Who has to register
Section 3 of the Education Ordinance defines a school as an institution, organization or establishment which provides for 20 or more persons during any one day or 8 or more persons at any one time any educational course by any means[1]. Every school shall be registered or provisionally registered[2]. Tutorial, commercial, language and computer centres are private schools offering non-formal curriculum, and all of them are required to register[3].
The Ordinance also lets the Permanent Secretary, by order in writing, exempt a school that provides less than 10 hours of academic instruction each week, or only a series of lectures on one subject[2]. That is an order you apply for, not an automatic carve out. A centre that stays below both head counts falls outside the definition, so count your busiest day and your largest class honestly before relying on that.
The steps, in order
- Choose premises the guide does not rule out. The Education Bureau tells applicants not to choose premises in purely residential buildings, in industrial buildings, or at a height of 24m above ground level[4].
- Ask the Planning Department and the Lands Department to endorse Form P and Form L[5].
- Send Form A1 and 3 copies of the layout plan to the Fire Services Department for a Fire Services Certificate[6].
- Send Form A2 and 4 copies of the layout plan to the Buildings Department for safety certificates[6].
- Apply to the Education Bureau with Form 1 (Application for Registration of A School), Form 6 (Application for Registration as A Manager), proof of your right to use the premises such as the tenancy agreement, the endorsed Forms P and L, copies of Forms A1 and A2, and a layout plan[7].
- Open only after the certificate of provisional registration is issued[6].
Timings and fees
| Item | What the page says |
|---|---|
| Education Bureau fee | None stated: fees are charged by the Land Registry, Lands Department and Fire Services Department |
| Safety requirements issued | 20 or 22 working days depending on route (Fire Services: 20) |
| Fire compliance inspection | Within 7 working days |
| Provisional registration | Considered within 10 working days once all documents are received and in order |
| Provisional registration valid for | Normally one year |
| Running an unregistered school | Fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for 2 years, for owners, teachers and managers |
If the school does not meet every requirement while provisionally registered, the provisional registration is not extended automatically and the school becomes unregistered when it expires[6].
Premises rules that catch people out
Classroom ceilings must be not less than 2.75 m above the floor in premises not built as a school, and any room holding more than 30 persons needs a minimum of two exits[4]. The floor space for each pupil should be not less than 0.9m2, plus a strip at least 1.5 m wide along the wall for the teacher, and a class on any other educational course is not more than 45 pupils taught at one time by one teacher[9]. An automatic sprinkler system is required if the gross floor area exceeds 230 square meters[9].
Once you are open
Display the certificate of registration at all times in a conspicuous place, along with the maximum number of students permitted in every classroom, and hold a fire drill at least once in every 6 months[4]. A sole proprietorship or partnership also applies for business registration within one month of starting business[10].
Rules, forms and figures can change, and the official pages listed below are the authority wherever this summary differs from them.