Primary 1 registration, without the folklore
Every phase, deadline and threshold below is transcribed from MOE’s published rules and linked back to it. What this site adds is the part MOE doesn’t publish: which HDB blocks actually sit inside each school’s 1 km and 1–2 km rings, scored for family living.
2026 exercise · rules checked 18 August 2026 · block data from snapshot 2026-11
The short version
- Register in the earliest phase you qualify for. Phases run in order and each one takes places off the table for the next. Only Phase 1 — a sibling in the school — guarantees a place.
- Distance is a tiebreaker, not a ticket. The 1 km band only does anything when a phase is oversubscribed, and citizenship outranks it: a Citizen 3 km away is admitted ahead of a PR next door.
- Volunteering buys a phase, not a place. 40 hours makes you eligible for Phase 2B, which has 20 reserved places and can still ballot — by citizenship and distance, not by hours served.
The six phases
Phases 1 to 2C Supplementary are open to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents; Phase 3 is for international students and runs last, over whatever is left.
A child with a sibling already studying in the school.
Alumni families, school committee members, staff, and the school's own MOE Kindergarten.
Parent volunteers with 40 hours done, church or clan members, and endorsed community leaders.
Everyone else — every child not yet registered anywhere.
Children still without a place after Phase 2C.
International students — neither Singapore Citizens nor Permanent Residents.
2026 key dates
| Phase | Registration | Results | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 30 June – 2 July 2026 | 8 July 2026 | Closed |
| Phase 2A | 9 – 10 July 2026 | 17 July 2026 | Closed |
| Phase 2B | 20 – 21 July 2026 | 27 July 2026 | Closed |
| Phase 2C | 28 – 30 July 2026 | 11 August 2026 | Closed |
| Phase 2C Supplementary | 17 – 18 August 2026 | 27 August 2026 | Closed |
| Phase 3 | — | Outcomes are released by October, at the close of the exercise. | By invitation |
Windows open at 9.00am on the first day and close at 4.30pm on the last. Registering early in a window confers no advantage — no phase is first-come-first-served. Full calendar, including the deadlines that fall outside it →
The rules
How P1 Balloting Works in Singapore
Reserved places, the priority ladder, and what the computerised draw actually does.
The 1 km and 2 km Rule
What the 1 km band is actually worth — and how MOE measures it.
The 30-Month Stay Rule
Use the 1 km band and you commit to the address for 30 months. Here's the fine print.
The P1 Parent Volunteer Route
Two deadlines, 40 hours, and no guarantee. The honest version.
Citizens, PRs and International Students
Citizenship outranks distance. What that means for PR and IS families.
Doing it
Planning ahead
The P1 Registration Timeline by Your Child's Age
Working backwards from registration day. Some doors close two years early.
Moving House for a Primary School
What a 1 km address buys you, what it locks you into, and when to skip it.
Choosing a Primary School in Singapore
Which attributes are real signal, and how to read past ballot data honestly.
Primary schools and their 1 km rings, by town
182 primary schools across 28 towns. Each town page lists every primary school with the number of scored HDB blocks inside its 1 km ring — and the blocks that fall inside the most rings at once, which is the closest thing there is to a “best address for schools”. 5,954 blocks island-wide sit inside at least one 1 km ring.
Next steps
Frequently asked questions
- What are the phases of P1 registration in Singapore?
- Phase 1 for children with a sibling in the school; Phase 2A for alumni families, School Advisory or Management Committee members, staff and the school's own MOE Kindergarten; Phase 2B for parent volunteers with 40 hours completed, church or clan members and endorsed community leaders; Phase 2C for every child not yet registered; Phase 2C Supplementary for those still without a place; and Phase 3 for international students.
- Does living within 1 km of a primary school guarantee a place?
- No. Distance only matters when a phase is oversubscribed. MOE then fills places from Singapore Citizens within 1 km, then Citizens 1–2 km, then Citizens beyond 2 km, then Permanent Residents in the same three bands — and the ballot runs only inside the band where places run out.
- How many volunteer hours are needed for Phase 2B?
- At least 40 hours of voluntary service to the school by 30 June of the registration year, having joined the school as a parent volunteer no later than 1 July of the year before. Completing the hours makes a child eligible to register; it does not guarantee a place.
- When is P1 registration in 2026?
- The 2026 exercise runs from 30 June 2026 to 30 October 2026, for children born between 2 January 2020 and 1 January 2021 who start Primary 1 in January 2027.
- How many primary schools ballot each year?
- In the 2025 exercise, 84 of 179 primary schools were oversubscribed, and all but 4 of those ran a ballot.