La Place 0-5 Is Gone: Understanding Quebec’s New Childcare Registration Portal

For many years, La Place 0-5 was the familiar name used by Quebec families looking for a space in a CPE, daycare or certain home childcare services.

Since December 1, 2025, however, Quebec has moved to a new system: the Childcare Registration Portal. The Ministère de la Famille officially presents it as the “Childcare Registration Portal (formerly La Place 0-5).”

This transition is more than a name change. The new portal changes several aspects of the registration and space-allocation process.

Whether you are a parent, CPE manager, daycare operator or recognized home childcare provider, here is what you need to know.

What replaced La Place 0-5?

The official platform now used in Quebec is the Government of Quebec’s Childcare Registration Portal.

According to the Ministère de la Famille, the new portal is intended to make the allocation of spaces fairer and more transparent and to make admission rules more consistent.

A national and uniform admission policy applies in particular to CPEs and subsidized daycares.

It is therefore normal that many people still search for “La Place 0-5” on Google. The general childcare-registration service still exists, but it has been replaced by a new government platform and new rules.

An important change: the registration date is no longer the main reference point

One of the major changes concerns how applications are considered.

Under the new system, the government indicates that the desired childcare start date is now taken into account when spaces are allocated, rather than simply the date on which a parent registered on the platform.

The ministry explains that this approach is intended to better reflect families’ actual needs.

Another notable change is that only children who have already been born or newly adopted can now be registered in the portal.

These new rules are particularly important for parents who were accustomed to thinking that they had to register a child as early as possible to improve their position on a waiting list.

What can parents do in the new portal?

The Childcare Registration Portal is the central place where parents can manage their search for childcare.

They can create a family file, search for childcare services that meet their needs, submit admission requests, track those requests and keep their contact information current.

For children on the waiting list of a CPE or subsidized daycare, the portal also provides a rank indicator.

This indicator is updated monthly and shows the child’s position relative to other children in the same age group who are registered with the same childcare service. The ranking takes into account the ordering category and the desired start date, among other factors.

It is important to understand that a rank can change and should be interpreted as an indication of the situation at a specific point in time.

Can CPEs still choose a child directly from their waiting list?

For CPEs and subsidized daycares, the process is now much more structured.

When a space must be filled, the manager generally does not have access to the names of children on the waiting list. Information about a child becomes available when the portal makes a referral.

The childcare service can still view certain general data, such as the number of registered children by age group, which can help with group planning.

The allocation process is governed by the Educational Childcare Act and the Regulation respecting access to educational childcare services.

What about home childcare services?

The process is not exactly the same for every type of childcare service.

Non-subsidized daycares and educational home childcare services have access to a pool of prospective clients and can contact a parent whose child is registered in the portal.

However, the child must be registered in the Childcare Registration Portal before being admitted.

The admission must also be declared in the portal.

In other words, even when a parent communicates directly with a home childcare provider and a space is available, the child’s official registration in the portal remains an essential step in the process.

Childcare services must now use the portal

For recognized childcare providers, the portal is not simply an optional tool.

The ministry states that CPEs, subsidized daycares, non-subsidized daycares and home childcare services must use the Childcare Registration Portal to manage admissions and fill spaces, except in certain specific situations, including providers located in Indigenous territories.

The portal allows childcare services to update their descriptive profile, manage available spaces, manage a child’s admission and access information related to admission and attendance files.

The ministry also notes that integration with management software may be possible and invites childcare services to contact their software provider when this integration is required.

A new admission also creates administrative obligations

Administrative work does not end when a space is offered.

According to the Ministère de la Famille, all providers must promptly declare the admission of a new child in the portal.

They then have 15 days after services begin to send the service-agreement information to the portal.

When a child stops attending the childcare service, the end of services must also be declared within 15 days, along with the corresponding reason.

For subsidized services, other obligations continue to apply, particularly those concerning service agreements, the reduced contribution and the parent’s file.

From portal registration to welcoming the family

The new Childcare Registration Portal therefore plays an essential role in accessing a space and completing the administrative admission process.

But when a child finally receives a space, a new stage begins: welcoming the child and helping them integrate into their new environment.

For the childcare service, this includes collecting the required information from the family, preparing the child’s file, sharing important information, explaining how the service operates and gradually building a collaborative relationship with the parents.

A child’s arrival is often a period when communication between educators and the family is especially important.

This is precisely when digital tools that complement the government portal can become useful.

Government portal and management platform: two different roles

It is important not to confuse the Childcare Registration Portal with the platforms used daily by CPEs and childcare services.

The government portal is used to manage registration, the allocation of spaces and official admission.

A platform such as GE Agenda instead supports daily management and communication around the child’s life after admission.

These tools can therefore complement one another.

Once a child is admitted, educational teams must continue to manage a significant amount of information and communication with families.

Centralizing this information in a digital environment can help avoid multiplying the paper forms, messages, documents and separate tools used each day.

What should childcare services verify in 2026?

With the new process now in effect, every childcare manager or provider should:

1. Make sure their profile in the Childcare Registration Portal is complete and current, since this information helps parents choose services that meet their needs.
2. Understand the process that applies to their type of service, since the rules differ among CPEs, subsidized daycares, non-subsidized daycares and home childcare services.
3. Train the people responsible for admissions so they know the steps that must be followed in the new portal.
4. Respect the deadlines for admissions and the end of services, including the declarations that must be completed in the portal.
5. Review the process for welcoming new families so the transition from administrative admission to the child’s actual integration is as smooth as possible.
6. Centralize daily communication and management tools when doing so can reduce administrative work and make parent follow-up easier.

The Ministère de la Famille also provides childcare services with several guides, tutorials and resources about the Childcare Registration Portal.

La Place 0-5: what to remember

Although the name “La Place 0-5” remains familiar to Quebec families, the official system is now called the Childcare Registration Portal.

Its rollout has been complete since December 1, 2025, and the new framework changes several aspects of childcare registration and space allocation in Quebec.

For parents, it is now the main tool for searching for childcare, registering a child and tracking requests.

For CPEs, daycares and educational home childcare providers, it is now an essential part of the administrative admission process.

And once admission is complete, the challenge remains the same: welcoming the child and family, communicating effectively and providing high-quality daily follow-up.

That is where GE Agenda aims to support educational childcare services: simplifying management and putting communication at the heart of the relationship between childcare services and families.

GE Agenda — at the heart of communication.

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Official sources consulted

The information in this article comes primarily from the Government of Quebec and the Ministère de la Famille:

• Government of Quebec — Childcare Registration Portal (formerly La Place 0-5).
• Ministère de la Famille — Transition support guide: filling spaces for CPEs and subsidized daycares. The document confirms that the portal’s rollout has been complete since December 1, 2025.
• Government of Quebec — Process for admitting a child to a childcare service.
• Government of Quebec — Managing childcare admissions and service agreements.
• Government of Quebec — Accessing the Childcare Registration Portal as a childcare service.
• Government of Quebec — Your child’s rank indicator on a waiting list.
• Ministère de la Famille — Resources for childcare services concerning the registration portal.

This article is for information purposes. To understand the obligations that apply to a specific situation, consult the latest information from the Ministère de la Famille.

Official sources

• Childcare Services Registration Portal — Government of Quebec
• Process for a child’s admission to childcare — Government of Quebec (French)
• Waiting-list rank indicator — Government of Quebec (French)
• Transition support guide for admissions — Ministère de la Famille (French PDF)

Next step

The government portal manages registration and admission. Once a child joins your setting, see how GE Agenda centralizes communication, attendance and educational follow-up, or start a free trial.