To obtain a suitable school place for your child, contact the local municipality, which will offer you an appropriate school placement. The education specialist in the local municipality is familiar with the opportunities of the schools in the area and is aware of available vacancies.

If you have independently explored schools beforehand, make sure to inform the local municipality about your preferences. Generally, your preferences will be taken into account if there are available places.

You can also directly contact the school and inquire whether they have the capacity to admit your child. The school may decline if there are no available seats in the appropriate class.

If you wish for your child to continue their education at a private school, you should contact the school directly and inquire about the possibilities.

Children aged 7–17 must attend school in Estonia. The local municipality ensures a school place for all children in the school designated according to their place of residence. The local school is usually the one closest to the child's place of residence. The local municipality may assign a school place in a more distant school if there are no available seats in the closest school.

Generally, the local municipality provides a school place within 30 days from receiving the corresponding application.

The prerequisite for assigning the local school is registering your place of residence in the Population Register.

If a parent wishes to secure a school place for their child in a school other than the one designated by the local municipality, they must contact the desired school themselves and inquire about the possibilities.

In Estonian schools, education is conducted according to the national curriculum. Schools also have their own unique characteristics. For example, some schools may offer in-depth foreign language instruction, while others may emphasise the arts, etc. There may be private schools in the area, each with its own distinct features. We recommend familiarising yourself with the primary schools in your future place of residence in Estonia to find the most suitable school for your child.

If you wish for your child to continue their studies in a different school than the one designated based on your place of residence, we recommend reviewing the admission requirements of the desired school in advance. Schools have the right to establish their own admission criteria, and these criteria are typically posted on the school's website.

You can also inquire directly with the school regarding the availability of open spots and their specific admission requirements by sending an email to the school.

All Estonian schools have a website. Once you have found the schools in your area on the map, visit their website. Although the web pages are usually only in Estonian, you can use the web browser translation. On the school's website, you can find information about the curriculum, study organisation, and general school life.

Ask the school if it's possible to get to know the school in advance, e.g. through a visit.

It is recommended to find out how long a child's journey to school takes and whether they need to use public transport, etc.

It is also recommended to observe how long the child's journey to school will be and whether the child has to use, for example, public transport to get to school.

We recommend initiating communication with the school in writing via email in English. As communication progresses, you will undoubtedly find a suitable means of communication to exchange information.