School enrolment in Germany: how to register your child
2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 2 October 2026
School is compulsory from the age of six. Children who turn six by the cut-off date of their state, between 30 June and 30 September, start school that summer. The town writes to you or you register at the local primary school, and the child has a health check before the first day.
Education is run by the 16 states, so dates, school types and the rules for choosing a school differ. The basic path is the same everywhere: registration about a year ahead, a school entry health check, and a first day that families celebrate.
Rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the official source named at the end before you act, and ask the office in your city, because procedures differ from town to town.
Step by step
Find your cut-off date
A child who turns six on or before the cut-off date (Stichtag) must start school after the summer holidays. Handbook Germany lists: 30 June in Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein; 1 July in Hamburg and Hesse; 1 August in Thuringia; 31 August in Rhineland-Palatinate; 30 September in Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Check your state's current date.
Find out which school
In some states your address decides the primary school (Grundschule). In others you may choose. The town's school office (Schulamt) or the nearest primary school tells you.
Register the child
Registration is usually in the autumn or winter before the school year starts. Families who are registered at their address normally get a letter. Bring the child, the birth certificate or passport, your registration certificate and the vaccination record. Proof of measles protection is required.
Go to the school entry health check
A doctor from the public health office checks sight, hearing, movement, language and vaccinations. The check is compulsory and free. It is not a test the child can fail. It shows whether extra support would help.
If you arrive during the school year
Children of school age must go to school soon after arriving, whatever their residence status. Contact the school office of your town. Depending on the state, children with little German start in a welcome or preparatory class, or join a regular class with extra German lessons.
Prepare for the first day
The school sends a list: school bag, pencil case, pencils, crayons, a paint box, exercise books and sports clothes. On the first day every child carries a Schultüte, a large paper cone filled with sweets and small presents, which you buy or make yourself.
Good to know
State schools are free. Parents pay for materials, trips and lunch. Families who receive citizen's income, housing benefit or the child supplement get help with these costs through the education package (Bildungspaket).
After four years of primary school (six in Berlin and Brandenburg), children move to a secondary school. Which types exist and who decides depends on the state.
Home schooling is not allowed in Germany.
Before school: Kita in Germany: how to get a childcare place. Money for children: child benefit in Germany (Kindergeld).
In short: Compulsory from six, cut-off date by state, local primary school, register with birth certificate and vaccination record, health check, welcome classes for newcomers, Schultüte.
- Handbook Germany: School Enrolment
Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.