Obtaining an Educational License for a School

Opening a private school or launching a new level of general secondary education requires more than premises, teachers and an educational program. To operate legally, an educational institution must obtain the appropriate license.

The license confirms that the educational institution is capable of carrying out educational activities at a specific level of complete general secondary education and at a specific place of operation.

VINCO’S Legal Company supports clients in preparing and filing documents for obtaining educational licenses for schools, including primary, basic secondary and specialized secondary education.

An educational license is required for legal entities that plan to provide educational services in the field of complete general secondary education. This may include a private school, a structural unit of another legal entity, a school operating at one or several levels, or an institution expanding its activities to a new level.

Licensing applies not to the “school” as such, but to educational activity at a specific level of complete general secondary education and at a specific place where such activity is carried out.

Primary education is the first level of complete general secondary education and usually covers grades 1-4. To launch a primary school, the institution must confirm its ability to comply with the State Standard of Primary Education, have qualified teachers, premises, educational and methodological support, and a safe educational environment.

This format is often chosen by private educational projects that start gradually: first opening a primary school and later expanding the license to basic secondary education.

Basic secondary education is the second level of complete general secondary education and usually covers grades 5-9. A school planning to operate at this level must have staffing, material, technical and methodological support sufficient to implement the State Standard of Basic Secondary Education.

In practice, the transition from primary school to basic secondary education requires particular attention to teaching staff, subject classrooms, subject-based teaching, educational programs and safe organization of the educational process.

Specialized secondary education is the third level of complete general secondary education and usually covers grades 10-12. At this level, specializations, qualified teachers, material resources, the ability to teach profile subjects and preparation of students for further education or career choice are particularly important.

If an institution plans to operate as a lyceum or open an upper secondary school, it is necessary to assess compliance with the licensing conditions specifically for specialized secondary education.

If the founder plans to establish a school providing complete general secondary education, the documentation must be prepared with regard to all three levels: primary, basic secondary and specialized secondary education.

In this case, it is important to correctly determine the licensed capacity, place of educational activity, institutional structure, staffing, educational programs, material and technical resources and school management model.

Expansion of educational activity is required if the institution already has a license but plans to open another level of complete general secondary education or increase the licensed capacity.

For example, if a private school has a license for primary education but plans to open grade 5 and operate at the level of basic secondary education, it must go through the procedure for expanding educational activity.

Before filing the documents, it is advisable to conduct a preliminary audit of the following issues:

• legal form and constituent documents of the legal entity;
• the main activity related to education;
• the level or levels of education for which the license is required;
• licensed capacity;
• place or places where educational activity will be carried out;
• legal grounds for using the premises;
• compliance of premises with sanitary, construction, fire safety and other requirements;
• staffing, qualifications of teachers and the head of the institution;
• educational and methodological support;
• material and technical resources for the relevant level of education;
• accessibility of premises for children with disabilities and other low-mobility groups;
• availability of the institution’s website and information that must be published under applicable law.

Depending on the situation, the document package may include:

• application for obtaining the license;
• copies of constituent documents of the legal entity or the regulation on the relevant structural unit, if educational activity is carried out through it;
• copy of the statistical report on financial results for the previous year, if such filing is mandatory;
• written commitment regarding staffing, material and technical, educational and methodological support, life safety and occupational safety;
• written commitment to ensure barrier-free access to buildings and premises for children with disabilities and other low-mobility groups, or documents confirming such access;
• copies of documents confirming the education level, qualifications and level of command of the state language of the head of the institution;
• copy of the head’s personal medical record of the prescribed form;
• information on staffing, material and technical resources and educational and methodological support, if required for the specific procedure;
• documents confirming ownership or right of use of property for each place of educational activity;
• inventory of submitted documents in two copies.

1. Initial consultation and determination of the school model.
2. Determination of the level or levels of education for which the license is required.
3. Analysis of constituent documents, business activity codes, legal entity structure and management model.
4. Review of premises, staffing, material and technical, educational and methodological support.
5. Preparation of a list of documents and recommendations for correcting deficiencies.
6. Preparation of the application, commitments, inventory and supporting documents.
7. Filing documents with the relevant licensing authority.
8. Communication with the licensing authority and support during document review.
9. Obtaining the licensing decision or supporting correction of deficiencies.
10. Further support: license expansion, re-issuance, HR and educational documentation.

• incorrectly determined level of education or licensed capacity;
• lack of proper legal grounds for using the premises;
• non-compliance of premises with safety and accessibility requirements;
• insufficient staffing for the declared level of education;
• absence or incorrect preparation of educational programs and methodological materials;
• incomplete document package;
• inaccurate or inconsistent information in the application and attachments;
• lack of required information on the school’s website;
• filing documents without a prior legal audit.

• provide a consultation on opening a private school;
• determine the optimal model: primary school, gymnasium, lyceum or full-cycle school;
• analyze legal entity documents and premises;
• prepare the licensing document package;
• support filing with the licensing authority;
• assist in correcting deficiencies;
• support expansion of the license to a new education level;
• prepare internal documents for the educational institution;
• provide further legal support for the school’s activities.

If you plan to open a private school or expand the educational activity of an existing institution, the VINCO’S team will help you properly prepare documents, assess risks and go through the licensing procedure in accordance with applicable law.

According to the official state service guide, the service term is 10 working days. The fee for a license issued by a local executive authority equals 10% of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons applicable on the date of the licensing decision. The final amount should be checked as of the filing date.