The oproepbrief: where to be and at what time
Your oproepbrief (summons letter) arrives ten days before your exam date and tells you the exact location, date, and time of your sitting. DUO sends this letter by post and e-mail after receiving your registration payment. You must check every detail immediately upon receipt. If the letter contains an error or fails to arrive ten days before the test date, contact DUO by calling 050-599 89 33 or emailing nt2@duo.nl.
Plan to arrive at the test centre at least thirty minutes before the exam begins. Test centres operate on strict schedules, and latecomers are turned away at the door without exception. If your exam starts at 09:00, you must step inside the building no later than 08:30. That time is for checking your identity and taking you to the exam room.
Only registered candidates may enter the facility. Friends, children, partners, and interpreters must stay outside on the street. This rule applies to everyone, whether you are sitting the B1 exam under your civic integration plan (PIP) or taking it voluntarily for work.
Staff will direct you into a waiting room before the test. A member of staff will call you and guide you into the computer hall. Listen carefully to the proctor's announcements. Sit down at your station.
Check official scheduling guidance on DUO's Staatsexamen NT2 portal to track your registration status before your letter arrives.
What to bring: ID, the one permitted dictionary, and what is banned
You must present a valid identity document at check-in or DUO will bar you from taking the exam. Acceptable forms of identification include a Dutch passport, an identity card, a Dutch driving licence, an EU or EEA passport, a foreign passport, or an official Dutch residence permit. Expired documents or damaged identity cards are refused on the spot. If you show a false document, DUO can report it to the police.
Dictionary rules depend entirely on the specific skill you test on the day:
- Lezen (Reading) allows one specific paper dictionary
- Schrijven (Writing) allows one specific paper dictionary
- Luisteren (Listening) bans all dictionaries completely
- Spreken (Speaking) bans all dictionaries completely
The only permitted dictionary is the Van Dale Pocketwoordenboek Nederlands als tweede taal (NT2). No other edition, electronic translator, bilingual dictionary, or notes sheet is allowed inside the testing hall. Bring no other book.
Phones and other electronics have no place at your desk: the exam is confidential, and you may not photograph or copy questions. Follow your oproepbrief and the staff's instructions on where to leave your belongings. You may bring an empty cup if you wish to drink water during the session.
The exam is confidential. CvTE states that you cannot review your own exam afterwards, and you may not share its content.
The six exam cities and how to get there
DUO administers the Staatsexamen NT2 across six designated host cities throughout the Netherlands. When you submit your booking in Mijn DUO, you select your preferred exam city from the available slots. The six official testing locations are:
- Amsterdam (Joan Muyskenweg 25 a)
- Eindhoven (Kastelenplein 168 a)
- Rijswijk (Polakweg 10-11)
- Rotterdam (Weena 737, inside the Groothandelsgebouw)
- Utrecht (Herman Gorterstraat 40)
- Zwolle (Van Wevelinkhovenstraat 1, Diezerveste building)
DUO says there are few parking spaces and that the locations are easy to reach by public transport, so driving is a risk on test morning: a traffic jam or a missing parking spot can make you miss the thirty-minute arrival window. The Amsterdam centre is opposite the Overamstel metro station.
Check your route the evening before your trip. DUO tells candidates to allow for delays on the way. You can check location details and access notices directly on DUO's exam locations guide before you travel.
Voluntary candidates and civic integration newcomers sit side by side in these halls. The same venue rules, room layout, and timing rules apply equally to every test taker in the room, regardless of your personal residency route.
How the exam runs on the computer
You take every part of the Staatsexamen NT2 on a computer, in the Facet exam player that CvTE also uses for its practice environment. Once staff seat you, they explain the rules and tell you when to start.
For Luisteren you listen through a headset and answer on screen. For Spreken you hear the prompts through the headphones and record your spoken answers with the microphone. For Schrijven you type your texts.
Practise with the layout early. CvTE offers free mock tests in the identical screen interface on the Facet open practice portal. Working through tasks on a computer screen ahead of time teaches you how the timers run, how audio tracks play, and where input boxes sit.
Because live exam tasks are secret, you cannot view your submitted answers after leaving the hall. Official results appear in Mijn DUO approximately five weeks after your exam date.
Late, ill or a complaint: what to do
If you arrive late you cannot take part in the exam. If your delay was caused by a public transport disruption or a traffic jam, you might be granted a replacement exam if you contact DUO at nt2@duo.nl with proof of the delay; ordinary lateness gets none.
Illness requires immediate formal reporting to avoid paying for a replacement slot. If acute sickness or the death of an immediate family member stops you from taking the exam, submit a report to DUO within ten days after the test date. You must provide official proof, such as medical documentation from a doctor or an official death notice, before DUO considers scheduling an alternative session.
Cancelling ahead of time is straightforward if your schedule changes early:
- Cancel at least four weeks prior to the sitting to receive a full refund
- Cancelling less than four weeks prior forfeits your registration fee
If you encounter a disruption during the test, notify the examenleider (exam supervisor) immediately. Whether your headset cuts out or your screen freezes, alerting staff on the spot gives them the opportunity to solve the technical problem in the room. If the issue remains unresolved, you have up to three weeks after test day to file a formal written complaint to CvTE by emailing nt2@duo.nl, as outlined in DUO's results and appeals policy. You can re-register for missed sections the following day if open slots remain available.