You fail a part, never the whole exam
DUO grades each component of the Dutch civic integration exam independently. If you sit the tests and pass Reading and Listening but fail Writing, you only need to retake Writing. Your passing results do not expire while you complete the remaining requirements. You never have to restart the entire sequence from scratch.
This rule applies across both the Wet inburgering 2013 (Civic Integration Act 2013) and the Wet inburgering 2021. Whether you take your language exams at A2 level or B1 level, every passing grade is locked into your file in Mijn Inburgering (the online portal for civic integration). For newcomers who fear that one poor exam day ruins years of study, this modular system provides a clear safety net. You isolate the problem area, focus your energy on that single skill, and leave your successful results untouched. The mandatory exam package includes Lezen (Reading), Luisteren (Listening), Schrijven (Writing), Spreken (Speaking), and Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij (KNM, Knowledge of Dutch Society), alongside Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt (ONA) for candidates under the 2013 law.
Do not panic.
This administrative structure applies to everyone bound by the civic integration duty, including asylum status holders and family migrants. It does not apply to European Union citizens or temporary visa holders who have no civic integration obligation. Because your passed components are permanently recorded, you never lose credit for what you already proved you know. DUO publishes no maximum number of attempts, but repeated attempts consume valuable time against your statutory integration deadline.
Registering again: how soon you can, and what each resit costs
You can book a new exam appointment immediately through the official portal as soon as your results are processed. To reschedule, you log in to Mijn Inburgering using your DigiD, select the specific exam component you need to retake, and pick an available date and test location. DUO notes that waiting lists vary, and it can often take more than six weeks before a seat opens up at an official testing centre.
Every retake requires an exam fee, and the financial responsibility depends strictly on your integration category. You can read the official breakdown on DUO's integration payment page. For family migrants and non-asylum newcomers, integration costs come out of your own pocket or through a loan arranged with DUO. Under both civic integration acts, DUO charges a fee per exam part; the current amount is in the table on that page. Every failed attempt adds another fee to your bill. For asylum status holders under the 2021 law, the gemeente (municipality) pays for your course and your first two exam attempts for each component. However, if you fail a component twice, the third attempt is no longer funded by the municipality, and you must pay for subsequent retakes yourself without the option to borrow from DUO. Asylum status holders under the 2013 law operate under different rules: they can borrow up to €10,000, and a court ruling confirmed that DUO may never reclaim this loan.
If you book an exam and discover you cannot attend, act quickly to protect your money. You can cancel or move your test date in Mijn Inburgering up to seven days before the exam session without losing your fee on DUO's exam booking portal. Missing this one-week cancellation cutoff means forfeiting the fee entirely, forcing you to pay twice for the same test.
What resits do to your inburgering deadline and the fine
Retaking an exam multiple times does not automatically pause or extend your statutory three-year integration deadline. Your inburgeringstermijn (integration period) continues to run down while you wait for exam slots, receive test results, and prepare for subsequent attempts.
If your deadline expires before you pass all required parts, DUO can issue a financial penalty. Under the Wet inburgering 2021, this penalty can reach up to €1,000 for failing to complete your designated leerroute (learning route) on time, alongside potential separate fines of €340 for missing the participatieverklaringstraject (PVT, participation statement process) or the Module Arbeidsmarkt en Participatie (MAP, labour market and participation module). Under the 2013 law, the maximum fine for missing the diploma deadline is €1,250. Asylum status holders are legally exempt from these late fines under both laws, as established by the Raad van State.
Paying a fine does not exempt you from finishing your integration. Deadlines still tick away. Once DUO imposes a fine, it grants an extension period so you can finish the remaining requirements:
- You receive two extra years if you have passed zero exam components.
- You receive one and a half extra years if you have passed one exam component.
- You receive one extra year if you have passed two exam components.
- You receive six extra months if you have passed three or four exam components.
You can check the official enforcement rules on DUO's penalty information page. You can avoid a fine entirely if you qualify for a legitimate verlengingsgrond (ground for extension), such as serious prolonged illness, the death of an immediate family member, childbirth, or severe delays caused by your municipality or school.
Lowering to A2 or an exemption after effort: when that is possible
Candidates who repeatedly fail components despite attending classes and putting in genuine effort have specific administrative safety valves. The procedure you follow depends entirely on which integration law applies to your case. Newcomers under the Wet inburgering 2021 who are enrolled in the B1-route can apply for afschalen (scaling down the required language level from B1 to A2).
To qualify for afschalen, you must prove substantial effort (aanzienlijke inspanningen). The law defines this as completing at least 600 hours of Dutch language classes (Nederlands als tweede taal, NT2) at a language school carrying the official Blik op Werk quality mark. The municipality decides whether you qualify and records the change in your PIP. Afschalen can be approved per individual exam component, allowing you to pass some skills at B1 while taking others at A2. You can review how municipalities structure these educational trajectories through Divosa's guidance on learning routes.
For individuals integrating under the Wet inburgering 2013, the mechanism is an ontheffing wegens aantoonbaar geleverde inspanningen (exemption based on demonstrable effort). You may request this exemption if your three-year term started at least two and a half years ago, you logged at least 600 classroom hours at an approved school, and you attempted every exam component at least three times. Details on how to submit this application are outlined on DUO's exemption guidelines page. This exemption releases you from the remaining tests without requiring you to pass them.
Afschalen exists only inside the B1-route, so it does not apply in the onderwijsroute or the Z-route. Neither afschalen nor the ontheffing happens automatically: the hours and the attempts must be registered.
Preparing differently for the next attempt
Sitting the same test repeatedly with the exact same study habits rarely produces a different outcome. When you have failed an inburgering exam component more than once, you need to diagnose your specific skill deficits rather than memorising question banks. If you failed Schrijven (Writing), for instance, the issue is almost always word order, verb conjugation, or missing key bullet points from the prompt.
Practice with authentic materials under strict exam conditions. DUO provides free official practice exams on inburgeren.nl's practice portal, covering Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking, and Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij (KNM). Take these practice tests on a desktop computer, just as you will experience at the test centre, because taking them on a mobile phone alters the screen layout and navigation.
To rebuild your approach effectively, focus on two foundational shifts:
- Analyse the exact reasons behind past mistakes with an experienced Dutch instructor rather than reviewing alone.
- Build spontaneous production skills by writing short messages and speaking out loud every single day under timed constraints.
Consistent daily exposure to Dutch news, workplace dialogues, and municipal letters will strengthen your passive vocabulary faster than cramming isolated word lists. Treat the next attempt as a targeted diagnostic mission: isolate your weak points, simulate the exam environment, and book your session only when your practice scores consistently exceed the required standard.