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Enrolling Your Child in a Portuguese Public School

When and how to enrol on the Portal das Matrículas, the documents you need, how places are given, foreign school records, and Portuguese language support.

Enrolling Your Child in a Portuguese Public School

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • Parents putting a child aged 3 to 18 into a Portuguese public preschool or school.
  • Families arriving mid-year, or with school records from another country.
  • EU and non-EU families, with or without a residence card yet.

Not for you if: you are still deciding between creche, public, private, or international school. Read "Schools and Childcare in Portugal".

Updated September 2026. The 2026/2027 windows have closed; new rules check your household with Finanças.

Every child living in Portugal has the right to a free place in a public school, whatever their nationality or residence status. You enrol online on the Portal das Matrículas, or in person at the school cluster. Enrolment for the next school year happens in fixed windows each spring and summer. Preschool and year 1 come first, from late April. Enrolling costs nothing. If you arrive during the year, you can enrol at any time. Missing papers do not stop your child from starting school.

When to enrol

Enrolment for a new school year happens in windows set by the Ministry of Education each spring. For 2026/2027 the windows were:

WhoWindow for 2026/2027
Preschool and year 122 April to 1 June 2026
Years 6, 7, 8, 9, and 1116 to 29 June 2026
Years 2, 3, 4, and 51 to 13 July 2026
Years 10 and 1215 to 24 July 2026 (extended from 22 July)

All these windows have now closed. If your child already goes to a public school, the school normally renews the enrolment each year. You still check the details and your choices in the portal during the window.

For 2027/2028: the calendar is usually published in March or April. In both 2025 and 2026 the preschool and year 1 window opened on 22 April. Expect the 2027/2028 window to open in late April 2027 and close in late May or early June. Check the Portal das Matrículas from March 2027.

If you arrive after the windows, or during the school year, see "If you arrive after the deadline or mid-year" below.

Who must be enrolled, and at what age

These rules apply to mainland Portugal.

  • Preschool: a child who turns 3 by 15 September can enrol that September. A child who turns 3 between 16 September and 31 December can apply, and gets a place if one is free.
  • Year 1: a child who turns 6 by 15 September must be enrolled. A child who turns 6 between 16 September and 31 December may start if you ask for it and a place is free.
  • Compulsory schooling lasts until age 18 or the end of year 12, whichever comes first.

What you need before you start

You need these for your child:

  • identity document: Portuguese citizen card, residence card, or passport
  • tax number (NIF)
  • social security number (NISS), if your child has one
  • health service number (número de utente), if your child has one
  • a recent colour passport-style photo, as a digital file
  • proof of address, if you want home address to count for a place
  • school reports from the last school, including any from abroad
  • vaccination record (boletim de vacinas), if you have it

You need these for yourself, as parent or guardian:

  • identity document
  • NIF
  • address, phone, and email
  • your level of education
  • a way to log in to the portal (see the next section)

The system uses the household and address that Finanças holds for you. It uses them to check siblings and whether you live in the school's area. Before you enrol, make sure your tax address is current and your children are listed in your household in Finanças.

If your child has no NIF, NISS, or health number yet, enrol anyway. You can add them later. See "Getting a NIF (Tax Number) in Portugal", "Getting a Social Security Number (NISS) in Portugal", and "Registering with the SNS in Portugal". To bring vaccines in line with the Portuguese schedule, see "Getting Vaccinated in Portugal".

How to enrol online, step by step

The Portal das Matrículas is at portaldasmatriculas.edu.gov.pt. It is the main channel.

  1. Log in with one of these: your Portuguese citizen card and a card reader, your Chave Móvel Digital (digital mobile key), or your Portal das Finanças username and password.
  2. Choose whether this is a first enrolment or a renewal, and pick the year or preschool.
  3. Enter or check your child's details. With a Portuguese citizen card, many details fill in on their own.
  4. List up to five schools in order of preference. In towns with fewer schools, you may list them all.
  5. Say which priority criteria apply, such as a sibling at the school or your home or work address.
  6. Upload the photo and any documents asked for.
  7. Submit. Save or print the receipt with its reference number.

If your child has special educational needs, say so in the form. It affects priority.

How to enrol in person

If you cannot use the portal, go to the head school of the school cluster (agrupamento de escolas) for your area. Its admin office enrols children for every school in the cluster. Take the same documents. Ask for a receipt.

To find your cluster, ask your parish council (junta de freguesia) or town council.

How places are given

Each school has a set number of places. When more children apply than there are places, the law ranks them in a fixed order.

Preschool: children who turn 5 or 4 by 31 December come first. Next come children who turn 3 by 15 September, then those who turn 3 later that year. Within each group, special needs, siblings, low-income support, and home or work address decide.

Years 1 to 9:

  1. children with special educational needs
  2. children who were at preschool or school in the same cluster last year
  3. children with a brother or sister at the school, living in the same household
  4. children receiving school social support whose parents live in the school's area
  5. children receiving school social support whose parents work in the area
  6. children whose parents live in the area
  7. children who went to a preschool run by a social institution in the area
  8. children whose parents work in the area
  9. older children first for new enrolments, younger first for renewals

Years 10 to 12: the order is similar. Special needs, the same cluster, siblings, and social support come first. Home address, then work address, then the youngest pupil decide the rest.

Each school's area is set by the town council. Your address counts only if the school can check it, so keep your Finanças address up to date. A certificate of residence from your parish council can help as extra proof. See "Getting a Proof of Residence (Atestado de Residência) in Portugal".

When results come out:

  • preschool and year 1: lists are published by the first working day of July
  • all other years: by the last working day of July

The lists are posted at the school and online. If your child does not get your first choice, the next school on your list with a place is tried. If none has room, the education authority offers a place elsewhere.

If your child studied abroad (equivalência)

Children with school years completed abroad need an equivalence (equivalência) to place them in the right Portuguese year. It is free.

Who handles it: the school where you enrol, for basic and secondary education. You ask at the same time as you enrol.

What you need:

  • the official request form, from the school
  • school certificates or reports showing each year passed, and the marks or average
  • an official translation into Portuguese, for documents in another language
  • legalisation of the documents: an apostille for countries in the Hague Convention, or authentication by a Portuguese consulate for others

How long it takes: about 30 days after the school has all the documents. Complex cases take longer.

Your child does not wait at home. They join school on a provisional enrolment while the equivalence is processed. It becomes final when the equivalence is granted. In secondary school, the place is only confirmed after the equivalence.

If your child has no records, the school decides the year from their age, their past schooling, and a placement assessment. If you worry your child will struggle, you can ask for a year below. The head teacher decides.

For degrees and higher education, see "Getting a Foreign Degree Recognised in Portugal".

If your child does not speak Portuguese (PLNM)

Children whose first language is not Portuguese can take Portuguese as a non-native language (Português Língua Não Materna, PLNM). It replaces the normal Portuguese class. Brazilian children do not usually take it, because Portuguese is their first language.

How it works:

  1. In the first weeks, the school tests your child's Portuguese. Newcomers with almost no Portuguese follow a Level Zero plan.
  2. The school places your child at a level: beginner (A1 or A2), intermediate (B1), or advanced (B2).
  3. Beginner and intermediate pupils get a support plan. They may learn in a separate PLNM group or with extra help in the normal class.
  4. Your child moves up as their Portuguese improves, and joins the normal Portuguese class when ready.

Schools with many foreign pupils usually have more PLNM groups and more experience. Ask each school on your list how it runs PLNM before you rank them.

If you arrive after the deadline or mid-year

The windows are for next year's places. They do not stop a child from joining school later.

  • Compulsory school age (6 to 18): go to the head school of your local cluster, or use the portal, at any time. The school must find your child a place, in that school or another nearby.
  • Preschool: you can still apply, but you get a place only if one is free.
  • Renewal missed at a change of cycle: the school reports it, and the education authority places your child.

A child with no residence permit, NIF, or other papers still has the right to go to school. The school enrols them and you complete the papers later. The school must not refuse a child for lack of documents.

Madeira and the Azores

Madeira and the Azores run their own school systems. The stages are the same, but the calendar, the portal, and some rules differ. Check the regional education department's website before you enrol. See "Living in the Azores and Madeira as an Expat".

Sources

Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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