In Hungary, a child starts school in the year they turn 6 by 31 August (we explain the rule here). If you feel one more year in kindergarten would do your child good, the start can be postponed by one school year. The question comes up most often for children born in the summer, who may be among the youngest in their class.
Who decides?
The Educational Authority (Oktatási Hivatal) decides on the parent's request and sends its decision as a formal ruling. If the expert committee of the pedagogical support service has already recommended, by the deadline, that the child stays in kindergarten, no separate request from the parent is needed.
What is the deadline?
The request is due in January of the year in which the child would start school. For the 2026/2027 school year the deadline was 19 January 2026: the original date, 18 January, fell on a Sunday. If this concerns you next year, check the Educational Authority's page in the autumn for the current date.
How to apply
- online, with an electronic form on the Authority's site, signing in with Ügyfélkapu+ or DÁP;
- by post, to Oktatási Hivatal, Budapest, 1982.
The Authority does not accept requests sent by e-mail.
What to attach
Attachments are optional, but they help if you have any of these:
- the expert opinion of the pedagogical support service;
- the kindergarten's development record;
- a pedagogical assessment;
- a certificate from a medical specialist.
If the documents do not make the child's development clear, the Authority asks the expert committee of the pedagogical support service to assess the child.
How long does a decision take?
According to the Authority, if the documents are sufficient, it decides within 8 days. If an expert assessment is needed, the decision comes within 50 days.
Once, for one year
The postponement is for one school year. If the child turns 7 by 31 August, the start of school cannot be postponed any further: they start on 1 September.
How to decide
There is no single right answer, and one more kindergarten year is not falling behind. What can help:
- talk to the kindergarten teacher, who sees your child in the group every day;
- watch everyday life: how your child copes with short tasks, rules and waiting;
- look at the three areas the kindergarten programme describes: Signs of school readiness.
Whichever you choose, the last kindergarten year can be full of play: movement, stories and numbers in everyday life. Teki adds a few minutes of that a day. How Teki works
Sources
- Postponing the start of compulsory schooling (in Hungarian) – Oktatási Hivatal (read 24 September 2026)
- Act CXC of 2011 on National Public Education, section 45 (in Hungarian) – Jogtár (read 24 September 2026)
