When a child returns to the collectivity after a medical absence longer than 3 days, you need an epidemiological clearance (aviz epidemiologic) from the family doctor. At nursery, the law requires the clearance to be issued at most 48 hours before the return. On returning from holidays no clearance is required — only an epidemiological screening at entry. The clearance certifies that the child has no signs of a transmissible disease.

Below you’ll find, separately, what’s required on the first day, what’s required on returning after illness, and how nursery differs from kindergarten.

First day vs. return after illness

These are two different moments, easily confused:

  • At first enrollment / the start of the year: you need a “clinically healthy” certificate from the family doctor and an epidemiological clearance before attendance begins. At nursery, the clearance is issued at most 5 days before the start (a nursery-specific rule). At kindergarten, the text requires the clearance “before attendance begins”, without explicitly mentioning the 5 days.
  • On returning after a medical absence: see below.

More on the medical documents at enrollment is in our guides to the medical certificate and what to pack in the bag.

When you need a clearance for returning after illness

The basic rule: after a medical absence longer than 3 days, the child returns to the collectivity only with a favourable epidemiological clearance from the family doctor.

  • At nursery, the law (Government Decision 566/2022, Art. 16) says the clearance is issued at most 48 hours before the return, for absences longer than 3 days.
  • The 2025 joint methodology of the Ministries of Health and Education (applicable to both nursery and kindergarten) conditions the return on a favourable clearance for absences exceeding 3 consecutive working days for medical reasons.

Note a textual difference: Government Decision 566/2022 speaks of “more than 3 days” (calendar) at nursery, while the 2025 order says “3 consecutive working days”. Both are in force — confirm with your child’s institution how it applies in your case.

What isn’t required after holidays

An important, often-misunderstood point: on returning from holidays, NO epidemiological clearance is required, neither at kindergarten nor at school. The Ministry of Health has stated this explicitly.

Instead, nursery and kindergarten carry out a mandatory daily epidemiological screening at entry to the collectivity — a routine check by medical staff, not a document brought by the parent.

The family-doctor clearance is required only for medical absences longer than 3 days, not for holidays.

What the clearance certifies

The official form (“epidemiological clearance for (re)entry into the collectivity”) certifies that the child has / does not have signs and symptoms suggestive of a transmissible disease, and records vaccination status.

Remember: the clearance concerns the child, it does not certify “the absence of a disease in the family/household” — a common phrasing, but one that doesn’t appear in the form’s text.

How nursery differs from kindergarten

  • The 48-hour window for the return clearance is written explicitly only for nursery (Government Decision 566/2022). For kindergarten, the law requires a “favourable clearance” after medical absences longer than 3 working days, without a specified hour-window — it does not automatically imply “48h” at kindergarten.
  • At nursery, the child can be removed from the register if they are absent 4 consecutive weeks without justification (a rule separate from the clearance).
  • At enrollment in a state nursery in Cluj, the initial file additionally requires: the immunisation record, the tuberculin test and the coproparasitological exam, per DSP Cluj’s instructions. These belong to first enrollment, not to returning after illness.

We found no fine in the law for missing the clearance on return; the consequence is non-admission to the collectivity at screening.

Frequently asked questions

When do I need an epidemiological clearance for my child’s return? After a medical absence longer than 3 days. At nursery, the clearance is issued at most 48 hours before the return.

Is an epidemiological clearance required after holidays? No. On returning from holidays no clearance is required, neither at kindergarten nor at school — only a daily epidemiological screening at entry.

Is it “3 days” or “3 working days”? Government Decision 566/2022 (nursery) says “more than 3 days”; the 2025 order says “3 consecutive working days”. Both are in force — confirm with the institution.

What does the epidemiological clearance certify? That the child has or does not have signs and symptoms of a transmissible disease, plus vaccination status. It concerns the child.

Is it the same rule at nursery and kindergarten? The basic rule (a clearance after medical absences longer than 3 days) is common; the explicit 48-hour window is written only for nursery.

Sources

  • Government Decision no. 566/2022 — nursery methodology (Art. 16 clearance / “clinically healthy”; Art. 19 removal from register)
  • Order ME no. 4018/2024 — medical documents at kindergarten enrollment (Art. 16)
  • Joint Order MS–ME no. 1503/6821/2025 — medical assistance, screening and return clearance (Official Gazette no. 1154 bis/12.12.2025)
  • Ministry of Health — communication on the epidemiological clearance; DSP Cluj for local specifics

See all our official sources on the data sources page.

Conclusion

You need an epidemiological clearance for returning after a medical absence longer than 3 days (at nursery, issued at most 48 hours before). After holidays no clearance is required, only screening at entry. Confirm the details with your child’s institution, and find every nursery and kindergarten in Cluj-Napoca on the interactive piticluj.ro map.