Useful information

Find a language course
The easiest way to find a language course is via the website StaatsexamenNT2.nl. On this website, there is a comprehensive and up-to-date list of language schools offering special State Examination training.

See the list of language schools on StaatsexamenNT2.nl >

This is how you register for the State Examination NT2
If you are going to take the State Examination NT2, whether that is Programme I or II, you must register. You can do this online with a registration form on the website of the Educational Services Department (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, DUO). You can take the four sections (Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking) at the same time, but you can also take them at different times. When registering, you indicate which sections you are going to take. You also indicate when completing the form where and when you want to take the exam. There are five places in the Netherlands where you can take the exam:

• Amsterdam
• Rijswijk
• Rotterdam
• Eindhoven
• Zwolle

Register for the State Examination NT2 on the DUO website >

These are the costs
It costs money to take the State Examination NT2. Per section (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking), you pay € 50.00. For the four sections together, you pay € 200.00. This price is the same for Programme I and Programme II. You can pay these costs directly online when you register, but you can also pay later.

Read more about the costs and payment >

The exam
For all exam sections, you must use a computer. The Listening exam is taken completely on the computer: you listen with headphones to the audio clips and give the correct answer with the mouse. For the Reading exam, you use a booklet with texts and enter the correct answer with the mouse. For the Writing exam, you use a simple writing program on the computer to complete the assignments. For the Speaking exam, you listen to audio clips with headphones and read texts on the computer screen. You answer through a microphone.

Different rules apply for the exam, indicating what you may and may not take with you, and what you can do during the exam. For example, you may use certain dictionaries for the Reading and Writing exams, but not for the Listening and Speaking exams. On the website StaatsexamensNT2.nl you can read what is and is not allowed during the exam.

Exciting: The results from the exam
Five weeks you have taken the exam, the results are posted on the DUO website. You can check the results by entering your exam number, which you will receive during the exam. But you will also receive a letter six weeks after the exam with your results. It is useful to keep this letter if you have passed: if, for example, you want to enrol in an educational programme, but you do not yet have your diploma, you can show to the educational institution that you have passed the exam.

Read more about the assessment of the exams and the results on the website StaatsexamensNT2.nl >

Diploma
Have you passed all four parts of the State Examination NT2? Congratulations! You will then receive the Diploma State Examination NT2. Have not you passed all the parts? When you pass single exam components (for example, Reading and Listening – ‘Lezen en Luisteren’), you will receive a certificate per exam component. This certificate remains valid forever. If you also pass the other exam parts later, you can redeem the single certificates for the Diploma State Examination NT2 via the Educational Services Department (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, DUO).

Retaking exams
Sometimes, people do not pass an exam the first time. That is unfortunate, but happily you can retake the exam. You can take the exam as often as you like, but you can take one exam section up to three times per year. If you did not pass and you want to retake the exam, then prepare well, so that it goes better next time. These are some of the things you can do to be better prepared:

• Speak and write as much Dutch as possible in your daily life. For example, ask a Dutch friend or acquaintance to speak Dutch with you a few hours a week, or write emails in Dutch to people you know, and ask them to correct your texts.
• Read the newspaper, listen to a radio station where there is a great deal of talking (for example, Radio 1) and watch Dutch television programmes (for example, on the stations NPO 1, 2 or 3).
• Follow an exam training if you have not done so already. Read more about lesson materials on the page ‘How do I prepare for the State Examination NT2 Programme I or Programme II?’.