How do you enrol children in public school in the Netherlands in 2026?

Children may join basisschool from about age four. Leerplicht begins on the first school day of the month after the fifth birthday and runs through the school year of the sixteenth birthday, with further qualification expectations for many teenagers. Parents or guardians must enrol the child and keep attendance regular. The duty applies to foreign nationals and newcomers living in the Netherlands, not only Dutch passport holders.

Register the child’s address in the BRP first so schools and the municipality see the same household: Register your address. Bring identity details and the child’s BSN when the school asks; if a BSN is still pending, schools may use an education number temporarily and require the BSN later.

Contact primary or secondary schools near your registered address as soon as the lease is real. Popular Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Randstad schools can waitlist; ask about newcomer or Dutch-as-second-language support if the child needs language catch-up: Learn Dutch. International fee-paying schools are a separate budget path: International school costs.

If no place appears, contact the municipality’s compulsory-education office rather than waiting silently. Pair school logistics with kinderbijslag and daycare planning: Apply for kinderbijslag and Childcare costs. Neighbourhood school maps influence where families rent: Best places for families. Keep the step on the arrival checklist in Paperwork after moving.