You have until February 14th for the new school year. The procedure is done online on the Ministry of Education portal and it is possible to follow the status of the application. News for parental education
On the way from January 13th enrollments in the first year of primary school, lower secondary school and upper secondary school for the school year 2026-2027. Families will have until February 14, 2026 to submit the application. This year too everything will be done online on the ministerial platform Uniquethe portal of the Ministry of Education and Merit that centralizes all registration operations. The online procedure simplifies many steps, but requires attention when choosing schools and compiling data. So, without stress, it is better to have all the documents and information at hand.
School registrations 2026-2027: dates, deadlines and schools involved
Registration applications must be forwarded from 13 January to 14 February 2026. The procedure concerns the first year of elementary, middle and high school state schoolsbut also the paths of Education and Professional Trainingthe private schools who adhere to the online procedure and paths four-year courses in the technological-professional supply chain. The following are excluded from online registration state nursery schoolsfor which the application continues to be submitted in paper form directly to the school secretary. And municipal nursery schools and nursery schools are also excluded, as they have methods and times dictated by the various Municipalities.
How to enroll in school for September 2026: access to the Unica platform
The first step to enrolling your children in school is accessing the platform Uniqueavailable on the Ministry website. The parent or guardian must enter with a valid digital identity. SPID, Electronic Identity Card, National Service Card and eIDAS are accepted. Once logged in, the system requests confirmation of personal data and accompanies the user in filling out the application, which can be saved and resumed at a later time. The platform is active every day, 24 hours a day, during the registration period.
Online school registrations: what data is needed and what is required
To register you need: student personal datathe tax code ei mechanographic codes of schools that they intend to indicate. Where are the school mechanographic codes located? On the websites of the various institutes or on Scuola in Chiaro, where they are retrieved through a search engine within the platform. When completing the form, the student and family data must be entered and at least one school must be indicated as first choice. However, it is strongly recommended to also indicate a second and third option, especially for high schools, because in the event of an excess of applications the system will automatically sort them towards the selected alternatives.
Primary, middle and high school: what must be indicated in the online application
To register for primary school you are also asked to indicate the school time, choosing between full time or module, where applicable. For the lower secondary school the question includes the choice of school time, generally between 30 or 36 hours per week, and the preference for the second community language.
In the case of high schoolsthe procedure is more complex. You may be asked to send the orientation assessment issued by the middle school and the seventh grade report card, according to the methods established by the individual institution. Furthermore, it is necessary to indicate the chosen field of study, any enhancements, the second and third language and, if applicable, the choice between a short or long week.
You are also asked to always express your choice regarding the teaching of Catholic religion. In case of non-adherence, it is necessary to fill in the so-called Form Cwhich allows you to indicate alternative activities. It is also essential to report the presence of disabilities or special educational needsattaching the updated certification.
School registrations: isending the application and monitoring on Unica
Before final submission, the platform allows you to preview the application. After submission, the parent receives a confirmation email. From that moment the application can no longer be modified, but can be monitored directly on Unica.
Over the following weeks, the status of the request may change: the application may be forwarded, accepted, returned to the family for corrections or assigned to a school other than the one indicated as the first choice. The final result will be communicated via email after registration closes.
School enrollments 2026: what to keep in mind
An important thing to remember is that the order in which the application is submitted does not affect acceptance. It is therefore not necessary to connect on the first day, which is always crowded every year and therefore saturates the system. In the event of applications exceeding available places, schools apply i precedence criteria decided by the collegial bodies, do not look at the date of receipt of the application.
Parental education: what’s new for 2026-2027
New this year for families who choose theparental education: the application deadline is the same as for online school registrations, i.e. the February 14, 2026. In this case, however, the Unica platform is not used. A prior communication in paper form is required, to be presented to the head teacher of a school of the corresponding level in the territory of residence. The operating methods will be detailed in the Ministry’s Guidelines on Parental Education, which is expected to be published soon.
