The earliest your child can start early childhood education is the beginning of the calendar month during which they turn nine months old.
The primary way to apply for early childhood education is via the Edlevo e-service, which requires you to use a strong authentication method to verify your identity.
Apply for early childhood education on Edlevo online service
Apply for a place for your child in the municipal early childhood education via the Edlevo e-service.
How the process works
Sign in to the Edlevo e-service mobile app or on your browser at hel.fi/vakapalvelu. The app is available on Google Play and the App Store. Sign in to the service by using suomi.fi e-Identification.
By signing in to the e-service, you give consent for use of the e-service and to be informed of decisions electronically. To open PDF files on a mobile device, you will need a PDF reader application. Alternatively, you can use paper-based services.
When filling in an application on Edlevo, first click the 'Area' menu and choose either a Finnish-language early childhood area, or 'svensk småbarnspedagogik' if you want early childhood education in Swedish. This way the daycare centres in that area will appears in the 'Unit' menu. The abbreviation 'PK' means a Finnish-language daycare centre, päiväkoti and 'DH' a Swedish-language daycare centre, daghem.
Once you have submitted your application, you can edit it until it is taken in for processing. In this phase, the status of your application in Edlevo is 'Awaiting handling from the municipality'. The application will be taken in for processing around three months before your desired start date or sooner in urgent cases.
Once your application has been taken in for processing, the status of the application in Edlevo will be 'In queue'. At this point, you can no longer edit the application.
The application will then be processed according to the grounds for granting places in early childhood education.
The decision on your early childhood education place is based on your desired start date and, where possible, the options you have chosen.
Once the decision on your child's place is ready, you will receive an email. You can view the decision on your the browser at www.hel.fi/vakapalvelu or on the Edlevo mobile app available in your app store.
Processing time
The processing time of an application is up to 4 months, unless you indicate a later start date for the service. Applications are taken into processing about 2 months before the desired start date.
Validity period
The application is valid for 12 months from the date it was submitted.
We will deliver any decisions on fees onto the Edlevo e-service to the parent or guardian who submitted the application.
Additional information
You can submit an application for early childhood education 12 months before the desired start date, at the earliest.
You can also apply for a place in early childhood education if you live outside of Helsinki, on the condition that your family must be officially living in Helsinki by the time the early childhood education starts.
Links
Applying with the PDF form
Use the PDF form if
-your family does not have Finnish personal identity codes
-you do not have Finnish online banking credentials
-you are otherwise unable to apply online
-someone in your family has a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons.
Send us the PDF form via secure email (see link below). This ensures that your application reaches the service guidance for early childhood education team safely and quickly.
You can also print out the PDF form and return it by post to Service guidance for early childhood education, Työpajankatu 8, PO Box 58300, 00099 City of Helsinki. We also accept paper applications at the city-owned playgrounds (excluding playgrounds Loru, Seppä and Santahamina).
When you apply with the PDF form, you can be granted a place four months after we receive your application. If you need a place earlier, see section 'Sudden, unforeseen need for early childhood education.
How the process works
If you have applied by using the PDF form and you or one of your family members has a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, we will send you the decision primarily by secure email. Alternatively, you can pick up the decision from our offices at Työpajankatu 8 by booking an appointment with us.
If you applied by using the PDF form and you or your child does not have a Finnish personal identity code, we will send the decision either by secure email or by post to your home address.
Applicants moving to Helsinki from abroad or another municipality: We recommend that you apply for a place in early childhood education before you move to Helsinki. You can submit a PDF application even if you do not yet have a Finnish personal identity code or an address in Helsinki. Your personal information can be updated later.
Your address must be in Helsinki at the latest by the start date specified in the early childhood education decision.
Fill in a form
Good to know before applying
Below you will find useful information about applying for a place. Please read these instructions carefully before applying for a place.
When to apply?
Apply for a place in municipal early childhood education at least four months before you want your child to start attending – even if you are still looking for work, a student place or an apartment in Helsinki.
You can apply no earlier than one year before your child needs a place. If you have an urgent need for a place in early childhood education, you should apply for a place as soon as possible and at least two weeks before you will need the place. In this case, you must provide proof that your need is sudden and unforeseen. To learn more, see section ‘Sudden, unforeseen need for early childhood education’.
The earliest you can apply for a place is from the beginning of the calendar month your child turns nine months old. Please note that finding a place for a child who is under 1 year old at your preferred location may be more challenging than for older children.
Before you apply, please note that most daycare centres are closed for about five weeks from the Midsummer, as well as during Christmas and New Year. For more information about early childhood education during the holiday periods, see Early childhood education during the holidays | City of Helsinki.
Special needs and days off
Let us know in your application if your child has special needs. Remember to attach the necessary documents regarding the child’s needs in the application.
If you want your child to have regular days off from early childhood education, you can inform the service guidance team of this by email when you submit your application. You can also discuss this with the daycare centre manager after you have received a place. The daycare centre manager will confirm the changes with you.
Your child can also get a place in a round-the-clock daycare centre, if you need care in the evenings, nights or weekends due to your work or studies. Learn more about the extended hours in early childhood education.
If you want a place in a Swedish-language immersion group, learn more here.
Will we get a place in the daycare centre I applied for?
Your child has the right to early childhood education in the city they are registered as a resident. In Helsinki, we strive to arrange early childhood education according to your wishes. Do note that in some areas and daycare centres, there are fewer places available than there are applicants. Getting a place in your preferred unit does not depend on when you submit your application.
If we cannot offer you a place in your preferred locations, we will offer your child the nearest available place.
- If you only apply for places in Finnish-speaking units, we will offer you the nearest available Finnish-speaking place.
- If you only apply for places in Swedish-speaking units, we will offer you the nearest available Swedish-speaking place.
If parents/guardians live in different cities
Even if your child is not registered in Helsinki, they can get an early childhood education place in Helsinki if at least one guardian lives in Helsinki. The place will be granted only for the days the child lives with the Helsinki resident guardian.
When you as the Helsinki resident guardian apply for a place, let us know the which days the child spends in another city’s early childhood education.
If your child is registered in Helsinki, they can get a full-time place in the City of Helsinki’s early childhood education. The child can also attend only on the days they live in Helsinki.
If you are planning a move to Helsinki
You can apply for an early childhood education place in Helsinki for your child even if you do not yet live in Helsinki. To be eligible for a place, your family must be resident in Helsinki when early childhood education begins.
If you have any questions about early childhood education when moving from one municipality to another, please contact the Early Childhood Education Service Guidance by email or varepalveluohjaus@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program) or by phone at +358 9 310 80488(Link starts a phone call).
Apply for a place in early childhood education four months in advance or as soon as you start making plans to move, find a job or take up studies.
A sudden and unforeseen need for an early childhood education means that you need a daycare place for your child urgently or as soon as possible. In the best care scenario, we can offer you a place within two weeks from sending an application.
If you need a place urgently, toggle the ‘Urgent application’ button on your application on Edlevo and attach the required documents to prove your need.
Please note that will not be able to process your application without the attachments.
What is a sudden and unforeseen situation and how do I prove it?
All parents or guardians must provide proof that the child urgently needs a place in early childhood education.
The proof provided by one parent or guardian must indicate an unforeseen situation. The attachments from the other parents or guardians must indicate that they are unable to care for the child at home due to work or study commitments.
A sudden and unforeseen situation may be:
- a job or study place assigned by the Employment Services
- getting a study place through a cancellation or waiting list
- the end of a layoff
- or other similar situation
You must provide us with:
-
a written statement from the employer confirming unexpected employment
or
- A proof from the educational institution confirming that you have gotten a place from the waiting list
An employment contract or study certificate alone is not sufficient.
The following are not considered sudden or unforeseen situations:
- the end of parental leave
- moving to Helsinki from another municipality, unless required by the employer
Your application will only be processed urgently once you have submitted the necessary attachments. If your application is accepted for urgent processing, you can get an early childhood education place in two weeks’ time after submitting the attachments. If you do not submit the required documents, your application will be processed according to the regular application schedule.
Keep in mind that in urgent cases the available early childhood education place may be located further away than usual.
Whenever possible, your child is allocated an early childhood education place based on your first choice. A guardian will choose up to three options for early childhood education in the application. We aim to organise you a place in one of your three options in the order you have placed them in the application.
We also consider the start date on which your child needs the service. We process the applications every month in two-week batches based on the applicants’ start dates. First batch: start date is between 1st and 15th. Second batch: start date is between 16th and 31st - respecting the statutory four-month period before the start date within which a place must be allocated.
For more information, see the English translation of the Education Committee's decision: Grounds applied from 1 January 2024 onwards in allocating places in early childhood education, PDF(Link leads to external service)
What happens after I have submitted my application?
We will send you the early childhood education decision at least one month before your child needs a place in early childhood education. The invoicing will begin on the date stated in the decision.
You will receive the decision on the Edlevo e-service if you have given us the permission to send you electronic notifications. You will receive an email once the decision is available in the Edlevo e-service. Emails from Edlevo will come from the address noreply.vakapalvelu(at)hel.fi.
If any of your family members have a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, you will receive the decision by secure email. If you have not given us permission to send you electronic notifications, or we cannot send the decision to Edlevo due to other reasons, we will send the decision by post to your home address.
- The right to child home care allowance or private daycare allowance ends on the day before the child starts in municipal early childhood education.
If you receive child home care allowance or private daycare allowance, you must notify Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland) of the start date of your child’s municipal early childhood education to avoid overpayment of the allowance. - We will also notify Kela that your child has started in early childhood education after the start date.
If you accept the place stated in the early childhood education decision, you do not have to do anything. The daycare centre will contact you and invites you to the daycare centre introduction. This is usually a phone call.
If you are not happy with the offered early childhood education place, you can apply for a transfer to another place. First you need to accept the offered place on Edlevo and then send a transfer application. Learn more about the transfer applications here: Applying for a transfer.
You can request an administrative review of the decision (find instructions in the decision). An administrative review refers to a review of whether your application was processed correctly.
If you do not accept the early childhood education place offered to you, please notify the Service Guidance for Early Childhood Education team by email at varepalveluohjaus@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program) or by phone tel. +358 9 310 80488(Link starts a phone call), or the daycare centre manager as soon as possible or within a week of receiving the decision. If necessary, you can submit a new application, and we will process your application in accordance with the statutory four-month deadline for designating a place in early childhood education.
Your child’s early childhood education and the related invoicing will begin on the date stated in the decision. If you do not cancel the place, you have not brought your child to early childhood education, and you have not provided a reason for the absence, your child’s will lose the early childhood education place a week after the start date. The early childhood education fee will be charged for this period.