You need to apply for an activity licence for a preschool child care institution (preschool) if you wish to provide preschool education.
An activity licence for the provision of education in a preschool is granted without a term by the Ministry of Education and Research.
Legal bases
The activity of a preschool and the grant of respective activity licences is regulated by the following legislation:
- Private Schools Act;
- Preschool Child Care Institutions Act.
- General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act;
Requirements for the applicant
To obtain an activity licence for a preschool, you must meet the following requirements:
- the competencies, skills, and knowledge established as the objective of the curriculum can be attained under the curriculum;
- the material base of teaching allows for providing education at the respective level and meets the needs of the curriculum;
- based on the development plan, the sustainability of the private school is ensured;
- the head of the private school meets the requirements provided for in subsection 4 of § 19 of the Private Schools Act;
- the private school has fulfilled the requirements applicable to processing special categories of personal data under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, pp. 1–88);
- the owner of the private school and the private school comply with the requirements established for the management of a private school under the Private Schools Act;
- you have paid the state fee.
Professional qualification of teachers
If you wish to employ an employee, who has received his/her qualification abroad or has professional (vocational) work experience abroad, the employee must have his/her professional qualification recognised in Estonia. A professional qualification acquired abroad may not automatically comply with the conditions established in Estonia.
For the recognition of professional qualifications and more information, contact the Estonian ENIC/NARIC (Academic Recognition Information Centre) by e-mail address: [email protected].
Cross-border operation
If an undertaking has been established in another contracting state of the European Economic Area but also wishes to provide continuous services in Estonia, the undertaking must act in accordance with the present guidelines.
Completing and submitting an application
An application (in Estonian) for an activity licence must be submitted no later than five months before the start of the implementation of the curriculum.
For the grant of an activity licence, please submit to the Ministry of Education and Research an application (in Estonian) with the following additional documents:
- the statutes of the preschool;
- the curriculum that serves as the basis for education for the provision of which an activity licence is applied for and complies with the requirements established by law;
- development plan of the preschool;
- a certificate certifying that the head of the preschool and the persons belonging to the management bodies of the owner of the private school comply with the requirements set out in subsections 2 and 3 of §19 of the Private Schools Act;
- certificate of the owner of the school certifying that the head of the school, the head teacher and teachers of the school comply with the qualifications and the school has the required teaching staff;
- information on the existence or use of the premises, buildings, furnishings, land and other property required for the activities of the preschool under a leasing or tenancy contract and their compliance with the health, fire safety and rescue requirements (lease agreement, assessments of the Health Board and Rescue Board);
- written opinion of the local government.
You can submit your application:
- digitally signed by e-mail to the Ministry of Education and Research at [email protected] (authentication is required);
- by sending a signed copy by regular mail to the Ministry of Education and Research on the address 50088 Tartu, Munga 18.
NB! Please pay the state fee before submitting your application.
Payment of the state fee
For the application for an activity licence, please pay the state fee of 500 euros to a bank account of the Ministry of Finance, adding reference number 2900073546:
- SEB – EE891010220034796011
- Swedbank – EE932200221023778606.
The processing of an application
The Ministry of Education and Research will start counting the processing period of the application from the date of its submission. The application will be reviewed by the Ministry of Education and Research within two months, granted that all the required documents are correctly formalised and submitted.
The Ministry of Education and Research shall check the compliance of the documents with legislation. If the application does not meet the requirements, i.e., the required data or documents have not been submitted or the application has other deficiencies, then the Ministry of Education and Research shall notify the applicant in writing, providing a time limit for the rectification of the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not rectified for the set time limit, then the Ministry of Education and Research may refuse to process the application.T
The activity licence is issued without a term. The applicant shall be notified of the grant of an activity licence on the e-mail address provided in the application form.
Suspension of an activity licence and termination of economic activities
If you wish to terminate activity in the chosen field, then please submit a notice of termination of economic activities to the Ministry of Education and Research at [email protected].
If you wish to renounce economic activities temporarily, then please state the date of renouncement and re-commencement of economic activities on a notice of temporary renouncement of economic activities to be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Research at [email protected].
Revocation of an activity licence
An activity licence is revoked on the following grounds:
- intentional submission of incorrect information by an undertaking upon application for an activity licence, which affected the grant of a licence, provided that, if such information had not been submitted, the grant of an activity licence would have been denied;
- renouncement of economic activities by an undertaking;
- validity of a relevant prohibition on economic activities imposed by a court judgment or arising from law in a relevant area of activity in respect of an undertaking, except for validity of a prohibition on economic activities imposed pursuant to the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act.
An activity licence may be revoked on the following grounds:
- teaching has not been commenced within 12 months after the granting of the activity licence or teaching has been suspended for 12 consecutive months;
- failure to commence economic activities within two years after issue of the activity licence or failure to pursue economic activities within two years, and in the case of provision of services of general interest, failure to commence economic activities within 12 months after the issue of the activity licence or failure to pursue economic activities within 12 months or failure to commence economic activities within the term prescribed by a secondary condition of the activity licence;
- material violation of the conditions of an activity licence;
- a significant damage or danger caused to public order by the activity permitted by the activity licence, which did not exist or was not known at the time of granting the activity licence and which overrides the interest of the undertaking in continuing the activity on the current conditions and which can be eliminated by amendment of the activity licence;
- changes to the secondary conditions of an activity licence.
Supervision
State or administrative supervision over the educational activities shall be exercised by the Ministry of Education and Research.
Contact details
Substantive information
Triin Hüva, Ministry of Education and Research, tel: +372 7350633, e-mail: [email protected]
Registry information and technical questions
Estonian Education Information System, tel: +372 765 5050, e-mail: [email protected]
Laws
- General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act
- Preschool Child Care Institutions Act
- Private Schools Act