The Guide to School Registration: École Maternelle and Élémentaire

Just a friendly reminder that January 29 is the last day to enroll your children in public school for next Fall. I have seen the poster on the door of our halte-garderie and ignored it for weeks. Inscription, or en anglais registration, started November 2 last year. As I am sadly a last-minute kind of person, I am off to do it today and thought I would remind any other busy parents who might have missed the memo or doesn’t have a poster glaring them in the face as a reminder. I also thought this is the perfect moment to research and share what I have learned. And if you have any tips to add, please share them in the comments.

Step 1: Make sure you know the requirements & exceptions

• École Maternelle, which is optional, is for children 3 years old until 5 years. If your child will be 3 by August or during the calendar year you can register.

• École Élémentaire, is mandatory, starts from 6 years old until 10. Children in Grand Section of their école maternelle are automatically registered for école élémentaire.

• If you can find an availability at a maternelle for your 2 year old, the mairie will accept their registration. For école élémentaire, with special permission, children can start before 6 years of age.

Step 2: Assemble all the necessary documents

1. A livret de famille or your child’s birth certificate.
2. A medical certificate or your child’s carnet de sante (medical diary) with proof of the necessary vaccinations. (D.T. polio are obligatory). If you child isn’t vaccinated, you will need a medical pharmacy-no-rx.net document explaining this.
3. Identification

4. If you are moving into a new school zone, you will need a document from your child’s previous school, le certificat de l’école précédente.

5. One of the following documents with proof of residence:

   -Gas or electric bill that is not more than 3 months old.
   -Your last tax invoice (avis d’imposition ) or proof you don’t have to pay taxes or did not owe any.
   –La redevance audiovisuelle– the best way to translate this is the bill most people receive from the State for owning and watching a television at home (so bizarre!!)
   – If you are moving into a new school zone, you will need a document from your child’s previous school, le certificat de l’école précédente.

Step 3: Find the Mairie in your hood

Now that you know the age requirements, have all your documents, next step is to head to your local mairie. You can find a list here. Confirm the location and note the hours. Generally almost all mairies are open Monday to Friday 8:30-5:00pm and Thursday until 7:30pm.

Step 4: Visit the school

A handful of documents and a visit to the town hall doesn’t mean you are automatically enrolled in school. You will need to find out what school your child is assigned to and contact the directrice or directeur to faire un inscription. Visit this site to find out what public school is closest to you. (The list also includes many private schools). You can of course also ask the mairie for the name and contact info for the school your child will be assigned to.

Additional info to know:

• Registration is every November until the end of January for the coming school year.
• You can register throughout the year if you have just moved to Paris or changed quartiers.
• Registration can only be completed by a parent or legal guardian. Womp womp. Sorry, you can’t send the nanny, au pair or grandmère to do your bureaucratic dirty work.
• 9 times out of 10, anything you have to do that requires filling out official papers and some administrative office will bring you a grey hair or two. Certain exceptionelle situations might require additional documents, which you will only know after visiting the mairie.
• It’s not necessary to register every year unless you move to a different neighborhood.