Inburgeringsexamen (Civic Integration Exam): A1, A2 and B1 Levels, Parts and Costs

The inburgeringsexamen (civic integration exam) is a set of Dutch language and society exams used in the civic integration process. The exams you need depend on your residence situation, start date and official route. If the IND requires it before you join a partner, you first take the A1 basisexamen inburgering buitenland (Basic Civic Integration Exam Abroad) for the MVV (provisional residence permit). In the Netherlands, your DUO letter and personal integration and participation plan (PIP) show your route, exam level and other tasks.

• How Dutch integration works (Wi 2021 vs Wi 2013)
• The three learning routes
• A1 basisexamen abroad (before MVV)
• A2 inburgeringsexamen (in the Netherlands)
• B1 Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I
• KNM and KNS: society knowledge
• What it costs
• Where you register
• Exemptions and dispensations
• Deadlines and fines
• Exam day rules
• Exam levels and rules at a glance
• Choose your exam and start preparing

Public guidance describes the ordinary inburgering duty as applying from age 18 until the AOW pension age when a newcomer has a qualifying non-temporary residence purpose. The Wet inburgering 2021 itself starts its age scope at 16, but it exempts people who are still subject to compulsory or qualification education duties. An eligible 16- or 17-year-old who has an exemption from those education duties can ask DUO to start early; the three-year term and possible enforcement then apply. Nationality, residence purpose, education and other exemptions also affect the duty.

Two laws still matter. Wet inburgering 2013 (Wi2013) generally applies to people whose duty started before 1 January 2022. Wi2021 applies to people who became required to integrate from that date. Under Wi2021, your gemeente holds a brede intake (broad intake) that includes the Leerbaarheidstoets (learning-ability test). The gemeente then records your route, exams and level in the PIP. Your three-year term starts on the date shown in your DUO decision.

The three Wi2021 routes lead to different language exams and other obligations. Your gemeente chooses the route with you during the broad intake, and the PIP records it.

If you started under the older Wi 2013, you take exams at A2 (or higher) and the path is fixed. Most people do speaking, listening, reading, writing, KNM, Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt (ONA, Orientation on the Dutch Labour Market) and, since October 2017, the participation declaration process (PVT).

The A1 basisexamen inburgering buitenland is a three-part Dutch exam taken before travel to the Netherlands. It applies to many people seeking an MVV to join a partner and to spiritual counsellors when the IND says the exam is required. You take it at a Dutch embassy or consulate in your country or at another listed location. Pass all three parts before submitting the MVV application.

The three computer-based parts take 30 to 35 minutes each. You don't have to write anything by hand. You can take all three on the same visit (about two hours total) or one at a time.

A1 has no writing or listening exam. The free official study package is called Naar Nederland and you can download it in 33 languages, with sample exams included.

Under Wi2013, A2 is the standard language-exam level. Under Wi2021, A2 language components can replace B1 components only within the B1-route after the legal downscaling conditions are met. You must have followed at least 600 course hours of Dutch as a second language at a qualifying provider, and the facts must show sufficient effort during those lessons. The gemeente records any A2 components in your PIP. A2 downscaling does not apply inside the education route.

The five exams use different formats and take 35 to 65 minutes each. You can take them on different dates and in any order. Each exam starts with about 15 minutes of instructions.

Writing is done with pen and paper, while every other part uses a computer. For speaking, you talk to the computer rather than a person. DUO grades reading, listening and KNM automatically. Trained DUO assessors check writing and speaking. You get the result in Mijn Inburgering within about 8 weeks.

Many Wi2013 files also require ONA (Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt, Orientation on the Dutch Labour Market). Under Wi2021, the B1-route and Z-route include MAP instead; the education route has no MAP. The gemeente arranges MAP.

The Staatsexamen Nederlands als tweede taal (NT2) tests Dutch at B1 or B2. Programma I is at B1 and is the standard exam for the B1-route under Wi 2021. Programma II is at B2 and is mainly used for the Onderwijsroute or for jobs and study programmes that ask for higher Dutch. The College voor Toetsen en Examens (CvTE, Board for Tests and Examinations) makes the exam, and DUO runs it.

The NT2 diploma itself has four language components: speaking, writing, reading and listening. KNM is not an NT2 diploma component. Your civic-integration file can still require KNM separately: Wi2021 B1-route and education-route candidates take it, and many Wi2013 candidates using B1 or B2 language proof also need it. Check your PIP or Mijn Inburgering. You take the four NT2 components on a computer and type the writing answers.

For reading and writing you may bring the Van Dale Pocketwoordenboek Nederlands als tweede taal (NT2). No other dictionaries are allowed, and no dictionary at all during listening and speaking. Your result appears in Mijn DUO about 5 weeks after the exam. The pass mark is a converted score of 500 or higher per part. Once you pass all four parts, DUO posts your diploma to your home address. The diploma is valid for life.

Two society-knowledge exams have similar names. Your residence stage, law and route determine which one applies.

• KNS (Kennis van de Nederlandse Samenleving, Knowledge of Dutch Society): taken abroad at A1. It has 30 questions with photos. Each question is read aloud; you choose from 2 options.
• KNM (Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij, Knowledge of Dutch Society): taken in the Netherlands as a 45-minute computer exam organised around themes such as work, healthcare, education, housing and rights. DUO publishes no fixed question count or raw correct-answer pass mark.

KNS belongs to the A1 exam abroad. KNM is a separate Netherlands-based requirement in the Wi2021 B1-route and education route and in many Wi2013 files, even when the language proof comes from the B1 or B2 Staatsexamen NT2.

Pay only for parts shown in your official file, after checking exemptions and dispensations. DUO charges per part and per attempt. If you fail one part, you pay again only for that part. The Netherlands-based prices below were checked against inburgeren.nl in May 2026. Naar Nederland now lists every A1 part at €50.

If you have asylum status under Wi 2021, your first 2 attempts at each exam are free, as long as you take the exam at the level in your PIP or higher. The MAP and PVT through the gemeente are free. Family migrants can borrow from DUO to pay the course and exams at approved (goedgekeurde) schools.

More on borrowing and on what happens if you cannot pay: see the costs and DUO loan guide.

Check whether an exemption or dispensation applies before you register. If you still need an exam, use the registration website for that exam family.

• A1 (basisexamen abroad): fill in DUO's A1 registration form, pay, then book a date with the Dutch embassy or consulate.
• A2, KNM and ONA: book in Mijn Inburgering on inburgeren.nl with DigiD. You can change or cancel up to 1 week before the exam.
• B1 and B2 NT2: book in Mijn DUO on duo.nl with DigiD. Registration opens about 8 weeks before each exam at 09:00. You cancel through nt2@duo.nl up to 4 weeks before.

A2 and B1/B2 exams are held at DUO centres in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rijswijk, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Zwolle. Be there 30 minutes early. You will receive an oproepbrief (call letter) by email and post about a week before the exam, with the address and time.

Step-by-step booking screens for each path are in our exam registration guide.

Not everyone has to take every exam. Dutch law uses two different words. A vrijstelling (exemption) can be full, which removes the integration-exam requirement, or partial, which removes only the components covered by your proof. An ontheffing (dispensation) applies when you were required to integrate but cannot reasonably complete the requirement, usually for medical reasons or after serious effort.

EU/EEA and Swiss citizens generally do not have the domestic inburgering duty. A qualifying Dutch school diploma, such as VMBO, HAVO, VWO, MBO level 2 or higher, or Dutch-taught HBO or university, may support a full exemption. A Staatsexamen NT2 diploma or component certificate may instead give a partial exemption for the corresponding language components. KNM and route items such as MAP, PVT or ONA can remain, so DUO decides which parts you still need. Citizens of Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, the US, Switzerland and Vatican City are also exempt from the A1 exam abroad.

For dispensations, the IND (for the A1 abroad) or DUO/your gemeente (in the Netherlands) decide. A medical dispensation needs a doctor's report. A dispensation on personal grounds needs proof that you tried — for example, exam attempts, course hours and a clear reason why you cannot finish.

Detailed lists, forms and conditions are in our exemptions and special cases guide.

Under Wi2021, the inburgering term is normally 3 years from the start date in DUO's decision after the PIP is set. Two months before the end, DUO sends a reminder. After the deadline, non-asylum-status candidates can receive a Vooraankondiging termijnoverschrijding (notice of a missed deadline). DUO currently says asylum status holders do not receive late-completion fines. For candidates covered by the fine rules, the maximum learning-route fine is €1,000; MAP and PVT each have a separate €340 fine.

If DUO gives you a fine, you still have to integrate. DUO then gives 6 months to 2 years of extra time, depending on your route and completed exams or hours. Under Wi2013, the maximum late diploma fine is €1,250 for people covered by the current fine rules, followed by 2 extra years.

All A2 and NT2 exams in the Netherlands follow the same basic rules. You arrive 30 minutes early with a valid ID and your call letter. Phone, watch, jacket, books and bags go in a locker — you cannot take any of them into the exam room. Before the exam, you sign a confidentiality form: you may not photograph or share any exam content.

Allowed: a valid ID (Dutch passport, EU ID card, residence document, EU driving licence or comparable), your oproepbrief, the Van Dale NT2 dictionary (only for reading and writing), water in a bottle with a lid (kept on the floor), and a cup if you want the free coffee or tea in the waiting area.

Not allowed: phones, smartwatches, your own paper or notes, electronic dictionaries, Google Translate, headphones (DUO provides them), or a dictionary during listening or speaking. If a staff member sees a forbidden item, your exam can be invalidated.

• A1 abroad: 3 parts (speaking, reading, KNS) at a Dutch embassy or consulate. Each part is €50. After passing all three, submit the MVV application within 1 year.
• A2 in the Netherlands: 5 parts (speaking, writing, reading, listening, KNM). €250 under Wi 2021, €290 under Wi 2013 with ONA.
• B1 NT2 Programma I: 4 language components, all on computer. €200 total and a pass mark of 500 per component. KNM is separate and may still be required for inburgering.
• Wi 2021: gemeente decides your route (B1, Onderwijs or Z) in your PIP. 3 years to finish. Asylum status holders get 2 free attempts.
• A2 and KNM registration is in Mijn Inburgering. NT2 (B1/B2) registration is in Mijn DUO.
• Six exam cities for A2 and NT2: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rijswijk, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Zwolle.
• Bring a valid ID and oproepbrief. Van Dale NT2 dictionary only for reading and writing.
• For candidates covered by the current fine rules, late-completion fines go up to €1,000 under Wi2021 or €1,250 under Wi2013. DUO currently says asylum status holders do not receive these fines.

• Find your route. If the IND requires the exam abroad, start with A1. In the Netherlands under Wi2021, check Mijn Inburgering and your PIP. If your duty started before 2022, check the Wi2013 exams in Mijn Inburgering.
• Read our level-specific guides: A1 abroad, A2, Staatsexamen NT2 (B1/B2).
• Try a free practice round in our free exam practice to see where you are.
• If you are in the B1-route and have followed 600 qualifying NT2 course hours with sufficient effort, ask the gemeente whether the legal conditions allow downscaling to A2 for one or more components in your PIP. This option does not apply inside the education route.
• Buy the Van Dale Pocketwoordenboek NT2 if you are taking the A2 reading/writing or any NT2 exam.