Apply or renew your council funded school transport

Before applying for council funded school transport, you must read our list of eligibility criteria.

You can submit an application at any time during the school year.

Children in mainstream schools

To make sure a pass is available for your child on the first day of term, we need to receive your application no later than 15 July. Submit your application as early as you can to avoid any unnecessary delay.

Special educational needs children

If your child is attending a special school in September, we need to receive your application for transport no later than 1 April. This is due to the specialist nature of commissioning SEND transport.

We are aware that this is not always possible due to the time it may take to allocate a suitable place for a child with SEND. If this is the case you should apply as soon as you are notified of your child’s placement.

For further advice and to understand the process, what to expect when applying and how we arrange transport, read our parent's guide (PDF, 1.6 MB).

If you're still unsure of the process, watch our helpful video below.

Apply for council funded school transport

Apply online for home to school transport

Email homeschooltransport@kent.gov.uk to request a paper application form.

After applying

It may take up to six weeks for your application to be processed and for transport arrangements to be made. If you have made an application, we will contact you as soon as we can.

It's your responsibility to take your child to and from school during this time.

If your application is:

• successful we'll write to you with more information about your child's council funded school transport
• unsuccessful we'll write to you to explain why. Find out more how to appeal the decision.

Renew your council funded school transport

Primary school children

If your child is at primary school and already receives council funded school transport, you do not need to reapply until your child moves to secondary school. When this happens, complete the forms above.

Secondary school children

If your child is at secondary school and already receives council funded school transport, you do not need to apply to renew it. A new pass will automatically be sent to the school for the first day of each academic year until the end of year 11.

Special educational needs children

For special educational needs children who either attend a mainstream or special school, and already receives council funded school transport, you do not usually need to reapply unless your child moves to a new school or when they move from Year 6 to Year 7.

Low income families

If your child has been granted council funded school transport under the low income criteria, you will need to be reapply each year and. We will send you a form to complete and return with the most up to date Inland Revenue TC 602 letter.