Moving from, to, or in the City of Copenhagen

If you are moving to Copenhagen with a child younger than 3 years old, you should sign your child up on the waiting list for childcare at a day nursery or public childminder. The City of Copenhagen offers a childcare guarantee which ensures that your child will get a childcare offer within two months of signing your child up on the waiting list.

A number of places on the waiting lists in Copenhagen are reserved for new city residents. Your child can be added to the waiting list for public childcare from the date your move is registered with Folkeregisteret (the Danish National Register).

If, already before you are moving, you can document that you will be moving to the City of Copenhagen at a future date, for instance by a rental contract or buying agreement, your child can be added to the waiting list as soon as Pladsanvisningen (the Placement Service) has received documentation of your move. Your child won’t receive an offer of public childcare until you have registered your address with Folkeregisteret, however.

The City of Copenhagen has closed its waiting lists to children from other municipalities. This means that you won’t be able to add your child to a waiting list online until you have registered your address with Folkeregisteret in Copenhagen. Contact Pladsanvisningen to have your child signed up on the waiting list.

As a newcomer to the city you can sign your child up on a waiting list for one of the reserved places (if a reserved place is still available on the waiting list for the childcare institution in question) and on another waiting list for a public childminder or day nursery where the normal waiting list rules apply. Pladsanvisningen can tell you which childcare institutions have the shortest waiting lists.

If as a new resident you would like to take advantage of the option to sign your child up on the waiting list for one of the reserved places, you must do so within 3 months of moving here.

If you are moving to the City of Copenhagen with a child older than 3 years, you should sign your child up on a waiting list for kindergarten.

You can sign your child up on a waiting list for public childcare from the date your move is registered with Folkeregisteret (the Danish National Registry). If, already before you move, you can document that you will be moving to the City of Copenhagen at a future date, for instance with a rental contract or buying agreement, you can sign your child up on the waiting list as soon as Pladsanvisningen (the Placement Service) has received documentation of your move.

If you want to sign up your child to the waiting list for a specific childcare option, seniority on the waiting list is determined by the date you signed up. If your child is younger than 2 years old, waiting list seniority will begin on your child’s 2nd birthday. If your child is older than 2 years, waiting list seniority is determined by the date your child was added to the waiting list. In any case, the general waiting list secures your child a place in a childcare option located a maximum of 4 kilometres from your home and within 3 months from registering your move with Folkeregisteret. Children of kindergarten age must have received a place in a childcare facility within 3 months of registering a move with Folkeregisteret.

Your child is entitled to keep their place in childcare in Copenhagen if you should move out of the municipality. Please note, that the parents’ payment contribution may change. If you choose to withdraw your child, you must give one month’s notice from the 15th or or the last day of the month.

In order to be added to a waiting list for one of the reserved places when moving in the City of Copenhagen, the distance from your old home to your new home must be greater than 4 kilometres. Pladsanvisningen (the Placement Service) can tell you the status of reserved spots on the waiting list for individual childcare options. If you would like to sign your child up on a waiting list for one the reserved places, you must do so within three months of moving.

If you are moving in the city, you can choose to keep your child’s place in kindergarten, or get signed up for a new kindergarten.

If you wish to sign your child up on the waiting list for specific childcare options in your new district, seniority begins at the time you sign up. If your child is younger than 2 years old, your waiting list seniority begins on your child’s 2nd birthday. If your child is older than 2 years, waiting list seniority is determined by the date your child was added to the waiting list.

You can also opt to sign your child up on the general waiting list for kindergarten in your new district. If you chose to do this, your child will be secured a place through the general waiting list in childcare located a maximum of 4 kilometres from your new home and no later than 3 months from registering your move with Folkeregisteret.