It is mid-October, Antek is five months old and has just fallen asleep in the pram after a walk along the Vistula. His mother, Ola, sits down on a bench with her phone and reads a thread on a Tarchomin parents’ forum: one person writes that you have to sign your child up for nursery “straight after the birth”, another that “only the points count anyway”, a third that there is a deadline in February “you must not miss”. Ola goes back to work in September next year and does not know whether she is already too late or still too early.
The answer is simpler than the forums suggest, but it does require knowing a few dates. This article explains how enrolment in Warsaw’s city nurseries works under the admissions rules of 18 September 2026 and the schedule for the 2026/2027 year, how enrolling in a private nursery differs, and how to plan your calendar so that both child and parent are ready for the first day. In Poland a nursery (żłobek) is childcare for children under three; preschool (przedszkole) is a separate system.
When should you enrol your child in nursery?
You can apply to a city nursery in Warsaw all year round, as soon as your child has a PESEL number, and it makes sense to do so in good time. The order of admission, however, is decided mainly by points for criteria; the date of the application only settles the matter when two applications have the same number of points. For September the key moment is the main admissions window, which in 2026 ran from 27 May to 8 June.
In practice this means three things. First, applying a few days after the birth gives you no advantage over a family with more points who apply later. Second, an early application does no harm and helps when points are equal. Third, an early application needs looking after: every January it has to be renewed, or it drops out of the system. For a private nursery you enrol directly with the setting, under the rules in its statute, so the timing there depends mostly on when places become free in the group you want.
We cover the age at which a child can start nursery in a separate article, nursery from what age. This one is about enrolment itself: when, where and how.
Three routes into nursery in Warsaw — a table
Before you start counting dates, check what kind of setting you want. The admissions rules of the Zespół Żłobków m.st. Warszawy (Warsaw’s municipal nursery authority) cover city nurseries, public childminder points and non-public settings funded by the city that were selected in an open call for proposals. All other nurseries and children’s clubs run their own enrolment.
| Type of setting | Where you apply | When | What decides the order |
|---|---|---|---|
| City nursery (Zespół Żłobków m.st. Warszawy) | Online system nabor.pcss.pl/warszawa/zlobek | All year; main September intake from late May and early June | Points for the criteria in the rules; on a tie, the application date |
| Public childminder point (dzienny opiekun) | The same system | The same as for city nurseries | The same criteria, without the point for living in the setting’s district |
| Non-public setting funded by the city | The same system | The same as for city nurseries | The same points criteria |
| Private nursery or children’s club without city funding | Directly with the setting | According to the setting’s rules | Admission conditions in the setting’s statute |
An application in the city system can name between one and three settings. If you are considering both a city and a private nursery, nothing stops you from applying in the system and talking to a private setting at the same time.
From when can you apply to a city nursery?
You can apply to a city nursery in Warsaw once your child has a PESEL number, the Polish national identification number given to every child born in Poland. The admissions rules state plainly that taking part requires an application for a child who has a PESEL number; for children without one, for example foreign nationals, the number and series of an identity document is given instead. So you cannot apply during pregnancy, only after the birth and once the number has been assigned.
An early application does not immediately appear in the queue for a particular group. The rules describe two situations in which the system shows an application without a queue position:
- The child is too young for the group. If the child is not yet 20 weeks old or — depending on the group — 12 months and one day, the system shows the message “lower age threshold”, and the queue position appears 14 days before the child reaches the required age.
- The application gives a later start date. In the application you state your preferred start date. If it is far off, the queue position will appear 14 days before that date.
An early application therefore does not speed up admission. What it does give you is order: you have an account in the system, you can see which criteria are ticked, and the submission date is recorded, which counts when points are equal. You cannot submit a new application for a child who is over 36 months old.
How the online admissions system works
All admissions to city nurseries go through the system at nabor.pcss.pl/warszawa/zlobek. You log in through login.gov.pl (the Polish national electronic identification gateway), fill in the form, tick the criteria you meet or will meet by the day your child is admitted, and choose between one and three settings. The list of nurseries, with extra features such as integration settings for children with special needs, is in the offer section of the same system.
After you click “Zapisz” (Save) you receive an email with an activation link. Only activation counts as submitting the application — without it, the application takes no part in admissions. An active application has the status “oczekujący” (waiting), and within fifteen minutes you can see its queue position for each chosen setting and its number of points.
A few rules worth knowing before you log in for the first time:
- One application per child. If there are two or more applications with the status “waiting” for the same child, all of them may be rejected.
- Changes only while “waiting”. A setting removed from the application can be restored until the end of the following day, and the next change of preferences can only be made after 23:59 the following day.
- Allocation is automatic. The system allocates free places at night or in the morning and reports a change of status by email. The rules advise checking your account, your inbox and your spam folder regularly.
Children with a disability certificate or special developmental needs take part in admissions to integration nurseries first, under separate rules, on an individual basis.
The September intake — the 2026/2027 schedule
The main intake is the annual round of admissions for the new period of care that starts in September. The Zespół Żłobków publishes a separate schedule for it. For 2026/2027 it looked like this:
| Date in 2026 | What happened |
|---|---|
| 23 April – 5 May | Parents of children already at nursery confirmed by email that they wanted care to continue |
| 20–26 May | Technical break, update of the list of settings and number of places |
| 27 May – 8 June (until 12:00) | New applications and edits to existing ones, choice of up to three settings, update of criteria |
| 8–10 June | System closed |
| 10 June from 12:00 | Notifications of qualification for admission from 1 September |
| 10–17 June | Confirmation of the place by email to the setting |
| 11 June – 31 August | Document check at a time agreed with the head of the setting |
| from 11 June | Supplementary admissions for places still free from 1 September |
| from 18 August | Admissions for places becoming free after 1 September |
During the main admissions window, each child’s queue position was recalculated automatically according to the child’s age on 1 September and the date the application was registered. The dates change from year to year, and several nurseries reopening after refurbishment had their own schedules in 2026. Check the schedule for the following year on the Zespół Żłobków website in spring — the city’s Warszawa 19115 knowledge base says admissions for September start around the turn of May and June.
Supplementary admissions — places all year round
September is not the only time a child can get a place. According to the city’s Warszawa 19115 knowledge base, admissions to nurseries run all year round, and children are admitted to places that become free when others leave. The rules call this supplementary admissions: they are run after the main intake whenever a place becomes free or a new place opens in a given age group.
Applications that did not qualify in the main intake take part automatically — you do not have to submit anything again. After 18 August, waiting children are allocated places 14 days before the earliest possible start date, based on the child’s age or the start date given in the application.
For a parent going back to work in November or March this is good news: there is no need to wait for September. You do need to bear in mind that fewer places come up during the year and there is no way to predict when the one place in the group you want will become free. It is worth having a back-up plan for a few weeks — a grandparent, a nanny or a flexible return to work.
Admission conditions and points criteria
A city nursery admits children who meet two conditions together: they live in Warsaw with their parents or parent, and they have had the compulsory vaccinations or cannot be vaccinated for health reasons confirmed by a doctor. If either condition is not met, the application is rejected for all the chosen settings. Only children who meet both conditions are scored against the points criteria in Annex 1 to the rules:
| Criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Both parents, or a single parent, pay income tax to a tax office for the city of Warsaw | 30 |
| One of the parents pays income tax in Warsaw | 15 |
| Parents or a single parent are employed, self-employed, in full-time study or working on a civil-law contract (not on parental leave) | 40 |
| Parents are working, but at least one is on parental leave or has suspended a business to care for the child | 15 |
| A parent has a significant or moderate degree of disability, or gave up work to care for a person with a disability | 30 |
| The child has a disability or special developmental needs | 2 |
| Siblings aged up to 6 / 7–13 / 14–16 / 17–18 | 6 / 4 / 2 / 1 |
| A sibling under 18 with a certified disability | 4 |
| Two or more siblings under 18 | 5 |
| The child lives in the district where the chosen nursery is located | 1 |
The rules also explain how points are counted when only one parent meets the work-related criteria — in that case half the points for the criterion are awarded. The full wording is in Annex 1. The table shows why the application date matters less than parents on the forums think: a difference of a dozen or more points for tax or work moves an application in the queue more than registering a few months earlier.
You tick the criteria yourself in the application, declaring that you meet them or will meet them by the day your child is admitted. Once your child qualifies, you confirm them with the documents listed in Annex 2 to the rules.
Don’t forget January — renewing the application
This is the most common trap for parents who applied well in advance. Every year from 1 to 15 January, applications with the status “waiting” that were registered by 31 December of the previous year must be extended for another year. Renewal is the parent’s responsibility, and applications not renewed by 15 January inclusive are rejected from the system.
Renewing takes a minute: you log in, choose “Wybierz akcję” (Choose action) and then “Przedłuż ważność wniosku” (Extend the application). No admissions are run during this annual update. The obligation does not apply to applications that already have the status “zakwalifikowany” (qualified) or “przyjęty” (admitted).
If the application went into the system in December and your child is due to start in September, the renewal comes round after just a few weeks. The simplest approach is to put a reminder in your calendar for the first week of January as soon as you apply.
What happens when your child qualifies?
When an application reaches a queue position that entitles the child to a place, its status changes to “qualified” and you receive an email. From that moment you have 5 working days to confirm that you accept the place — you do this by email to the setting your child has qualified for. No confirmation, or turning the place down, means the application is rejected for all the chosen settings.
The head of the setting then sets a date by which you bring the signed paper application printed from the system and documents confirming the conditions and criteria. Annex 2 to the rules lists, among others:
- proof of address, for example the first page of your latest tax return or a tenancy agreement,
- the child’s health booklet, the part covering vaccinations,
- proof of paying tax in Warsaw, for example the UPO electronic filing receipt or a city card with the Karta Warszawiaka (Warsaw resident card) entitlement,
- a certificate from your employer confirming employment and that you are not on parental leave, or a printout from CEIDG (the business register),
- siblings’ birth certificates, if the siblings criterion is ticked in the application.
If the documents are incomplete, the setting removes the points for the unconfirmed criterion and the application goes back on the waiting list. Finally you sign a contract — at the latest on the day your child starts attending. Only then does the application have the status “admitted”.
How do you enrol your child in a private nursery?
Nurseries and children’s clubs that are neither run by the city nor funded by it through the call for proposals do not use Warsaw’s admissions system. You enrol your child directly with the setting. The admission rules are not arbitrary, though: the Act on the care of children under the age of three requires every nursery and children’s club to operate under a statute that sets out, among other things, the conditions for admitting children, taking into account preferences for large families and children with disabilities.
The Act also lists the information a parent provides when applying for a place: among other things, the child’s name, date of birth and PESEL number, information on siblings, the address, contact details, the parents’ workplace, and details of the child’s health, diet and development. The city system collects the same information, so you only need to prepare it once.
Before enrolling in a private nursery, ask about a few things:
- The statute and admission conditions. Ask for the statute before signing the contract — it contains the admission rules and the rules on fees when the child is absent.
- When places become free. Ask whether the setting keeps a waiting list and how it admits children from it.
- The register entry. A nursery should be in the register of nurseries and children’s clubs — we explain how to check this in the article on how to choose a Montessori nursery.
- The contract. Check the notice period and what happens when your child reaches the end of nursery age.
We look at the costs of private nurseries in Warsaw separately in the article on Montessori nursery costs in Warsaw.
An enrolment calendar — count back from the start date
The easiest way to plan is backwards: from the day your child is due to start nursery. Below is an example for a family who want to start in September — a suggested plan, not a legal requirement.
- After the birth and the PESEL number. Create an account and apply to a city nursery if you are considering one. Put a reminder in your calendar to renew in January.
- Autumn and winter before the start. Visit several settings, private ones too. Compare the groups, the daily rhythm and the settling-in process.
- 1–15 January. Renew the application in the system.
- Spring. Check the new year’s admissions schedule on the Zespół Żłobków website. Gather the documents: tax return, employer’s certificate, vaccination record.
- The main admissions window (27 May – 8 June in 2026). Update the criteria and your choice of settings.
- After the qualification notice. Confirm the place within 5 working days and arrange the document check.
- Two to three weeks before you go back to work. Plan the settling-in period.
That last point is easy to overlook, yet it largely decides how your child experiences the start. If you return to work on 1 September and settling in takes two weeks, your child’s first day at nursery should fall in mid-August, or your return to work should move back by those two weeks. How to prepare your child and yourself is covered in our nursery adaptation guide.
Is nursery good for a child?
Parents usually ask themselves this at the same time as they look up admission dates. There is no single answer, because it depends on the child, the family and the setting itself. The Act on the care of children under the age of three gives nurseries three functions: care, upbringing and education — a nursery is not somewhere to leave a child while parents work, but a place meant to support the child’s development.
What helps you decide? Above all, a visit: see how the carers talk to the children, how many children are in the group, whether the little ones have room to move and whether the day leaves space for sleep according to their needs. Ask about settling in — whether a parent can stay in the room for the first days and how long the process takes. A good nursery does not rush the separation.
An honest look at your own situation helps too. If a parent is going back to work and there is no other steady care, nursery can be a solution that gives the child a predictable rhythm and contact with other children. If the family can provide care at home for longer, they can do so and enrol later. Both decisions are fine, as long as the child gets time to adjust calmly to the change.
Once you have enrolled, it is worth checking the funding straight away. We describe the rules of the “Aktywnie w żłobku” benefit in the article on the Aktywny Rodzic nursery benefit, and you can get an estimate for your family in the Aktywny Rodzic calculator (in Polish).
FAQ — parents’ questions about nursery enrolment
Can you enrol a child in nursery before birth? Not in a Warsaw city nursery. The admissions rules require an application for a child with a PESEL number, so you apply after the birth and once the number has been assigned. For private nurseries the rules are set by the setting’s statute — ask the setting directly.
Does applying earlier give priority? Only when points are equal. The order within an age group is set by points for the criteria, and if two applications have the same number of points, the one submitted earlier goes first.
How many settings can you choose in the application? Between one and three. You choose them all in one application — a child can have only one application with the status “waiting”.
What happens if I don’t renew the application in January? The application is rejected from the system. Renewal is required every year from 1 to 15 January for waiting applications registered by 31 December of the previous year.
Can you get a nursery place in the middle of the year? Yes. Admissions to Warsaw’s city nurseries run all year round, and places that become free during the year are filled through supplementary admissions. Applications that did not qualify in September take part automatically.
How long do I have to confirm a place? Five working days from qualification. You confirm by email to the setting. No confirmation means the application is rejected for all the chosen settings.
Do I have to live in Warsaw to enrol my child in a city nursery? Yes. The conditions for admission are that the child lives in Warsaw with their parents or parent and has had the compulsory vaccinations, or has a medical reason not to.
In closing
Ola, on her bench by the Vistula, has not missed anything. Antek has a PESEL number, so she can apply today, tick the criteria and put two dates in her calendar: renewing the application in the first half of January and the spring admissions round for September. Until then she has several months to look round nurseries calmly, private ones too, and to plan the settling-in so that Antek’s first day does not fall on her own first day back at work. And when Antek finishes nursery, it will help to know from what age a child can start preschool in Poland.
If you would like to see what a day at a Montessori nursery looks like and how enrolment works, visit the nursery page.