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Registering a child with the Palo Alto Unified School District is a paperwork exercise more than anything else. The district is strict about residency and wants a specific set of original documents before it places a student. Families who prepare ahead usually finish in one appointment. Families who show up missing a utility bill or a signed lease page often have to come back.
Everything below comes from PAUSD's new student enrollment pages as they read in late October 2026. Rules and dates change, so confirm with Registration Services at (650) 329-3707 or [email protected]. For the overall shape of the district, see our public schools guide.
Who can enroll
To attend PAUSD a student must be living currently and continuously with a parent or guardian whose home is inside district boundaries. The district explains what that means on its residency page, citing California Government Code 244 and Education Code 48200:
- The school district responsible for a child is the one where the parent's primary residence is.
- A family can have only one primary residence. Families with more than one home must show they actually live in the Palo Alto one.
- Owning a home in the district does not qualify a student unless the student also lives and sleeps there full time.
- In joint custody cases, the student must live at least half the time during the school year with a parent inside the boundary.
- Temporary housing during a remodel must also be inside the boundary for the student to stay enrolled.
Parents sign a residency declaration under penalty of perjury at registration and must renew it every year through the Annual Data Update. The district runs residency investigations and says students found to live outside the boundary are removed immediately.
Boundaries are not city limits
Some parts of Palo Alto are outside PAUSD and some parts of Los Altos Hills and Portola Valley are inside it. Check any address in the School Finder linked from the enrollment page.
One exception to the residency rule is the Voluntary Transfer Program, also called Tinsley. It lets students who live within the Ravenswood City School District, which serves East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park, enroll in PAUSD. Those families must prove residency inside Ravenswood instead.
The registration steps
- Look up the address in the School Finder.
- Set up accounts in your name at the new address. The district's moving page tells families to set up utilities, cable, DMV and insurance before registering, since those documents are needed.
- Start the online registration from the enrollment page.
- Bring originals to your appointment at the district office if Registration Services asks for one. The district's shared housing form refers to this as the Step 3 appointment.
- Wait for placement. Registration is not complete until staff have every document.
Registrations are accepted only from current residents. Future residents can register two weeks before their move-in date. Only a parent or guardian with supporting documents can register a student.
Proof of residency as PAUSD publishes it
The moving page sums it up: three proof of residency documents, one primary and two secondary. The required documents page spells them out.
1. One primary document with the parent's name and address
- Owners: the most recent property tax bill or receipt of payment, showing the owner name. After a recent purchase, the final closing statement or grant deed. If an LLC owns the home, documents that connect the parent to the LLC.
- Renters: the current lease with every page, including the signature page and the landlord's contact information and signature. If the lease has expired or is month to month, add a recent rent receipt or a signed letter from the landlord.
- Shared housing: families living free of charge in someone else's home complete a Shared Housing Affidavit, provide the resident's documents and bring the resident to the appointment.
2. A utility bill
The most current Palo Alto Utilities or PG&E bill, or a utility account confirmation letter, in the parent's name at the address and showing the service start date. Our city utilities guide explains how to open an account. If your lease says utilities are included in the rent, PAUSD asks for two items from the next list instead of one.
3. One more document
Any one of these, in the parent's name at the address: cable or internet service confirmation, DMV vehicle registration, home or renter's insurance, medical insurance, a W-2, voter registration, a pay stub, a letter from a government agency or a U.S. Mail change of address confirmation.
Identity and health records
- Parent photo ID, such as a driver's license or original passport. Copies are not accepted.
- Student identification: original birth certificate or passport, or an attested baptism certificate.
- Official immunization records and a tuberculosis risk assessment completed by a U.S. health professional. Students transferring from another Santa Clara County school are exempt from the TB form.
- For high school students entering after the first semester of ninth grade, an official transcript with a professional English translation if needed.
- Copies of any IEP or 504 plan.
Kindergarten and TK timelines
A child must be at least 5 on or before September 1 of the school year to enter kindergarten. PAUSD does not allow early admission to kindergarten or TK. The district's grade placement table gives these birthday ranges:
| Birth date range | 2026 to 2027 | 2027 to 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| September 2, 2022 to September 1, 2023 | Not yet eligible | TK |
| September 2, 2021 to September 1, 2022 | TK | Kindergarten |
| September 2, 2020 to September 1, 2021 | Kindergarten | Grade 1 |
TK placement works differently from kindergarten. TK students go to one of seven TK sites in their cluster, then enroll in kindergarten at their neighborhood school. Our elementary schools guide lists the sites. For care before TK, see preschools and childcare.
Priority registration
Priority registration applies only to kindergarten. Everyone who completes kindergarten registration in that window gets equal priority for the neighborhood school. For 2026 to 2027, online registration opened December 1, 2025 and in-person appointments began December 8, 2025. In late October 2026 the district had not yet posted its own dates for 2027 to 2028. The Palo Alto Middle College admissions page does say that 2027 to 2028 registration begins December 1, 2026. Watch the enrollment page through November for PAUSD's own dates. Our kindergarten registration guide walks through the steps and the 2026 to 2027 PAUSD calendar lists the school year dates.
When placements arrive
| Who | Notice for priority registrants |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten | May |
| TK and grades 1 to 5 | By June |
| Grades 6 to 12 | Late March to early April |
Students who register after June are placed on a rolling basis. A student who registers after school starts hears within a week before the first day.
If you want a choice program
Choice program lotteries are for incoming kindergartners and rising sixth graders. A student must be registered with PAUSD to apply. For 2027 to 2028 the application window runs January 19 to February 19, 2027, with the lottery on February 26, 2027. Our choice programs guide has the details.
Transfers
Within PAUSD
Current students can ask to attend a school other than their neighborhood school. Requests for 2027 to 2028 are accepted January 7 to February 19, 2027 and all depend on space. For the 2026 to 2027 cycle the district said grade 6 to 12 decisions would be completed by the end of April and elementary decisions could come from late July up to five days before school starts. Expect a similar pattern.
Into PAUSD
Families living outside the district must first get an interdistrict transfer approved by their home district, which then forwards it. PAUSD accepts requests for 2027 to 2028 from December 7, 2026 to February 19, 2027. Because of high demand, the district says it does not expect to approve transfers outside the categories in Board Policy 5117. Those include the Project Search program, children of PAUSD employees working at least 80 percent time, a junior and senior privilege and documented hardship. Parents can appeal a denial to the county board of education within 30 calendar days.
Out of PAUSD
Residents who want another district must get PAUSD approval first and show proof of residence. Families in the Los Altos Hills part of PAUSD can request transfers to Gardner Bullis Elementary School under a joint arrangement with the Los Altos School District.
Moving in, within or out
- International families: the PAUSD year runs from mid-August to early June. Students from schools on a different calendar, or arriving mid-year, are placed in the grade they just completed or are enrolled in.
- Moving within Palo Alto: submit a change of address form with documents within two weeks of moving.
- Moving out: a student whose family no longer lives inside the boundary must be disenrolled.
- Transportation: PAUSD does not run buses for the general student population, so plan how your child will get to school.
Our moving to Palo Alto checklist covers the other accounts and permits to set up.
Good to know
- Bring originals. Copies of passports and birth certificates are not accepted.
- Get the utility account in a parent's name early, since the bill must show a start date.
- Check the immunization rules before you travel if moving from abroad.
- Register kindergartners during priority registration for equal priority at the neighborhood school.
Frequently asked questions
What documents do I need to register for PAUSD?
PAUSD asks for three proofs of residency: a primary document such as a property tax bill or a current signed lease, a current PAU or PG&E utility bill and one more item such as car registration or renter's insurance. You also need an original photo ID for the parent, an original birth certificate or passport for the student and official immunization records.
Can I register before I move to Palo Alto?
Only shortly before. PAUSD accepts registrations from current residents and says future residents can register two weeks before their move-in date. Accounts such as utilities and insurance must already be in your name at the new address.
Does owning a house in Palo Alto qualify my child for PAUSD?
Not by itself. PAUSD says a student qualifies only if the parent's primary residence is inside district boundaries and the student actually lives and sleeps there full time. Parents sign a residency declaration under penalty of perjury and renew it each year.
When will I find out my child's school placement?
For families who register during priority registration, PAUSD says kindergarten placements go out in May, grades 1 to 5 and TK by June and grades 6 to 12 in late March to early April. Later registrations are placed on a rolling basis.
Can students from outside Palo Alto transfer into PAUSD?
Rarely. Families must first get an interdistrict transfer approved by their home district. For 2027 to 2028 PAUSD accepts requests from December 7, 2026 to February 19, 2027, but says it expects to approve only categories in its board policy, such as qualifying employee children and documented hardship.