Early childhood education and care and pre-primary education customer fees

Family size
Persons living in the same household who are married or living in a marriage-like relationship, and their minor children living in the same household.

Agreement on early childhood education hours
An agreement is made on the child’s monthly early childhood education hours (service need), which determines the amount of the client fee.

• The fee for up to 84 hours of early childhood education is 50 % of the full-time early childhood education fee.
• The fee for more than 84 hours, but fewer than 146 hours of early childhood education is 75 % of the full-time early childhood education fee.
• The fee for 146 hours or more of early childhood education is the full-time early childhood education fee.

The agreement is made at the child’s early childhood education centre from the start of the child’s early childhood education placement or from the beginning of a calendar month for a minimum period of three months, and it cannot be made retrospectively. If the agreed monthly early childhood education hours are exceeded, a higher fee will be charged from the beginning of that month for a minimum period of three months.

Family income
The taxable earned and capital income, and any tax-exempt income, of the child, the child’s parent or other guardian, and any person living with them in the same household who is married to them or living with them in a marriage-like relationship.

When determining the early childhood education fee, the income threshold applicable to the family size is deducted from the family’s combined gross income.

The client is responsible for providing the necessary income information to determine the early childhood education fee. Guardians either accept the highest early childhood education fee or submit their income information electronically through the Edlevo App for Early Childhood Education or the browser version of the Edlevo App.

If the guardians have authorised the use of the Incomes Register in Edlevo, no supporting documents need to be submitted. Not all income information is available in the Incomes Register. Supporting documents must therefore always be provided for the following:
• business income
• grants and scholarships not awarded for the purpose of studies
• child support and child maintenance allowance
• rental income (supporting documents showing the amount of rent, housing company charges and water charges)
• other capital income (including dividend income, interest income and the average annual yield per hectare of forest land).

The required supporting documents for the income statement are available under Instructions and forms for client fees.

New client families must submit an income statement no later than two weeks after the start of the child’s early childhood education. If the supporting documents for the income statement are not submitted by the requested deadline, or if they are incomplete, the highest early childhood education fee will be charged on the basis that income information is missing. If the client’s income information is not received before billing, the highest fee will remain in effect.
The difference between the highest fee and the fee based on the income statement will not be refunded.

Early Childhood Education will send clients an annual request to submit an income statement by text message and email. The request will be sent to the guardians using the contact information stored in the Early Childhood Education client information system. If the client has not approved electronic services, the request to submit an income statement will be sent by letter.
The request to submit an income statement does not remove the client’s obligation to provide updated income statements if income changes during the operating year.

If submitting income information via the Edlevo App/browser version is not possible, the client may submit an income statement with attachments or accept the highest fee using a paper form (pdf). The income statement form with its attachments should be sent to the following address:
Varhaiskasvatuspalvelut
Suokatu 42 (PL 1097)
70110 Kuopio

or leeve in the mailboxes outside Suokatu 42 A.

When income changes

The family must submit new income statements if the family’s size, the personal income of family members, or the family’s ability to pay changes significantly during the operating year by more than 10 %.

If upon reviewing income, it is found that the current fee decision has been based on previously provided incorrect or incomplete information from the family, the fee may be charged retroactively for up to one year.

Accepting the use of the Incomes Register does not remove the client’s obligation to independently report changes in income.

The early childhood education authority may obtain information from the tax authorities, Kela, and the Incomes Register regardless of the client’s consent, for the purpose of determining the fee and verifying information (Act on Client Fees in Early Childhood Education, Section 17). 

When family size or care-hours agreement changes

Changes in the care-hours agreement or family size (e.g. in case of separation) must be reported to the daycare centre director.

If the child’s guardians live at different addresses, but early childhood education is arranged in only one municipality, the fee is determined based on the income of the family with whom the child has a registered place of residence in the Population Information System.

If both guardians require early childhood education for the child, the fee is charged to the guardian with whom the child has a registered place of residence according to the Population Information System. The guardians agree on how the invoice will be shared.

If early childhood education is arranged in two municipalities, the fee is determined separately in both municipalities as in the case of part-time early childhood education.

For guardians who are married or in a marriage-like relationship, both partners’ incomes are taken into account when determining the fee.

Pre-primary education is free of charge and is provided for 4 hours per day.
Early childhood education provided as a complement to pre-primary education is subject to a fee. The fee for early morning and afternoon care in early childhood education provided before pre-primary education is based on the family size, the family’s gross income, and the service need.

A fee is charged for early childhood education required in addition to free pre-primary education as follows:

Guardians will be notified of the fee decision, which has been made, by email and text message. The decision is valid until further notice. The fee decision is based on an income statement or acceptance of the highest client fee.

The customer can accept an electronic communication in the Early childhood education and care in Edlevo App or in Edlevo App web version.

If the client has not approved electronic notification, the decision will be sent by post to their home address.

Fee for temporary care

• • Full time, more than 5 hours/day, €18.00/day
  • Part time, less than 5 hours/day, €11.00/day

Automatic fee decision

Client fee secretaries make fee decisions based on the family’s income. Other changes affecting the fee decision will be implemented as an automatic decision starting from 15.12.2025. Other changes include changes in family size, changes in service need, changes in care placement, and legislative changes, such as periodic index increases to early childhood education fees.

Claim for claim for a revised decision

Before submitting a written claim for a revised decision to the board for the Education and Learning, we ask you to contact Early childhood education’s client fees: varhaiskasvatus.asiakasmaksusihteerit(at)kuopio.fi. It is usually possible to verify the amount of early childhood education’s client fees or the value of the service voucher by making a new income statement.

• If a child is absent due to illness for more than 10 operating days during a calendar month, half of the monthly fee will be charged.
• If the child is absent due to illness for all operating days in a calendar month, no fee will be charged.
• If the child is absent for all operating days in a calendar month for a reason other than illness, half of the monthly fee will be charged. Otherwise, the full monthly fee is always charged.
• If early childhood education starts or ends in the middle of a calendar month, the fee is charged for the duration of the early childhood education placement.
• A child for whom a parent is on parental leave is not charged an early childhood education fee, provided that the absence has been notified within the time limits specified in the Early Childhood Education Act. If the child in question has already been in early childhood education, the absence credit also applies to the other siblings in the family who are in early childhood education. The early childhood education place is retained during parental leave.
• The early childhood education fee is charged for a maximum of 11 months during the operating year (1.8.-31.7.). July is free of charge for children who have been in continuous early childhood education since August.
• In Kuopio, fee exemptions have been extended so that if a child is continuously absent from early childhood education for at least six weeks (42 calendar days) between 1.5 and 30.9, the period of absence is free of charge.

If an applied for and granted early childhood education place is not accepted and is not cancelled before the start date stated in the decision, half of the determined monthly fee may be charged.

Early childhood education client fees are billed retrospectively once a month. The reference number on invoices changes monthly. The invoice can be paid as an e-invoice by setting up an e-invoice agreement through your own bank’s online service.

For questions regarding early childhood education client fees, invoice content, or postponement of the due date, please contact the client fee secretary.

Monetra Oy is responsible for invoicing, payment monitoring, and payment reminders. If a payment reminder is ignored, debt collection will be handled by Revire Oy or the enforcement authority.

A service voucher is paid to a private service provider.
The family’s early childhood education and care fee (the share paid by the customer) for private early childhood education and care is determined following the same rules as the fee for early childhood education and care fee provided by the municipality. When concluding the service contract, the service provider must tell the customer if the fees are different from those charged for municipal early childhood education and care (including additional fees, fees charged when the child is absent, period of notice).
Before the child starts attending care, the family must produce an income report, after which a decision on the service voucher can be made and the family’s share of the fee determined.
A private service provider charges the early childhood education and care fee to the family.

Read more:  Private early childhood education and care

For more information on early childhood education and care services customer fees, contact the secretaries.

On weekdays, calls are taken

• • on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9:00 and 11:00
  • on Wednesdays between 13:00 and 15:00

For personal meeting, you must make an appointment in advance by phone or email.

Customer Fee Secretarys:

Sari Räsänen, 044 718 3351,  sari.kristiina.rasanen(at)kuopio.fi

Maria Jernfors, 044 718 8985,  maria.jernfors(at)kuopio.fi

Ruusu Niemi, 044 718 3732,  ruusu.niemi(at)kuopio.fi

If there are any changes to the care time and/or family size, you should contact the director of your child’s daycare center.