Head of Medical Law Practice
Specializes in business licensing, healthcare law, and corporate law. Has extensive experience in obtaining licenses and permits across various industries, providing legal support to healthcare institutions and pharmaceutical companies, particularly in licensing, corporate, tax, and employment matters, as well as assisting foreign companies entering the Ukrainian market.
Case: Obtained a Licence for a Private Lyceum in Kyiv to Provide Primary, Basic and Specialised Secondary Education
Opening your own educational institution — whether an innovative lyceum in central Kyiv, a welcoming private school in another region or a modern distance learning school with pupils worldwide — is an ambitious and profitable business project. However, educational activities are subject to strict state regulation: under the Law of Ukraine “On Complete General Secondary Education”, an institution may teach children and issue state education certificates only after obtaining the relevant licence.
Below is a practical case study of legal support for establishing a general education institution, in which our team delivered the full cycle of turnkey educational activity licensing: from the initial review of the property and the principal’s documents to successfully obtaining the licensing authority’s order.
The founders of an educational institution approached our legal practice:
- Location: Kyiv.
- Project objective: legalising a private school covering the full educational cycle: primary education (grades 1–4), basic secondary education (grades 5–9) and specialised secondary education (grades 10–11/12).
- Format: in-person teaching using innovative technologies, with the option of introducing distance/online learning for pupils from other Ukrainian cities and abroad.
The main challenge: under the current Licensing Conditions, the licensing authority reviews documents and adopts decisions separately for each level of general secondary education. An error in the principal’s personnel information, premises that fail to comply with building and sanitary standards, or an incorrectly prepared educational programme results in the application being left without consideration or refused. The task was to achieve a 100% successful outcome without delaying the start of the academic year.
Step-by-Step Turnkey School Licensing Procedure
Step 1. Reviewing the Premises and Safety Arrangements
When opening a physical school in Kyiv or any other Ukrainian city, the premises are a key consideration because they form the material and technical infrastructure of the future institution:
- Legal status and designated use: we reviewed the title documents and agreements for leasing/using the building at the operating address.
- Sanitary regulations and floor area standards: we calculated the minimum floor area required for the school and assessed classrooms for compliance with sanitary standards, natural lighting requirements, air exchange requirements and maximum class sizes.
- Barrier-free access and accessibility for persons with reduced mobility (PRM): we checked arrangements for unrestricted access for persons with special educational needs and persons with reduced mobility against accessibility standards.
- A safe educational environment and shelter: we provided recommendations on requirements for civil protection structures — shelters and safe spaces — in accordance with martial law requirements.
Step 2. Reviewing the School Principal’s Qualifications and Documents
The law sets clear qualification requirements for school principals, against which we checked the principal’s entire document package:
- Educational qualifications: complete higher education at no lower than a Master’s (Specialist) degree level.
- Teaching experience: evidence of teaching and/or academic teaching experience.
- Proficiency in the state language: verification of the document certifying fluency in the state language — the state language proficiency certificate issued by the National Commission on State Language Standards.
- Medical certificates: valid documents confirming physical health (a personal medical record book) and mental health (a certificate of psychiatric examination).
Step 3. Preparing Document Packages for Each Educational Level
For complete general secondary education, submitting a single “general” set of documents is not permitted. Together with the client, we prepared separate document packages:
- primary education — grades 1–4;
- basic secondary education — grades 5–9;
- specialised secondary education — grades 10–11/12.
For each level, we prepared official applications in the prescribed format under the Licensing Conditions, written commitments and the necessary information on staffing, material and technical resources, teaching resources for the institution’s educational activities, accessibility of the premises for persons with reduced mobility, and the absence of control by the aggressor state.
Step 4. Submitting the Application File, Completing Checks and Obtaining the Decision
The prepared package was submitted to the licensing authority — the Kyiv City Military Administration (KCMA). Our lawyers provided comprehensive procedural oversight of the departmental checks:
- monitoring timely review of the application by the Department of Education and Science;
- communication with the licensing authority’s expert commission without objections or compliance orders;
- legal monitoring of the adoption of the official decision.
The review period for documents submitted to obtain an educational licence is 10 working days.
Result: We Obtained a Licence for Complete General Secondary Education
Following the checks, the KCMA issued an official Order granting a licence to conduct educational activities at the level of complete general secondary education to Kyivskyi Litsei “Planetaklab” LLC.
FAQ: Founders’ Frequently Asked Questions About Opening and Licensing a School
1. How can you obtain an online school licence in Ukraine?
Even if the institution operates exclusively through distance (online) learning, Ukrainian law requires a registered legal address and an actual administrative office. Obtaining an online school licence does not require proof of a digital learning environment: a learning management system (LMS), licensed software, secure communication channels and stable internet access. The procedure is the same as for a conventional offline school.
2. Which authority licenses schools in Kyiv and other regions?
Responsibility for licensing complete general secondary education lies with local executive authorities:
- in Kyiv — the Kyiv City Military Administration (KCMA), through the Department of Education and Science;
- in the regions — the respective regional military (state) administrations (RMAs / RSAs).
3. Can a school operate as a sole proprietor, or is registering an LLC mandatory?
Under Article 31 of the Law of Ukraine “On Complete General Secondary Education”, a general secondary education institution — a primary school, gymnasium or lyceum — has legal entity status. The most common, reliable and legally protected organisational form for founders is a limited liability company (LLC).
Planning to open a private school, lyceum or online school and obtain a licence for primary, basic or specialised secondary education? Prikhodko & Partners’ lawyers will review the premises, the principal’s documents and the educational model, prepare the document packages and support the licensing procedure.
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