Enrolling Your Children in School in France

Instruction is compulsory from age 3 to 16

In France, compulsory instruction applies to every child aged 3 to 16, so a child of nursery age is inside the system, not before it. It can be given in a public or private school or, only with authorization, at home. The public system runs in four stages, and the stage decides where you enroll: at the mairie for the first two, directly with the school for the last two.

From age 3école maternelle

Nursery and pre-school, where compulsory instruction begins

Ages 6 to 11école élémentaire

Elementary school, in two learning cycles: CP to CE2, then CM1 to CM2. The obligation starts at the rentrée of the calendar year in which the child turns 6

From age 11collège

Lower secondary school

From age 15lycée

Upper secondary school, where students choose a general, technological or vocational baccalaureate track through age 18

The school year and when to register

The school year starts at the rentrée in early September and ends when summer vacation begins in early July. For 2026–2027 in mainland France, summer vacation starts on 3 July 2027. Winter and spring vacations are staggered across three zones (A, B and C) by académie; Paris is in zone C.

For a September start in a public maternelle or élémentaire, the child must be registered at the mairie by June at the latest. Registration generally opens in March, but some communes open it earlier, so ask your mairie well ahead.

Public maternelle and élémentaire: register at the mairie first

For a public nursery or elementary school, enrollment starts at the town hall (mairie) of your home address, not at the school. These rules apply to newcomers regardless of nationality, so an American family follows the same steps as a French one. Enrollment in a public elementary school is free.

1. 1Register your child at the mairie of your home address
2. 2The mairie issues a certificat d’inscription naming the school your child is assigned to, generally the school nearest your home
3. 3Take that certificate to the assigned school, with proof of the mandatory vaccinations, to finalize enrollment
4. 4If your child is 6 or older, the school assesses their academic skills on arrival, and the results decide the class they are placed in

The documents the mairie and the school ask for

The mairie needs to see who you and the child are and where you live. The school then needs the mairie’s certificate and proof of vaccination.

• At the mairie: proof of your identity and your child’s (livret de famille, identity card, passport, a copy of a birth certificate extract, or a sworn statement)
• At the mairie: recent proof of address; a sworn statement (attestation sur l’honneur) is accepted
• At the school: the mairie’s certificat d’inscription, and proof that the child has had the mandatory vaccinations for their age or has a medical contraindication
• Separately: other documents may be requested for the canteen and after-school activities

Vaccinations are required for admission

A child must be vaccinated, unless there is a recognized medical contraindication, to be admitted to school. The mandatory list depends on the date of birth. The French proof is the carnet de santé, in which the doctor records each vaccination.

Born before 2018

Primary vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and polio (DTP)

Born 2018 to 2022

DTP, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis B, pneumococcus, meningococcus C, and measles, mumps and rubella

Born from 2023

The same, with meningococcus A, B, C, W and Y in place of meningococcus C

Collège and lycée: evaluation first, then an assigned school

For lower and upper secondary school, the mairie step does not apply. When you settle in France for the first time, your child is first evaluated. On arrival, contact the CASNAV, the académie’s center for the schooling of newly arrived children, that covers your main residence. A national-education psychologist reviews your child’s school record and organizes an academic assessment, and the results go to the académie.

The académie then assigns a school, based on your child’s skills and on places available in a suitable school near your home. You enroll at that assigned collège or lycée; the child must be in France at the time. The documents required vary by rectorat, so ask the assigned school before you go.

Many académies now offer online enrollment at the new school through FranceConnect; otherwise, families deal directly with the collège or lycée. For difficulties, or when a child is transferring from an unregulated private school, contact the DSDEN of your place of residence.

How a child from a US school is placed

The official pages describe placement by evaluation, not a conversion of US grades: a child who was already in school is placed in an ordinary class matching their level, which may be with pupils of a different age, in principle no more than 2 years apart. A child who needs intensive French can also join a UPE2A unit while following the ordinary class on an individual timetable.

Children aged 12 to 17 whose mother tongue is not French can take the DELF scolaire, the ministry’s official certification in French as a foreign language, issued by France Éducation International.

For a completed US diploma used to enter French higher education, each institution sets its own admission criteria and alone decides on recognition. It may ask for an attestation de comparabilité from the ENIC-NARIC center, issued online for €120 within 4 months of payment. That attestation is an opinion, not legally binding and not compulsory.

Support for children who do not speak French

The Ministry of Education runs dedicated units for newly arrived students who do not speak French, called UPE2A (unité pédagogique pour élèves allophones arrivants). Specialized teachers work with the children there, alongside inclusion in regular classes. Where grouping pupils in a unit is not possible, specific French lessons are organized instead.

Nationally, nine out of ten newly arrived non-French-speaking students (89,500 in 2022–2023) receive French-as-a-second-language support, most often through a UPE2A unit.

International sections, private and bilingual schools

Public schools offer sections internationales: a bilingual program that teaches French and foreign pupils together, with an American section among the 18 languages offered. At lycée they are open only in the general track and add 6 extra hours a week of language-based teaching, including history-geography and foreign literature. Sections run from CP to seconde, and the last two years lead to the baccalauréat français international (BFI). Students who were not in a section before première can apply to the BFI. The ministry pages list schools by language and académie; ask the school about admission.

French private schools come in two kinds, and the difference matters for how closely they follow the state system. Enrollment in a private school is made directly with the school, which sets its own dates and fees.

Sous contratétablissement privé sous contrat

State-contracted: the state pays the teachers, and the school must accept children without distinction of origin, opinion or belief

Hors contratétablissement privé hors contrat

Independent, but inspected by the state from its very first year of operation, with further unannounced inspections possible

Home schooling and CNED need an authorization

Instruction at home (instruction dans la famille) is open to a child living in France whatever their nationality, but only with an authorization from the DASEN of your département, and only on limited grounds: the child’s health, disability, intensive sports or arts, the family’s itinerant life in France, distance from any public school, or a situation specific to the child that justifies the educational project.

Apply between 1 March and 31 May before the school year. For some grounds, such as health, a later request is accepted if the grounds arose after 31 May, with proof. The DASEN decides within 2 months of a complete file, and no answer within that time means acceptance. The authorization also counts as approval for free enrollment in a regulated CNED class (classe à inscription réglementée). Home instruction without authorization exposes parents to a fine of €1,500.

Canteen, after-school care and school insurance

The commune runs the primary-school canteen, but it is not required to offer one. Where it exists, every enrolled child has the right to use it, and your work or social situation cannot be a reason for refusal. The commune sets the price and may scale it to family income (quotient familial).

School insurance covers damage your child causes (responsabilité civile) and injuries they suffer. It is optional for compulsory school activities and for optional outings, but it can be required for the canteen and for the commune’s after-school activities, such as supervised study and cultural or sports activities. Check first whether your home insurance already covers it; a separate policy starts at around €10 a year per child.

CAF family benefits once you are settled

The Caisse d’Allocations Familiales (CAF) pays several benefits relevant to families: allocations familiales (child allowances for households with 2 or more dependent children), housing aid (APL, ALF, ALS), and the PAJE (the birth grant, the basic allowance and childcare supplements). These are separate from health coverage and from the RSA.

The core condition is that you reside in France in a stable and effective manner, whatever your nationality. As US citizens are not EU, EEA or Swiss nationals, you must also prove the regularity of your stay with a valid document. Under Article D512-1 of the Code de la sécurité sociale, accepted documents include a carte de résident, a carte de séjour temporaire, and a long-stay visa valid as a residence permit (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour). The VLS-TS qualifies.

• Housing aid: available to foreigners holding a valid residence permit; income, rent level and housing type also affect eligibility and amount
• PAJE birth grant: you must stay in France more than 9 months (consecutive or not) in the calendar year for payment to continue, and the claim is examined in the 6th month of pregnancy; income ceilings apply to most PAJE components
• Allocations familiales: the full allowance requires 2 or more children and income under the applicable ceiling, with reduced amounts above it; the ceilings were raised from 1 January 2025
• Applying: make a new benefit request on caf.fr under « Aides et démarches », then « Accéder à mes démarches », which creates your online account and allocataire number. Supporting documents (residence permit, lease, income, family composition) can vary slightly by local caisse