Failed the Inburgering Exam More Than Once: Your Real Options

If you failed the inburgeringsexamen (civic integration exam) more than once, do not just book the same exam again and hope. First check which law applies to you, how much time is left, and why you are failing. Your real options can include a better resit plan, extra time, a change in your PIP through the gemeente, taking B1 parts at A2 level, an adapted exam, or in some Wi2013 cases an AGI waiver after enough effort.

• Failing an exam does not automatically mean a fine. The fine risk starts when you miss your integration deadline without a valid extension or other decision.
• For Staatsexamen NT2 B1 or B2, you can register for a resit only after you have received the result showing that you did not pass that component.
• Under Wi2021, the gemeente owns your PIP. If B1 is too hard after serious effort, ask the gemeente about A2 downscaling or route support.
• Under Wi2013, AGI is the main effort-based waiver. It is not for Wi2021 candidates.
• Extra time is often more realistic than a waiver. DUO lists several reasons, including illness, literacy courses, childbirth, homelessness, school or gemeente delay, and enough course hours plus exam attempts.
• If the exam format itself is the barrier, check an adapted exam before applying for a full medical exemption.

The same failure history can lead to different next steps. A person under the old 2013 law usually deals more directly with DUO rules. A person under the 2021 law must also involve the gemeente because the PIP decides the learning route and required level.

Think of the options in this order. Start with the lightest solution that matches the real problem. A full waiver is usually not the first or easiest route.

For Wi2021, your gemeente is central. Your PIP says which route you follow, which exams you need, and at what level. If you keep failing, ask for a meeting before the deadline becomes urgent. Bring your results, attendance record and teacher's advice.

• Ask whether your current school or route still fits your situation.
• If you are in the B1-route and B1 is too hard, ask whether parts can be taken at A2 level. The legal rules allow this only after significant effort and when the facts show B1 is not reachable in time.
• If you already passed some parts, ask how those passed parts count in your PIP and deadline plan.
• If you are near the end of the term and meet the official effort conditions, DUO may grant 6 months extra time. Some Wi2021 effort extensions are automatic when the conditions are met.

For Wi2013, DUO has a specific effort-based waiver called ontheffing wegens aantoonbaar geleverde inspanningen (AGI). In simple words: you show that you seriously tried, but passing all exams is still not working.

• For the A2 course path, DUO lists key conditions such as a term that started at least 2.5 years ago, at least 600 classroom course hours, a school that was listed on zoekinburgerschool.nl when you started, and at least 3 attempts to pass all required exams.
• Only classroom hours count for this AGI route. DUO says online-followed hours do not count.
• For a literacy-course path, DUO also uses 600 hours, with at least 300 hours of literacy course. DUO may ask you to take a learnability test, which costs EUR 150.
• If you do not yet have enough hours or attempts for AGI, check extra time instead. Under Wi2013, the effort-extension route can involve 300 course hours and repeated attempts for unfinished exams.

Repeated failure is sometimes not a study problem. The normal exam format may not fit your illness, disability, dyslexia, psychological condition or other personal circumstances. In that case, look at the medical and adapted-exam routes before paying for many more attempts.

• For A2 language exams and knowledge exams, you can request advice for an adapted exam through Mijn Inburgering or with a paper form.
• For Staatsexamen NT2 B1 or B2, use the adapted-exam route from Staatsexamen NT2/DUO.
• A medical ontheffing costs EUR 225 to apply as of May 2026. Argonaut gives medical advice and DUO decides. DUO refunds the fee only if the exemption is granted.
• BIO ontheffing is for very exceptional lasting personal situations. DUO says you must first have no other exemption or extra-time option.

A good request is easier to understand when you show facts. Keep copies of everything, even if you also see some information in Mijn Inburgering.

• Exam results and dates for every failed and passed component.
• Your current deadline and the law that applies to you: Wi2013 or Wi2021.
• Course attendance hours, school contract, invoices or a school statement.
• A short note from your teacher explaining what is still difficult and what has already improved.
• Medical or specialist evidence if you are asking for an adapted exam, medical route or extra time because of illness.
• Letters from DUO, the gemeente, IND or Staatsexamen NT2 that mention your obligation, PIP, results or deadline.

• Log in to Mijn Inburgering and write down the parts you still need, your deadline and your law.
• If you are Wi2021, ask the gemeente for a PIP or route conversation. If you are Wi2013, check DUO's AGI and extra-time pages.
• Do one diagnosis before the next resit: was the problem vocabulary, speed, writing structure, stress, computer use, hearing, reading, or the wrong level?
• Choose one concrete change for the next attempt: a different course, targeted practice, adapted exam request, extra-time request, or gemeente meeting.
• Read the related guides on the three-year deadline, fines, medical ontheffing, exam results and registration before you send forms.

Useful related guides: extra time and the three-year clock, inburgering fines, medical ontheffing and adapted exams, and waiting for results.