Day care ("Kita") voucher

The first step to a finding a place in a day care centre or a child day care (childminder) is to register with the youth welfare office in your residential district.

You will receive a day care (“Kita”) voucher from your youth welfare office. You can redeem this at the day care centre or with the child day care provider of your choice where your child is to be cared for if there is a free space available there. The extent of childcare for your child is noted on the Kita voucher.

The day care voucher can be applied for at the youth welfare office in your residential district no earlier than nine months or later than two months before the desired start of care. In your application you will provide information about your child and the desired childcare time, among other things.

You can either use the online form or print out the Registration for the support of children in day care facilities and fill out the registration by hand.

The online application

You can apply for the day care voucher online. The online form is set up in such a way that it automatically adjusts to the entries made by the applicant.

After completing the online application, a one-page short application is automatically created. Please print this out and send it signed to the youth welfare office responsible for your residential district. If appropriate, copies of documents (e.g., proof of work) should be attached to the short application

The form to be filled in and printed out

for a place in a day care centre
You have received your day care voucher and are wondering what happens next? With your voucher you can begin your search for a free place in the day care centre of your choice.

You can see how diverse the Berlin Kita landscape is in the Kita Navigator. With the help of the area search, you can also find the day care centres in your area. If you wish, your local youth welfare office can help you in your search for a free place.

Once you have found a free place in a day care centre, sign a care contract with the provider of the facility and redeem your voucher there. The day care management will support you in this process.

for a place in child day care
As an alternative to day care, you can also choose care of your child in a child day care (childminder). The child day care service in your youth welfare office will support you in your search for child day care.

If you have decided on care in a child day care and have found a free place, sign the care contract with your youth welfare office and redeem your voucher there.

Berlin and Brandenburg have agreed to facilitate the use of childcare facilities in the other state, for example, when childcare near your workplace is useful or necessary.