Schooling and childcare in Buenos Aires

The calendar for the 2027 school year

Pre-enrolment in CABA state schools runs from 5 October to 6 November 2026, and the accompanying document control from 5 October to 13 November 2026. The Sorteo Público Anual falls on 21 October 2026; it does not assign places, it only orders applicants who are otherwise equally qualified. Results can be checked on the platform from 4 December 2026, and at schools and designated sites from 9 December 2026. The school year is the southern-hemisphere one, running roughly from late February or March to December, which is why the window sits in the preceding October and November.

Who has to pre-enrol online

Anyone entering a CABA state school for the first time in any modality must pre-enrol online, and a newcomer's children are always in that group. So must all initial-level salas, students changing level within the state system, students coming from CABA private schools, students arriving from other provinces or from abroad, and the special education and adult modalities. Students already in a state school who are not changing level do not re-enrol online; they confirm at the school. Moving a child between two state schools is not done through this system at all, but as a PASE, granted only where a vacancy exists under the Reglamento Escolar and the receiving school's rules.

• Changing level means sala de 5 to the first grade of primary, and 7th grade to the first year of secondary.
• The platform is the Sistema de Inscripción en Línea at iel.buenosaires.gob.ar, and you log in with a miBA account.
• Pre-enrolment generates a single identification number that follows the applicant through every later stage.
• A minor is enrolled by a parent, guardian or duly authorised person; an applicant of age enrols themselves.

What you upload, and why passports are enough

For the student you need an identity document, which may be a DNI, a birth certificate or a passport, plus proof of address. Proof of address may be a DNI showing the address, a police-issued domicile certificate, a title deed, a rental contract, a certificado de vivienda familiar, a utility bill or a bank statement, provided it is in the name of the responsible adult. For that adult you need an identity document too, again a DNI, a cédula de identidad or a passport, plus an employment certificate or a signed sworn statement evidencing the work address. A family that has just landed can therefore enrol on passports and a lease.

Private and bilingual schools sit outside all of this

The online system covers state-managed schools only, at every level. The bilingual and international options are in the private sector, are approached directly, and run their own calendars, which are separate from the city's October and November window and usually earlier in the year. Ask each school for its own admission dates and requirements as soon as you have a shortlist, because a private deadline may pass before the state window has even opened.

If you arrive at the wrong moment

There is a second chance after the main allocation. For the 2026 cycle the período de excepción ran from 26 January to 8 February 2026, with document control to 10 February and results on 20 February; in that window the system shows only schools that still have vacancies, and you can name just one preferred Comuna. Expect an equivalent window in late January 2027, and treat it as salvage rather than a plan. If you arrive with the school year already under way, the route is Boti, the city's WhatsApp assistant, on 11-5050-0147, with the message Inscripción escolar.

• For the 2026 cycle the Boti channel was open from 25 February to 31 August.
• There is a school finder with a simulator at buscatuescuela.buenosaires.gob.ar.
• In-person attention points take appointments, and the 147 helpline covers enrolment on option 2.3 from within the city.
• Entry to the Educación Especial modality is regulated by Resolución 72-GCABA-SSGDA/25 and needs a psycho-socio-educational assessment by a Ministry of Education team. Queries go to inscripcion.educacionespecial@bue.edu.ar, and you should build extra months into the timeline.