Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I
The inburgering exam B1 is a different exam, not a harder A2.
The B1-route language exams are not a harder A2. They are a different exam: the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I, set by CvTE and taken on the Facet platform. It has its own four language parts, mostly three-option multiple choice, and a pass mark of a scaled score of 500 rather than a fixed percentage.
In Dutch, part by part: B1 examen oefenen, with five sample questions you can answer straight away.
| Part | Format | Time | Cesuur |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lezen | 35 multiple-choice questions over 6 texts | 110 min | 24 of 35 (68.6%) |
| Luisteren | 39 multiple-choice questions over 6 fragments (5 audio, 1 video) | 90 min | 26 of 39 (66.7%) |
| Schrijven | 12 tasks: 8 zinstaken, 2 deelschrijftaken, 2 korte schrijftaken | 100 min | 25 of 47 (53.2%) |
| Spreken | 16 tasks: 8 answered in 20 seconds, 8 in 30 seconds | 35 min | 75 of 128 (58.6%) |
| KNM | 40 multiple-choice questions, the same exam as the A2 route | 45 min | shared cesuur with A2 |
Luisteren has 3 options (A/B/C) on every question. Lezen mostly has 3, with a few 4-option items (2 of 35 in 2025). Figures are from the published 2025 openbaar examen.
B1-route inburgeraars: assigned this route by their gemeente under the Wet inburgering 2021. They also owe KNM, the Module Arbeidsmarkt en Participatie (MAP) and PVT, on a three-year term. Scaling down to A2 is possible after 600 course hours at a certified school, but rare.
Voluntary NT2 candidates: anyone aged 17+ who wants the NT2 diploma for an mbo place, a job, a regulated profession, or naturalisation, regardless of any inburgering duty.
Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij is the one part that is literally identical on both routes: same exam, same questions bank, same cesuur. If you have already prepared KNM for A2, that preparation carries over completely.
- Is B1 just a harder version of the A2 inburgeringsexamen?
- No. There is no separate inburgeringsexamen B1 from DUO. At A2, Lezen, Luisteren, Schrijven and Spreken are the DUO inburgeringsexamen. At B1 the same four skills are tested by the Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I, often called the staatsexamen B1, which CvTE owns and runs on the Facet exam platform. It has different question counts, timing and scoring. Only KNM (Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij) is the same exam on both routes.
- How is the B1 exam scored, if not by percentage?
- Each part's raw points convert to a scaled score, and you pass at a scaled score of 500. The raw cut that produces 500 (the cesuur) is set per sitting, so quoting last year's cesuur as a fixed number to beat is inaccurate; it moves. The published cesuren give a band (roughly 53–69% of raw points depending on the part), not a rule.
- How much does the inburgering examen B1 cost, and when do I get results?
- Each part costs €50, so the four language parts cost €200; KNM is another €50. You register and pay through Mijn DUO, and registration opens about 8 weeks before the exam date. Results appear in Mijn DUO after about 5 weeks. Each part is passed and retaken on its own, so a failed part does not cost you the parts you passed.
- If I pass Programma I, do I still sit the inburgeringsexamen?
- No. Passing Staatsexamen NT2 Programma I (B1) or Programma II (B2) fulfils the language-parts side of your inburgering duty. You do not separately sit the DUO inburgeringsexamen's Lezen, Luisteren, Schrijven or Spreken. KNM, MAP and PVT are still owed separately.
Free B1 sample questions, exam-format practice and AI-graded Schrijven and Spreken, built the same way as our A2 course.
Not sure which level applies to you? Read the A2-or-B1 explainer. It covers the legal side (which law and which gemeente decision sets your route). This page covers the exam itself. inburgeringprep.com is an independent study platform and not DUO, CvTE or the Dutch government.
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inburgeringprep.com is independent practice material and not part of DUO. Registration, payment, results and your diploma always go through DUO, and the rules change. The official description is at DUO: Taalexamens A2, B1 en B2, and what applies to you is in Mijn Inburgering.