What to expect on exam day
The Lezen (Reading) exam is done on a computer at a supervised exam centre. You read Dutch texts and answer questions on screen.
The exam screen shows the question above the passage. The passage is on the left, and the question with answer options is on the right. You click one answer for each question.
The framing on the exam is usually in the third person, not addressed to you directly. You often see a short setup with a name and situation first.
Example:
"Sabrina krijgt een brief van haar werk. Waarom krijgt ze de brief?"
English meaning: Sabrina gets a letter from her work. Why does she get the letter?
You do not use a dictionary at A2 level. The exam takes place under supervision, and you need ID.
How the Lezen (Reading) section is built
This section uses only multiple-choice questions. You do not drag, match, or put items in order.
You read around 9 to 10 short Dutch texts in total. Most texts have 2 to 4 questions.
The texts come from daily life in the Netherlands. You may see these kinds of text:
- letters or emails from work, school, a gemeente (municipality), or a huisarts (GP)
- notices, adverts, timetables, opening hours, or public transport messages
- brochures, folders, short news-style texts, or simple instructions
- short personal messages such as WhatsApp, SMS, or a note from a neighbour
The questions test practical reading skills at A2 level. You may need to find one fact, understand the purpose of a message, see what someone must do next, or make a simple conclusion.
A common DUO style is a short person-based setup before the real question.
Example:
"Halima wil meedoen met de sportdag. Wat moet ze meenemen?"
English meaning: Halima wants to join the sports day. What must she bring?
The wrong answers are often taken from other true details in the same text. That means you can't only look for a familiar word. You need to match the question to the correct detail.
How it is scored
Each question has one correct answer. You choose one option by clicking it.
All questions have the same weight. There is no deduction for a wrong answer, so an unanswered question cannot help you.
The pass mark is reported by prep sources as 18 out of 25, but there is also a reported 19 out of 25 in a later source. Because DUO's public information in this research set does not confirm which one is current, you should aim to get as many correct answers as possible instead of studying to one exact cut score.
Number of questions and time
The Lezen exam has 25 questions. You get 65 minutes for the whole section.
That time is for all passages and all questions together. There is no separate time per text, so you pace yourself across the full exam.
Answer options can be mixed. Some questions use three options, and some use four.
Tips to pass
Read the question before you read the whole passage. On this exam, the question is shown above the text, so you can look for the right kind of information from the start.
Use two reading speeds. Scan notices, adverts, and schedules for names, days, times, prices, and places. Read letters, emails, and short messages more carefully when the question asks about purpose, action, or meaning.
Watch for answer traps. A wrong option often repeats a real fact from the text, but it answers a different question.
Example:
"Hoe laat begint de cursus?"
English meaning: What time does the course start?
If the text mentions one time for registration and another time for the lesson, only one is correct. The other time may still appear in the text, but it is not the answer.
Do every question. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so make a choice even if you are unsure.
Practise with exam-style screens and short Dutch texts from daily life. InburgeringPrep helps you train the exact habits this section needs: reading the question first, scanning for key details, and avoiding distractors that look right but answer something else.