Creche Feliz: how to get a free nursery place in Portugal

The Creche Feliz programme pays for your child's nursery — regardless of family income. This guide explains who qualifies in 2026, how to apply for the free place in the app, which nurseries take part and what is (and isn't) covered.

What is the Creche Feliz programme?

Creche Feliz is the Portuguese State's free-nursery measure. The goal is twofold: to ease one of the biggest expenses for families with young children (a private-sector nursery fee averages €300–500) and to let parents keep their careers without one salary disappearing into the nursery.

In practice, Segurança Social pays the fee directly to the nursery. You don't pay upfront or claim a refund.

Who qualifies in 2026?

The base rule is simple:

✓ Eligible: all children born from 1 September 2021 (inclusive), regardless of the family's income bracket — provided they get a place at a participating nursery.

Two points many people don't know:

There's no means test. Creche Feliz is universal: it applies whether you earn the minimum wage or a high salary.
At age 3, continuity is guaranteed by law. With Law 22/2025, pre-school education became universal from age 3 in the 2025/2026 school year — the State must guarantee a free place in the year the child turns 3, easing the transition from nursery to kindergarten.

Which nurseries take part? The 3 networks

Not every nursery is in Creche Feliz. The programme works through three networks:

Network	What it is	Practical note
Social and solidarity network	IPSS, Misericórdias and mutual associations with a cooperation agreement with Segurança Social (includes the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa nurseries)	The main entry point — but also where waiting lists are longest
Participating private network	Private nurseries that signed an agreement with the State (possible since 2023)	A valid option when there's no place in your area's social network — the free place is the same
Segurança Social childminders	Accredited childminders caring for children in a home setting	An alternative for those who prefer small groups and a home environment

💡 Tip: on our map of nurseries near you you can see the IPSS, public and private nurseries in your area side by side — handy to work out who to call first. To check whether a specific nursery is in Creche Feliz and has a place, use the official Creche Feliz app from Segurança Social.

How to apply, step by step

The application is made in the official Creche Feliz app (iOS and Android), where you also browse participating nurseries and places. The process differs slightly depending on whether the child already attends a participating nursery.

If the child doesn't attend nursery yet

Search available places in the Creche Feliz app, near home or work.
Choose the room for your child's age (babies, 1-year-olds or 2-year-olds) and contact the institution.
Ask the nursery for the enrolment code — this code ensures the place is processed as free.
Create your applicant profile in the app, select the nursery and tap "Request the free place".
Fill in the child's details, enter the code and submit.

If the child already attends a participating nursery

Complete the attendance declaration with the nursery management.
The nursery generates an activation code and gives it to you.
In the app, locate the nursery and tap "Request the free place".
Enter the child's details and the code, and submit.

⏱ Mind the deadline: the code is valid for 48 hours. As soon as the nursery gives it to you, don't put off the application. Also confirm that the e-mail registered on Segurança Social Direta is up to date (and check your spam) — that's where the confirmation arrives.

After you submit, the nursery is notified automatically and Segurança Social validates the request. Once approved, the free place is guaranteed until the child turns 3 — even if the nursery later leaves the participating network, your child's right at that establishment stands.

What if there's no free place?

This is the programme's weak spot: there's a universal right, but places don't reach everyone, especially in Lisbon, Porto and Setúbal. If your searches return no place:

Fill in the expression-of-interest form in the Creche Feliz app — that's how Segurança Social measures demand by area and reinforces the network.
Join the waiting lists of several nurseries at once. On our map of nurseries you can see every nursery in your area and contact them directly.
Consider Segurança Social childminders and nurseries in neighbouring municipalities or near work.

What's covered by the free place?

The free place covers everything essential to daily life:

Educational component — play activities, motor skills and a learning plan;
Full meals — lunch and snacks, including special diets with a medical prescription;
Hygiene and daily care;
Enrolment and renewal fees — these no longer apply;
Compulsory school insurance;
Extended hours — essential for those who work late.

What the family still pays

Optional extracurricular activities (music, swimming, English…);
Nappies, creams and personal items; uniforms;
School transport, if it exists and you want to use it;
Other optional services;
A place-reservation deposit of up to €25, refunded when you sign the contract.

📋 Before you sign: ask the nursery for the list of optional services and their prices. For the base place, the institution cannot charge you anything — the State pays directly from the month after approval. Any extra charge on the base fee is irregular.

Who gets priority when places are scarce?

When demand exceeds places, Portaria 198/2022 sets the order of priority. In short, the following go first:

Children who already attended the nursery the previous year;
Children with a disability;
Children of minor student parents, of main informal carers, beneficiaries of Independent Living Support, and children in foster or shelter care;
Children with siblings in the same social response;
Beneficiaries of the Child Guarantee or of child benefit (1st and 2nd brackets), resident or with parents working in the nursery's area;
Single-parent or large families from the area;
Remaining children resident in the area; then those whose parents work in the area.

Within each criterion, the household's social and economic assessment also counts.

Frequently asked questions

Can I choose any nursery I want? You can choose any nursery in the participating network that has a place. If the social network is full in your area of residence or work, you can choose among participating private nurseries with the same free place.

Can I move my child from an IPSS to a participating private nursery and keep the free place? As a rule, no. There are two exceptions: a change of residence or workplace to another municipality, and reuniting siblings (if you already have another child at the destination nursery).

A place opened at an IPSS near me. Am I required to move my child from the participating private nursery? No. If your child already has a free place at a participating private nursery, you are not required to transfer them when places open in the social sector. The child's stability prevails.

My child was born before 1 September 2021. Am I entitled to nothing? You are, in part. For children born before that date, the free place in the social and solidarity network applies to families in the 1st and 2nd income brackets. Outside those brackets, you pay the fee by bracket (which can still be low) and, from age 3, there's free public kindergarten (now universal). See our back-to-school cost guide to estimate what you'll pay.

When should I apply? As early as possible — ideally during pregnancy, on the waiting lists of the IPSS in your area. Places for September are mostly decided in spring, and children already attending have priority on renewal.

Does the free place renew automatically every year? Once approved, the free place is guaranteed until the child turns 3, as long as that's your wish — even if the nursery leaves the participating network in the meantime.