Yokohama: April 2027 daycare rounds, childcare leave, and what a refusal means

Yokohama (横浜市) uses one city schedule for every ward. The fiscal 2027 guide (令和９年度 保育所等利用案内) says the application is online in principle, until 23:59 on the deadline, with a My Number card signature.

April 2027 dates

Round	Apply	Notes
First	Thu 1 Oct 2026 – Wed 28 Oct 2026	Anything after the deadline is not in the first round. Preference changes and missing documents are accepted through Fri 20 Nov 2026.
Second	Wed 23 Dec 2026 – Tue 2 Feb 2027	Preference changes and missing documents through Wed 3 Feb 2027.

The benefit application and the use application themselves cannot be sent later as "missing documents". They have to be in by the round's deadline.

If you cannot apply online, the guide tells you to mail the papers. First-round mail goes to the city's certification centre (a postmark counts). Second-round mail must arrive at your ward office's child-and-family desk.

A family held back in the first round is included in the second round automatically. If you were offered a place and you decline it, the guide says you cannot enter the second round. It lists exceptions. Read that section before you decline. If the second round also holds you back, the city does not mail a second hold notice.

Childcare leave

The guide says you generally cannot apply while you are still on childcare leave, because you can care for the child at home. An application during leave has to be an application to end the leave and return to the same employer.

If a place is offered, you must end the leave during the month you start, and be back at work by the 1st of the next month. The guide's example: a 1 April start means the leave ends between 1 April and 30 April, and you are back by 1 May. If you stay on leave, the work reason may no longer be recognized and you may not be able to keep the place. The guide says applications for siblings at the same time are partly different, on a separate page. This article does not restate that page.

Verify with your Yokohama ward office. The guide does not promise a place.