An investigation into the problem of parents cheating to get places for their children at over-subscribed schools is due to be published.
Tougher action should be taken against the thousands of parents who lie to get their children into popular schools, England's school places watchdog says.
England's Schools Adjudicator has been examining the scale of the problem and the ability of councils to tackle it.
Schools Adjudicator Ian Craig said an estimated 3,500 parents lied on school application forms each year.
The probe was prompted by the case of a mother accused of lying about her address to get her child into a popular school in Harrow, north-west London.
Local authorities should use all means open to them to deter parents from cheating the admissions system.
She denied lying and the case was later dropped by Harrow Council.
This includes removing places from the guilty and pursuing them through the courts, possibly using the Perjury Act.
Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls asked the adjudicator, Ian Craig, to look at the issue as part of his annual report.
Although Dr Craig said currently people had "nothing to lose" if they lied to get a place, he stopped short of calling for school place fraud to be made a crime.
It's really important that parents who are properly playing by the rules aren't disadvantaged Ed Balls Children's Secretary
It's really important that parents who are properly playing by the rules aren't disadvantaged Ed Balls Children's Secretary
The report looks at whether the scale of the problem is more significant than had been thought, whether the powers authorities have to withdraw places are being used and whether they are sufficient to deter parents from unfairly playing the system and breaking the rules.
He said he was not persuaded that the courts would use short-term prison sentences in such cases.
It also looks at whether any further powers are needed.
He added that fines would not be effective against parents who could afford to rent a second property close to a popular school.
Fraudulent or misleading applications might include giving a false address on an application form or renting a second address near to a popular school.
False address
Some parents are said to have attended church for years, despite having little or no faith, to get children into a faith school.
The detail of how parents caught making misleading or false applications should be punished is to form part of a second report ordered by the Secretary of State Ed Balls.
This first report on "fraudulent or misleading applications" was commissioned by the government following the case of a mother accused of using a false home address to get her child into a popular school in London.
She denied fraud and the case was dropped by Harrow Council. Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls asked Mr Craig to look at the issue as part of his annual report.
Fraudulent or misleading applications include giving a false address on an application form, renting a second address near to a popular school or faking a marriage breakdown.
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Other ways of cheating include pretending a cousin or even an unrelated child with the same surname - who is already in the school - is a child's brother or sister to secure a place through the sibling rule.
Other ways of cheating include pretending that a cousin or even an unrelated child with the same surname - who is already in the school - is a child's brother or sister to secure a place in a school that gives priority to siblings.
Announcing the probe back in July, Mr Balls said: "It's really important that parents who are properly playing by the rules aren't disadvantaged by some parents who break the rules or provide false information. That's not fair."
Mr Balls said: "I am reassured that the vast majority of applications are honest; but remain concerned that some places may be being obtained by deception while other children are being denied their 'rightful' place.
'Cheating green light'
"I take this issue very seriously and it is vital that it is also taken seriously by schools, admission authorities, and parents.
Harrow was the first council to attempt to prosecute a parent over allegedly lying on an admissions form to get a child into a good school using fraud legislation.
"The small minority of parents who break the rules must understand that obtaining a place by deception is not fair to everyone else."
It abandoned the legal action after being advised that this legislation could not be applied to such cases.
It called on the government to close what it said was a "legal loophole" and critics of the system said the situation gave "a green light to cheats".
Harrow prosecuted Mrinal Patel for giving her mother's address when applying to Pinner Park First School for her son.
On the application form she said this had been her address for 14 years but she later admitted this was her mother's address and that she had only stayed there temporarily while she was separated from her husband.
She later said this was because her mother had been living there for 14 years and that she had been "under a tremendous amount of stress" at this time.
Getting closer
She said her biggest mistake had been not telling the council when she moved out.
Some commentators believe the problem of parents trying to cheat the system is under-reported, while others believe it is a relatively small issue.
Last year a survey by the Local Government Association suggested the number of cases had grown over the previous five years.
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Headmaster Norman Hoare used private detectives
Poole Council was criticised after using new terror laws to spy on families suspected of putting false addresses on application forms to pretend they live closer to a chosen school.
Three-quarters of councils surveyed said more parents had lied on their application forms.
A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman said: "We've toughened up the School Admissions Code significantly to stamp out covert admission practices, which used to penalise families, and give every child a fair, equal and transparent chance to get into a school of their choice, regardless of their background.
"We've given the adjudicator far-reaching powers to deal with breaches of the code and send out a clear message that all admission authorities must comply - no ifs or buts."
