UNESCO Chairs may only be established at higher education and research institutions, and the application must be validated and endorsed by their respective national commission for UNESCO. UNESCO also welcomes applications from UN Member States, even if they are not UNESCO Member States at the time of application. However, a UNESCO Chair may partner with NGOs, foundations, other academic associations, inter-university organizations, as well as country, regional and international public or private institutions and agencies that currently cooperate with UNESCO or plan to do so in an area of intellectual cooperation.

Institutions wishing to host a UNESCO Chair should have adequate funding secured or concrete plans to mobilize funds to undertake proposed project activities. While UNESCO does not provide any financial support to the UNESCO Chairs, a proposal for funding a UNESCO Chair may be made via the relevant National Commission for UNESCO.