Application timeline
When to apply to a Calgary public school
How registration works at the Calgary Board of Education — your designated school, and the mid-winter window for alternative and language programs that use a lottery. Dates shift each year, so always confirm the current cycle on CBE before you plan around them.
Last updated: . Dates move each year — confirm the current cycle with CBE.
Register & confirm dates on CBE ↗How CBE applications work
Your Regular school isn't a lottery
Your home address designates your Regular CBE school, and you register through CBE's SchoolEngage portal — there's no draw for your designated catchment. A lottery only comes into play for alternative and language programs (and a handful of high-demand schools) that receive more applications than they have seats.
Alternative & language programs apply in a window
Early French Immersion, Spanish bilingual, Mandarin bilingual, and Montessori are programs you apply to — they aren't tied to your address. Registration opens for the next school year in mid-winter; if a program is oversubscribed, CBE runs a random-selection lottery, and your form has to be in before the cutoff to be entered.
The annual cycle
When things happen
Year-round
Register for your designated (Regular) school
Your address sets your Regular CBE school — register any time through SchoolEngage. There's no program lottery for your designated catchment; only an over-capacity school runs a placement lottery.
Mid-January
Alternative & language program registration opens
Apply for Early French Immersion, Spanish, Mandarin, or Montessori for the next school year. (In the 2026–27 cycle, registration opened January 12, 2026.)
Early February
Lottery cutoff for oversubscribed programs
When a program or school gets more applications than seats, a random-selection lottery decides offers — your form must be submitted before the cutoff to be entered. (For 2026–27, the cutoff was noon on February 10, 2026.)
Spring
Offers go out
Lottery offers follow in the spring; you accept your spot or stay on the waitlist. Confirm the current cycle's offer dates on CBE's registration calendar.
Late fall
Next year's dates are published
CBE posts the next cycle's registration and lottery dates in late fall. Check the official calendar before you plan around them — these windows move year to year.
Questions
- Is my catchment (Regular) school a lottery?
- Usually not. Your home address designates your Regular CBE school and you register directly. A placement lottery only applies to oversubscribed alternative/language programs and a handful of over-capacity schools.
- When do I apply for French Immersion or Montessori?
- Alternative and language programs open for the next school year in mid-winter, with a lottery cutoff in early February if the program is oversubscribed. Confirm the current cycle's exact dates on CBE's registration page before you rely on them.
- What about Catholic (CCSD), charter, or private schools?
- Each runs its own application timeline on its own website. We cover the CBE timeline today and are adding the other boards as we expand school coverage.
Next step
See the schools your address is zoned to
Look up a Calgary address to see the CBE schools it's zoned to — then use this timeline to plan when to apply.