School zone checker
Check which schools you're in zone for
Enter a New Zealand address to see your in-zone schools and nearby options. It's free and you don't need an account.
Enter the address below. We'll check it against Ministry of Education enrolment-zone boundaries and show the schools you're in zone for, along with nearby options.
We use your address only for zone and travel-time checks. It isn't shared with schools.
Confirm the result with the school before relying on it. Zone boundaries can change or contain errors. BoundFor accepts no liability for enrolment, property or other decisions based on this checker.
1,296 of 2,579 New Zealand schools in BoundFor's current Ministry of Education-derived directory are marked as operating an enrolment scheme, based on data updated July 2026.
Page updated .
Contains information sourced from the New Zealand Ministry of Education, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).
How New Zealand school zones work
Many state and state-integrated schools run an enrolment scheme with a home zone set by the school's board. If your address is inside that zone, your child has a legal right to enrol.
Out-of-zone places are limited. When a zoned school has room it offers those places by ballot(a random draw) in priority order. Living out of zone means you can apply, but a place isn't guaranteed.
Schools without an enrolment scheme are open enrolment. Anyone can apply, regardless of address, if the school has space. This checker shows both the schools you're in zone for and nearby schools you can apply to.
Here, “school zone” means an enrolment home zone, not a road speed zone. For traffic rules outside schools, see NZTA's school and kura speed-limit guidance.
School zone guides
- School zones in Auckland lets you use the address checker and browse zoned schools by locality.
- How school zones work in NZ covers home-zone rights, address evidence and zone changes.
- Out-of-zone enrolment and ballots explains the six priorities, application steps and waiting lists.
- Moving house and school zones explains what happens before and after your child enrols.
Frequently asked questions
How can I check a school zone by address?
Enter the full address in the checker on this page. BoundFor matches it against Ministry of Education home-zone boundaries and shows the schools whose zones cover it. Confirm the result with the school before relying on it.
How do school zones work in New Zealand?
A state school's enrolment scheme defines a home zone. A child who lives in that zone is entitled to enrol. Children outside it can apply only when the school offers out-of-zone places, with a ballot used when applications exceed places.
Does my child have to change schools if we move out of zone?
No. If your child was genuinely living in zone when they enrolled, they are entitled to remain at the school after you move. A school can investigate an enrolment based on false information or a temporary address used to gain entry.
How far around a school is a school zone?
There is no fixed radius. The Ministry of Education draws each home zone using local school capacity, population, roads and neighbouring schools, so a boundary may follow streets or split nearby addresses.
Keep exploring: explore schools, see a sample report, or check term dates.