Children wanting school placement for 2014 have from April 9 to May 21 to apply for registration.
Application forms must be returned to schools between April 17 and May 21, after which parents will be supplied with a waiting list number for their child.
Learners who have to re-register at their schools have between April 9 and May 8 to do so.
The school application period began on July 27, in 2012, the end of September in 2011, and the end of November prior to 2011.
Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Charles Phahlane said the application period was moved to earlier in the year, to give schools sufficient time to prepare for the coming year.
He said the time frame for the application period is more or less the same, despite it being moved to earlier in the year.
Phahlane said schools should not experience administrative problems with processing the applications, as the time period is the same.