submitted before the deadline replaces earlier ones: before the application window closes

• Correct errors or add missing proof by filing a claim against the provisional list. School choices can no longer be changed: within 3 to 5 working days of the provisional list

Comparing your move date with the admission calendar

• Know which region you will live in, your child's school stage (infant, primary, ESO or bachillerato) and whether you want a public, concertada or private school. Private schools enrol directly with the school: before you start

• Understand how your address shapes your options: homes in a school's catchment area earn extra points, and the address needs a padrón registration or a rental or purchase contract. A false address can cost you the place. Madrid treats the whole municipality as one zone, so address matters less there: before you choose where to rent or buy

• Contact the regional education department's admissions commission (comisión de escolarización) or district office, which assigns places in public and concertada schools. Examples are the Dirección de Área Territorial in Madrid, the Servei Territorial in Catalonia and the Delegación Territorial in Andalucía. The school's management can point you to the right office: when you plan the move

• If you can arrive and register your address before the cut-off and the window closes, apply in the normal window; if you will arrive after it, plan on the late-arrival route and keep the move date you need: at the decision point

• If no place is available, contact the admissions commission, the provincial education delegation or the Servicio de Inspección Educativa, which assigns a place in a school with vacancies. Children aged 6 to 16 must be given a school place: if no place is offered

• Apply out of period (matrícula fuera de plazo) to the admissions commission, district office or the school, depending on your region, with ID or passport, proof of address and prior school records. A place in a school with vacancies is usually assigned within one to a few weeks, and it may not be your first choice. Places for infant and post-16 children are not guaranteed: if you arrive after the window or mid-year

Documents you need

• Your child's passport or ID, needed when applying outside the regular window or mid-year

• Proof of address, such as a padrón registration (the town hall's residence certificate) or a rental or purchase contract; this decides which schools count as nearby, and a false address can lose you the place

• Your child's prior school records, requested when you apply for a place mid-year

Checklist

• Find your region's education portal and look up the admission calendar for the coming September, as applications are usually made online there in spring, between March and May.

• Compare your move date with the application window, then the provisional list in May or June, the definitive list and enrolment in June or July.

• Choose the address you will use before applying, because homes inside a school's catchment area earn extra points.

• Apply out of period if your child arrives after the window or mid-year, through the admissions commission, district office or the school, depending on your region.

• Contact the regional education department's admissions commission or provincial education delegation if no place is available, and ask the school's management which office to approach.

• Enrol at the assigned school after the definitive list, because enrolment is a separate step from the application.

Where to find your region's school admission rules

• Comunidad de Madrid, education department: Find the admission calendar, rules and points scale on the education pages of the regional website

• Catalonia, Departament d'Educació: Find the preinscripció calendar, rules and points scale on the department's website

• Andalucía, Consejería de Desarrollo Educativo: Find the escolarización calendar, rules and points scale on the department's schooling portal

• Ministry of Education (for Ceuta and Melilla): Ask for the admission calendar and rules, because the Ministry runs education directly in these two cities

• Education department of any other autonomous community: Look under admisión, escolarización or matrícula on the department's website for the calendar, rules and points scale

Web addresses are often reorganised. Search for the education department's admisión, escolarización or matrícula pages if a link has moved.

Frequently asked questions

Which education stages need a new application?

You need a new application when your child enters the system at age 3, changes school, or starts Bachillerato. Pupils usually continue automatically within the same school between Infantil and Primaria or Primaria and ESO, if the school offers both.

Who decides the catchment zone for a school?

Each region or its local commission sets the catchment zones, and they are published for every school.

Can I change my address after applying and still count it?

Sometimes, but it depends on the region's call. Most regions require the address to be valid when the window opens or closes, while some accept a later change backed by a justified reason, such as a job transfer. Check the cut-off date in the current call before you move.

Do private schools follow the same admission calendar?

No, private schools enrol families directly, outside the public admission cycle. The spring application, lists and claims apply to public and concertada schools only. Contact the private school itself to ask about its dates and places.