Private persons or legal entities may establish, reorganize and close private education institutions. The rules of registration of an institution, accreditation of an institution, licensing, registration and accreditation of education programmes are the same as for public schools.

The founders of private education institutions provide financing for them. Private education institutions are free to set tuition fees.

Private pre-school education institutions do not receive any subsidies from the state. However, they are eligible to sign an agreement with local authorities on financial allocation if they wish to provide compulsory pre-school education for 5 and 6-year-old children. Several local governments co-finance private pre-school institutions by giving a definite sum of money per each child from the respective municipality attending the institution thus resolving, at least partly, the shortage of places in public pre-school institutions.

The International School of Latvia is a private education institution attended by foreigners (mainly children of foreign diplomats) as well as Latvians. The school provides educational programmes at pre-primary, primary, lower and upper secondary education level.

Accredited private schools providing integrated primary and lower-secondary and/or upper-secondary education may receive funds from the state. This budget covers costs of teaching staff salaries. Private schools may sign an agreement with local authorities and receive financial means according to the determined costs for one pupil. These costs are determined centrally by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Private vocational schools may sign an agreement with the competent ministry about preparing specialists in a definite professional area. In this case institutions receive budget for this aim from the state.

In 2020/21 there were 64 or 9.4% private general basic and general upper secondary schools.

The rules of registration and accreditation of an institution, licensing, registration and accreditation of study programmes are the same for public and private higher educational institutions. Private higher education institutions may offer education not only in the state language (Latvian) but also in other languages.

Private institutions may sign agreements with the Ministry of Education and Science, or other ministries or state institutions about training of certain specialists and thus receive funding from state budget.

Full-time students from private (state-accredited) higher education institutions may apply for loans to cover living costs - "student loans". Loans to cover tuition fees are offered also for part-time students in private higher educational institutions.

In 2021 there were 21 or 39,6% private higher education institutions and colleges.