How to Apply for Municipal Nanny Childcare Compensation in Ukraine

Who can receive Municipal Nanny compensation?

The programme is targeted support rather than a universal reimbursement for every family that hires a nanny. During martial law and for three months after martial law is terminated or cancelled, the government has expanded the categories covered by the programme.

Current official guidance identifies four main qualifying situations:

• a child under 6 with a disability or a specified serious medical condition requiring additional care;
• a child under 6 whose parent or guardian has a Group I or II disability;
• a child under 3 where at least one parent or guardian is an internally displaced person;
• a child under 6 who lives with the parent or guardian in an administrative-territorial unit where preschool institutions cannot operate as required for a safe educational process under the relevant official decisions.

The applicant must be the child's parent or guardian and lawfully reside in Ukraine. Ukrainian citizens, foreigners and stateless persons can qualify when the applicable conditions are met.

Which children needing additional care are covered?

The current rules cover a child with a disability under 6 and a child under 6 without an established disability who has one of the specified serious conditions. The official list includes severe perinatal nervous-system damage, severe congenital malformations, rare orphan diseases, oncological or oncohematological diseases, cerebral palsy, severe mental disorders, insulin-dependent type I diabetes, stage IV acute or chronic kidney disease, severe injury, a need for organ transplantation or a need for palliative care.

Where eligibility depends on one of these circumstances, provide the required medical evidence confirming the child's condition.

If your child has an established disability and you also need information about the separate state cash benefit, see how to apply for state assistance for a child with a disability.

What additional conditions apply to IDP and preschool-closure families?

The expanded wartime categories have additional conditions. Current State Service for Children guidance states that parents or guardians using the IDP or qualifying preschool-closure route must satisfy an applicable employment or activity condition, such as employment, self-employment as an individual entrepreneur, retraining or professional development, or registration as unemployed for no more than six months. Current regional official guidance also identifies participation in public works and activities necessary for Ukraine's defence and protection of the population among qualifying circumstances.

Depending on the ground, supporting evidence can include an employment document confirming employment and that the parent or guardian is not on childcare leave, OK-7 insured-person information for an FOP, evidence of unemployment registration, or a voucher or certificate confirming training or retraining.

For the territorial preschool-closure category, the required local-government decision confirming the relevant interruption of preschool operation must also exist.

Who can be a Municipal Nanny?

The nanny cannot simply be an informally hired individual. The provider must operate in an eligible legal form and conclude the required contract with the parent or guardian.

An individual entrepreneur can provide the service under the applicable KVED 97.00 and/or 88.91. Current official guidance permits an FOP nanny to care simultaneously for no more than three children from one or different families.

A qualifying legal entity can provide the service under KVED 78.20 and/or 85.10 and may care simultaneously for no more than six children under the applicable staffing and safety rules. Where six children are cared for, two workers must provide the care.

A first-degree relative cannot be the Municipal Nanny. Current official guidance identifies the child's mother or father, grandmother or grandfather, and siblings among the excluded relatives.

What must be written into the nanny contract?

The compensation depends on a formal written contract. Current programme guidance requires the agreement to specify:

• the name of the service;
• the scope of the service and specific childcare measures;
• the number of childcare hours per month;
• information about the children receiving care;
• information about the person actually providing the care;
• the conditions and duration of the service;
• the price;
• the frequency of payment;
• the parties' responsibilities;
• the applicant's place of residence; and
• the FOP nanny's place of residence or the legal entity's registered location.

Where children from different families are cared for together at one of their homes, the applicable written parental consents and address arrangements must also be reflected as required by the programme rules.

When must you apply for compensation?

Submit the application within one month after concluding the Municipal Nanny contract. The Diia Guide confirms this filing period.

Compensation is assigned from the month in which the application is submitted, but not earlier than the date on which the contract with the nanny was concluded.

Missing the initial application deadline can therefore affect access to compensation. Do not hire and pay a nanny for several months before starting the administrative process on the assumption that all earlier costs will automatically be reimbursed.

What documents do you submit?

The initial package includes the compensation application, an application for transferring compensation to your chosen bank account, a copy of the nanny contract and evidence of the childcare payment already made in the month of application.

Acceptable payment evidence identified by the official programme includes a bank-account statement, cash receipt, sales receipt or settlement receipt.

You also provide the child's birth certificate, the applicant's identity document and RNOKPP where applicable. A guardian provides the decision establishing guardianship. A foreigner or stateless person provides the applicable document confirming lawful residence in Ukraine.

Additional evidence is required when the claim depends on disability, a serious medical condition, IDP circumstances, employment or self-employment, training, unemployment registration or the territorial preschool-closure rule.

Can you apply online or through a CNAP?

Yes, electronic submission is provided for. Current national guidance states that documents can be submitted in electronic form through the official Ministry social-policy channel and integrated government or local-government information systems, including the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services where the relevant functionality is available.

The programme is also administered through local social protection channels. Current official guidance identifies the local social protection authority and CNAP as submission routes for the application and document package.

Because local reception arrangements can differ, check which authorised channel is operating in your community before travelling to an office.

How quickly is the application decided?

The official Diia Guide gives a decision period of 10 working days from receipt of the documents by the competent social protection authority.

Current State Service for Children guidance also states that when the initial document package is incomplete, the applicant has 5 days to supply the missing documents after being informed of the deficiency.

The authority checks the information submitted and communicates its decision in writing or electronically.

How much can you receive in 2026?

The reimbursement is calculated using 100% of the statutory hourly minimum wage in force on 1 January of the relevant year for each hour of eligible childcare, subject to a maximum of 165 hours per month.

The official State Service for Children gives the 2026 hourly figure as UAH 52 per hour. At 165 hours, the maximum calculated reimbursement is therefore UAH 8,580 per month.

The reimbursement cannot exceed the amount you actually paid for the nanny's service. For example, paying less than the calculated statutory maximum does not create a right to receive the unused difference.

Do you pay the nanny before the state reimburses you?

Yes. This is a reimbursement programme. The parent or guardian first pays the nanny and then submits evidence of the care and payment. The state reimburses the eligible amount after the programme requirements are satisfied.

Keep payment records that clearly identify the transaction. Official rules require proof of actual expenditure rather than an estimate of what the childcare service should have cost.

What must you submit every month?

Approval does not eliminate the monthly reporting requirement. By the 5th day of the month following the month in which care was provided, submit:

• the prescribed Municipal Nanny service act confirming that childcare was provided and showing the number of hours; and
• documents proving the amount paid to the nanny.

Official examples of payment evidence include a bank statement, cash receipt, sales receipt or settlement receipt.

The monthly payment is based on the documented care and expenditure. Failure to provide the required monthly evidence can prevent reimbursement for that period.

When can you lose the right to compensation?

For the expanded IDP and preschool-closure categories, current national guidance identifies circumstances that can end eligibility. These include a parent or guardian taking childcare leave until the child turns three, termination of qualifying employment or self-employment, remaining registered as unemployed for more than six months, completion of the relevant retraining or professional-development period, or restoration of preschool operation in the qualifying locality.

The applicant must also report circumstances affecting the service or contract. Current programme rules require the applicant to inform the competent authority about termination or extension of the nanny contract and other circumstances affecting provision of the service.

Municipal Nanny compensation is a childcare reimbursement

The programme reimburses documented childcare costs. It is not the same benefit as assistance paid because a child has a disability, support for a child under guardianship or adoption assistance.

If you are a guardian and need the separate maintenance benefit for the child, see how to apply for state support for a child under guardianship.

What should you check before applying?

• Confirm that your child and family situation meet one of the current eligibility categories.
• Check any additional employment or activity condition that applies to the IDP or preschool-closure route.
• Use an eligible FOP or legal entity rather than an informal nanny.
• Make sure the nanny is not an excluded first-degree relative.
• Put all required terms, hours and parties into the written contract.
• Pay in a way that produces acceptable documentary evidence.
• Submit the initial claim within one month after signing the contract.
• After approval, submit the service act and payment evidence by the 5th of each following month.
• Remember that the 2026 ceiling is UAH 8,580 per month and reimbursement cannot exceed what you actually paid.