Residency for school admissions
This guide provides some detailed information about particular circumstances, if you need any further information, please contact your area education office.
For parents living outside of Lancashire who would like to access a school place in Lancashire.
If you live outside the borders of Lancashire within another Authority's boundary, for example Blackpool, Sefton or North Yorkshire, you must approach the Education Office in your home Authority and use their application process.
You can name Lancashire schools as preferences on another Authority's application. Your home Authority will then process your application.
Late applications will usually be dealt with after those received by the set closing date.
Contact details for neighbouring Authorities can be found on their websites:
For parents living inside Lancashire who would like to access a school place within another Authority.
If you live in Lancashire, but would like to express a preference for a primary or secondary place within a neighbouring Authority, please apply online on the Lancashire County Council system.
You can name schools in other Authorities on the Lancashire form. Lancashire County Council will process your application because you are a Lancashire resident.
If the school does not appear on the list please ring 0300 123 6707 to ask for the school to be added.
It is essential that you give your correct permanent home address. This must be where the child and parent or carer with legal responsibility lives.
You should not give the address of a relative or childminder, a temporary address or the address of a second property that you own or rent, but do not reside in.
We may require proof of the address given and you will be contacted directly if this is required. The Local Authority also reserves the right to request further proof of an address as appropriate to individual circumstances.
If it is found that a false address has been used to secure a place, we can withdraw the place that was offered to your child on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application.
The address you give us must be your child's current home address. This applies even if you might move house at a later date during the admissions process. For avoidance of doubt, please contact your Area Education Office.
You must still apply from your child's current home address before the national deadline of 31 October 2025 for secondary and 15 January 2026 for primary.
If you are about to move house, please contact the Area Education Office with your new address so that letters that are sent to you do not go astray.
If you have completed on the purchase of a home or have evidence of a confirmed offer of long term tenancy of at least 6 months, together with independent evidence you are residing at the property, you can ask for your child's application to be considered from the new address.
It is required that a family does not only own the property in a particular location, but they are resident in it.
You will also be asked to provide evidence of the disposal of your previous property particularly where there is uncertainty or a dispute relating to the LA establishing one permanent home address for the purposes of allocating a school place.
Please advise your Area Education Office if there are any changes in your child's living arrangements during the application period and allocation of places ie from 1 September 2025 to 1 March 2026 for secondary applications and from 1 September 2025 to 16 April 2026 for primary applications. You may request to change your preferences if you are moving address. This request will be considered by the Admission Authority of individual schools.
Requests due to changes of address that we receive for pupils who are applying for a secondary school place after the deadline for changes (15 January 2026), but before the national offer day (1 March 2026) will be dealt with after the national offer day.
Requests due to changes of address that we receive for pupils who are applying for a primary school place after the deadline for changes (28 February 2026), but before the national offer day (16 April 2026) will be dealt with after the national offer day.
In the cases where a child lives with parents who have shared responsibility and the child's time is split between two homes, the home address used will be that which is directed by the court or the address where the child lives for the majority of the week. The Local Authority reserves the right to request further proof in order to establish the home address, as fit the individual circumstances.
In cases where parents are both separated and both have retained joint responsibility, an application form will be accepted from the parent with whom the child primarily resides. The Local Authority has an obligation to process an application form that has been signed and submitted by a parent stating that they have parental responsibility. The Local Authority cannot release information or intervene where disputes or disagreements arise between parents in relation to any proposed or submitted application for a school place.
In the cases where a child lives with parents who have shared responsibility and the child’s time is split equally between two homes, the address of the parent who receives child benefit will normally be used. The Local Authority reserves the right to request further proof, in order to establish the home address, as fit the individual circumstances.
We can only process applications from one address. If your child lives at a different address from you or with another parent/carer from Monday to Friday, please provide the Parental Responsibility Order for the person the child lives with.
Please note that the address that the parent enters on the admissions application form will be used to assess home to school transport eligibility. The address of the other parent cannot be used for transport assessment purposes.
You must apply by the deadline and provide information about where you are living and when you intend to return. We will initially consider the application based on your child's address abroad and any subsequent change will be considered in line with our change of address policy.
If you have a property in the UK, you should apply to the local authority for that address. If you do not have a UK property, you should apply to the local authority where your preferred school is situated. We will consider the application based on your child's address abroad and any subsequent change will be considered in line with our change of address policy.
Admission authorities and local authorities must process applications from UK crown servants or UK military families with evidence from their employers or commanding officers that they are returning to the area ahead of any move. They must accept any posting or quartering address as a ‘home’ address in the absence of any actual home address.
See the admissions advice for UK service families for more about our admission arrangements for service children.