The practical route from first interest to an approved mobility project.
The first practical step is registering the school in the European Commission's Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps organisation registry, which generates an Organisation ID (OID). This is a one-time administrative step, not an application — it's what allows the school to be identified as an applicant later.
Once registered, a school chooses between two main routes, both submitted to its own National Agency:
A student group about to depart for an Erasmus+ mobility.
Applications are assessed on the quality and relevance of the project — how well it fits the school's development plan, how mobility activities are organised and monitored, and how outcomes will be shared. A vague application ("we want to send students abroad") is weaker than one with defined fields of study, a realistic number of participants, and a credible plan for placements, even before a host partner is confirmed.
This is where having a working relationship with a host organisation abroad — even informally, before submitting — tends to strengthen an application, since it lets the school describe placements concretely rather than in the abstract.
Once approved, the school confirms participants, finalises placements with its host partner, prepares Learning Agreements for each student, and organises travel and insurance. Monitoring continues throughout the mobility, and the school reports back to its National Agency afterwards — including documentation like Europass certificates for participants.
For schools applying for the first time, we've broken the whole cycle down in more detail, including realistic timelines, in how schools organise a successful Erasmus+ mobility.
The paperwork a school needs to prepare, before and after.
Read more → KA1What separates a strong application from a weak one.
Read more → Erasmus+ PartnershipsFinding a host organisation before the application is submitted.
Read more →DNA Europe supports vocational schools in Romania, Italy and Poland with Erasmus+ VET mobility in Lisbon — from the first placement idea to the final report.
