Sign up your child for childcare

You can sign up your child for a place in daycare when your child has a CPR number.

We recommend that you sign your child up before your child turns 4 months old so that you have accumulated the longest possible seniority on the waiting list.

If you want to be in the best possible position on the waiting list when your child starts kindergarten, then you must also sign the child up for a kindergarten place before your child turns 4 months old as it is not possible to change a wish for a day nursery (vuggestue) to a wish for a kindergarten (børnehave). If you wish for your child to be attending a combined institution (integreret institution - day nursery and kindergarten under the same roof) then please remember to indicate your wish to sign up your child for both a place at the day nursery and a place at the kindergarten in the combined institution.  

If you sign up your child past the 4-month age, then the date you sign your child up will determine your child's position on the waiting list.

The latest point at which you can register for a place is calculated as the current month + 2 months before your child needs the place.

You must be aware of the fact that in Aarhus Municipality, we operate according to waiting list seniority.

For example: If you need a place from 1st April, the application must be submitted by 31st January, at the latest. If you need a place from 20th April, then it is also by 31st January, at the latest.

You can apply for a place in all institutions offering childcare, but you are most likely to be offered a place in the area in which you live.

In the municipality of Aarhus, you can choose between full-time or part-time daycare. 

Moving within the municipality of Aarhus:

If you are moving and you want to sign your child up for a place in your new district, you must provide your new address and moving date. The address and moving date must be written in the comments box in the Digital Placement (Digital Pladsanvisning).

Please note that you cannot transfer seniority from other childcare guarantee districts.

An example

Ida was born on the 25th of May 2023. Ida and her parents live in the Samsøgade’s school district and therefore in the guarantee of childcare district North (Garantidistrikt Nord). 

On the 29th of May 2023, Ida’s parents signs her up for a nursery spot at Vuggestuen Graven (Graven Nursery). Ida receives her seniority date on the 25th of September 2023.

On the 1st of November 2023, the family buys a house in Solbjerg and moves there. Ida gets signed up for a place in Solbjerg on the 2nd of November 2023. Solbjerg belongs to the guarantee of childcare district South (Garantidistrikt Syd). The family cannot transfer seniority accumulated from another guarantee of childcare district, and Ida therefore starts her seniority on the 2nd of November 2023 for a place in Solbjerg.

Moving to Aarhus from another municipality:

You can apply for a place with us as soon as you have knowledge of your upcoming address and moving date. You must enter your upcoming address and moving date in the comments section of the online self service solution Digital Placement  (“Digital Pladsanvisning”).

Please note that you cannot transfer seniority from the waiting lists of other municipalities. 

The allocation rules take the following into account:

1. Children with special needs, who need urgent care. Children are assessed by PPR

2. Children who are signed up for a compulsory learning programme in the desired institution and who want to be signed up for a regular daycare programme

3. Children with siblings in the same institution or private daycare

4. The child who first gets signed up for a guaranteed daycare place in their his/her school district

5. The child who gets signed up first for a guaranteed daycare place in their his/her own guarantee of childcare district

6. The child who gets signed up first for a guaranteed daycare place in another guarantee of childcare districts

7. The child who has been on the waiting list the longest, even if the child has a place already

When we allocate a place to a child, we must take into account that a maximum of 30% of the children who reside in the vulnerable areas of the city are to be allocated to each individual institution. We must also take into account that children who take part in a compulsory learning programme must have a place before we allocate them a place on the waiting list.

What are children with special needs?

Children with special needs are children without age-appropriate care services in their own district of guarantee, and, following an assessment made by PPR (Pedagogic Psychological Advice - a department of the City of Aarhus concerned with children with special needs), their development is jeopardised so that they do not develop according to their age.

If it is assessed that the child has a special need for acute care based on its development, a referral is made to the first free place in the district of guarantee, and thus not necessarily a place as desired. A no thank you to the place offered will then entail that the child is placed on usual terms without regard for any special needs.

If you believe or think that your child has an extensive disability, you should contact PPR about the possibility of referral to a specialised institution. 

We can only calculate your child's placement on the waiting list when he/she turns 4 months old. This means that all children who have been signed up for a place before they reach the age of 4 months are placed on an equal footing whether they are signed up when they for instance were 2 or 3 months old.

Example 1
Anton was born on January 3rd, 2019. The family used the Digital Childcare Place Allocation application on February 6th, 2019, where they signed Anton up for a place. Anton receives his seniority date of May 3rd, 2019 ( January 3rd + 4 months).

Example 2
Bertram was born on January 3rd, 2019. The family used the Digital Childcare Place Allocation application on June 6th, 2019, where they signed Anton up for a place. This is after Bertram turns 4 months old and therefore, the seniority date is the actual date - June 6th, 2019.

Example 3
Carina and Danielle were both born on May 5th, 2019. Carina gets signed up for a place on May 6th, 2019, and Danielle on September 2nd, 2019. Both have been signed up before they reached 4 months of age, so, therefore, both receive the same seniority date of September 5th, 2019 (May 5th, 2019 + 4 months), even though they have been signed up on different dates.

Example 4
If your child is born on May 31st, July 31st, October 29th, October 30th, October 31st, or December 31st your child will start their seniority on the last day of the appropriate month. Erika was born on October 30th, 2019. She has been signed up for a place before she turns 4 months old, so she receives the seniority date of February 29th, 2020 (October 30th + 4 months).

An example

Fiona was born on June 6th, 2019. The parents signed her up for Vestervang Nursery and Kernehuset Nursery on September 3rd, 2019. Fiona’s seniority date would start from October 6th, 2019 for a guaranteed childcare place and a seniority date for requested childcare places at Kernehuset and Vestervang would start from  October 6th, 2019. On November 1st, 2019, the parents added Vesterbo as their requested place.  The seniority date for the request for Vesterbo will start from  November 1st. When we allocate a guaranteed daycare place to a child, the date on which the requests were made does not really matter. They only matter if you want to be on the waiting list after you have accepted a guaranteed daycare place. This is because the allocation of a requested place, when you have a guaranteed daycare place, takes place according to the seniority dates of the requested places alone.

You can change the date from which you need childcare on a continuous basis for instance the date from which you need a place, without it affecting your waiting list seniority.

However, the date from which you need a place in a day nursery cannot be changed to the date from which you need a place in a kindergarten - this also applies to places in combined institutions.

Please be aware of our rules regarding guaranteed childcare places. You can read more about the guarantee of childcare here.

Example 1

Holly was born on February 2nd, 2022. Her parents signed her up for a place on February 3rd, 2022, with a starting date of December 1st, 2022. Holly will start her seniority date on June 2nd, 2022 (date of birth + 4 months). On August 7th, 2022, the parents decided to change the date from which they require childcare to January 1st, 2023. Holly's seniority continues to be from June 2nd 2022.

Example 2

Ingvar was born on 7 July 2019. The parents enrolled him in a private nursery and signed him up for a kindergarten place on 3 November 2019 with a starting date of 1 August 2022. Ingvar is not enrolled in a municipal day nursery (vuggestue) or with a municipal childminder (dagpleje). Ingvar has seniority from November 7 2019 for a kindergarten place from 1 August 2022. During the spring of 2021, the parents want Ingvar to transfer to a municipal day nursery instead of a private one. The parents changed the need date for Ingvar's kindergarten to 1 May 2021 instead of creating a nursery wish. Since it is not possible to change a kindergarten request to a day nursery request, Ingvar is still not guaranteed a municipal offer before August 1st 2022. In other words, the family does not have the option to change Ingvar's kindergarten seniority to a day nursery seniority.

If you want to switch about the order of your choices you already have made a request for, it will not have an effect on your child's position on the waiting list or the date of your requests.

An example

George was born on July 12th, 2019, and has been signed up to Krokodillehaven institution as the first choice and Møllehuset as the second choice on July 14th, 2019. Both requests receive the seniority date of November 12th, 2019. On November 14th, the family wants to make Møllehuset their first choice, and so they switch between the two institutions, so Møllehuset becomes the first choice and Krokodillehaven becomes the second choice. The seniority date remains November 12th, 2019.

We can allocate a place to your child 2 months before the date they are eligible for a guarantee of childcare, at the earliest. The places will always be offered from the 1^st or 16t^h of the month. Due to turnaround time, this will typically mean you will hear from us approximately 1-1½ months before the date you are eligible for a guarantee of childcare.

If your child is not covered by our childcare guarantee, you will only hear from us if we are able to fulfil your request.

You will receive an offer for daycare in your private email account. The email will also be sent to you as Digital Post which you access via your digital postbox on www.lifeindenmark.dk, using your MitID or on e-Boks or mit.dk (if you have created your digital postbox on one of these sites).

If your child has siblings in an institution or at a childminder (dagpleje), the child may receive a so-called “sibling advantage” (søskendefordel) which makes it more likely that the child can be taken care of in the same institution or by the same childminder.

It is not possible to take on a sibling’s place after a sibling leaves an institution or a childminder. To use the ‘sibling advantage’, siblings must attend the same institution or childminder for a minimum of 14 days.

If parents have joint custody and the child lives with both parents on an alternating basis, this ‘sibling advantage’ can be used for children in the family where the child has their address registered.

Half siblings have ‘sibling advantage’ even if they do not live together. If you want to use the ‘sibling advantage’ for a half-sibling, contact Placement service, and Pupil administration (Pladsanvisning og Elevadministration). Please note, that the parent who is the biological parent to all the children, must be part of the joint custody arrangement concerning the half-sibling in question, in order to make use of the so-called ‘sibling advantage’ regarding half-siblings.

1. If you decline an offer that is not one of your choices, we then consider the guarantee to have been fulfilled and your child’s seniority date will automatically be updated on the guarantee waiting list. The new seniority date would be calculated as follows: the date on which you respond to the offer + continuous month + 2 months

2. If you decline an offer that is one of your choices on the requested waiting list, we will then consider the guarantee to have been fulfilled and your child’s seniority date will automatically be updated on the guarantee waiting list. The new seniority date would be calculated as follows: the date on which you respond to the offer + continuous month + 2 months

3. If you refuse an offer of a childcare place, which is the only choice on your requested waiting list, we will remove the request and consider the guarantee to have been fulfilled. Thus, we will remove your wish for a guaranteed daycare place. This means that your seniority will also be annulled. If you decide to sign your child up again, it may take up to 3 months before your child can be offered a place again.

An example

If your child is offered a place from April 1st and you decline by February 28th at the latest, then the guaranteed seniority date is updated to May 1st. If you decline after March 1st, the guarantee seniority date will be updated to June 1st.

1. If you decline an offer that is not one of your choices, we will then consider the guarantee to have been fulfilled and your child’s seniority date will automatically be updated on the guarantee waiting. The new seniority date would be calculated as follows: the date which you respond to the offer + continuous month + 2 months.

2. If you decline an offer that is not one of your choices, we will then consider the guarantee to have been fulfilled and your child’s seniority date will automatically be updated on the guarantee waiting. The new seniority date would be calculated as follows: the date which you respond to the offer + continuous month + 2 months.

3. If you refuse an offered place, being the only choice on your requested waiting list, we will withdraw the request and consider the guarantee to have been fulfilled. Thus, we will withdraw your request for a guaranteed daycare place. This means that your seniority will also be annulled. You will then be able to sign your child up again and it may take up to 3 months before your child can be offered a place again.

If your child rarely or never uses his or her place, your child may be released from our daycare services.

When your child rarely or never uses the space, the daycare institution will contact you first.  If your child still does not make use of his or her place, we will release your child from our daycare services.

If you have not made arrangements for starting daycare within one week after the start date, your child may be released from our daycare services. After that, it can take up to 3 months for your child to be offered a place again within the guarantee of childcare scheme.

If your child gets a place in a combined day nursery and kindergarten (integreret institution), the child can easily continue in the kindergarten department without having to sign up again.

A combined day nursery and kindergarten is an offer of childcare for children aged 0-6 years, which means that you are guaranteed childcare in the same institution until the child starts school.

If you would rather your child attend another institution when your child reaches kindergarten age, you are more than welcome to sign the child up to a requested kindergarten. Just be aware that you are not guaranteed an offer for a new kindergarten place when your child already is attending an integrated institution.