The Polish B1 Exam: How It Works and How to Prepare

Who needs a B1 certificate

• Polish citizenship by recognition by the voivode (uznanie za obywatela polskiego) — Polish at B1 or higher, proven by the state certificate, a Polish school-leaving certificate or a certificate from a foreign school that taught in Polish (Dolnośląski UW).
• EU long-term resident status — also B1 or higher. Besides the state certificate, ECL, TELC, some university certificates and a Polish school or university diploma are accepted (voivodeship office).
• University in Poland — B1 is not enough any more: Polish-taught programmes require B2 from candidates from outside the EU. See How to apply to a Polish university.

Temporary and permanent residence permits (karta pobytu czasowego / stałego) have no language requirement — we say so plainly so you do not pay for preparation you do not need.

Who can take the exam

The state exam in Polish as a foreign language is open to foreigners and to Polish citizens living permanently abroad. The adult version is for candidates who are 18 on the exam day; for ages 14–17 there is a separate children-and-youth version with different tasks and an overall 50% threshold for the written and the oral part (certyfikatpolski.pl). This article covers the adult version — the one people take for citizenship and EU long-term residence.

You are in good company: according to the official statistics, 27,518 people took the exam in 2025, 21,830 of them at B1 (Commission statistics).

How the B1 exam works

The written part is one block, with the modules always in this order: listening, reading, grammar, writing. The whole written part takes up to 190 minutes, with a break of at least 10 minutes between modules (exam structure, guidance for candidates). The speaking part is separate, in front of the examining committee.

We checked the written modules against an official B1 exam paper (April 2024) and the speaking part against the official sample test. The current legal basis is the minister’s regulation of 14 February 2025.

No dictionaries or phones: reference materials and any devices that send, receive or record information are not allowed in the exam room.

Listening and reading

Recordings are played once or twice; you choose answers, mark statements true or false and match speakers to opinions. Reading ranges from short notices to longer articles, with tasks such as putting removed fragments back and matching headings to texts.

Grammar

Eight short tasks: case endings, conjunctions, comparatives, verb forms, forming questions, rephrasing with a given word, aspect and mood, prepositions. This is the module where even fluent speakers most often lose points.

Writing

You choose one of three sets and write two texts: a short one (a notice, invitation or greeting — about 30–40 words in the official sample test, 25 to 50 in the 2024 paper) and a long one (a letter, review or story — about 160–170 words in the sample, 150–175 in the 2024 paper). Each is marked for task completion, range of language and accuracy. See the B1 writing task explained.

Speaking

Up to 15 minutes and 40 points. It opens with a short chat with the examiners. Then you draw a set, prepare for about 5 minutes and do three tasks in any order: describe a photo and the situation in it, speak on a topic (for example, what you could not imagine living without) and act out a dialogue with an examiner — say, ordering a cake by phone (sample test). In the sample test, half the points are for doing the tasks and half for language: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and fluency. See the B1 speaking exam.

The 50% rule: why your total does not decide

B1 requires at least 50% in each written module and in the speaking part (Commission FAQ); B2–C2 require 60%. An example: say a candidate scores 25 in listening, 27 in reading, 24 in writing and 30 in speaking, but 14 out of 30 in grammar. The total is above 70%, yet the exam is failed, because grammar is below 15.

How much the exam costs

• €150 — the maximum fee for adult B1 and B2; each exam centre sets its exact price;
• €90 — the maximum for exams for children and young people (A1–B2);
• €20 — issuing the certificate, paid separately.

When and where to register

Sessions are held several times a year, and B1 is offered at every one. The timetable is published on certyfikatpolski.pl.

You register directly with the exam centre of your choice, no earlier than two months before the exam; the centre sets the payment deadline. The list of centres is published on certyfikatpolski.pl before each session.

When the certificate arrives

The certificate is issued within 30 days of the commission receiving the exam report and the centre paying the certificate fee (FAQ). Leave a margin if you need it by a specific date.

A certificate without an exam: new rules from 9 June 2026

Some people can get a certificate without taking the exam, by applying through the NAWA system. Since 9 June 2026, its level depends on the grounds (certyfikatpolski.pl):

Completing a szkoła policealna (post-secondary school) or studia podyplomowe (postgraduate studies) does not qualify (certyfikatpolski.pl). Applications filed before 9 June 2026 are decided under the old rules.

What has changed and what is next

Since February 2025 the exams have been run under a new ministerial regulation, but the B1 structure is unchanged: the same five modules, times and points as in the published papers from 2021–2024 (archive of past papers). When we checked on 12 October 2026, the Commission had announced no change to the B1 format for 2027. We will update this article if it does.

Your guide to the B1 exam

Each step in detail:

• Where to take it, registration and fees
• The writing task
• The speaking exam: photo, talk, role-play
• Exam day
• Results and certificate
• Failed — what next
• B1 for citizenship and EU long-term residence

How to prepare

1. Know your level. From a solid B1, a few weeks of format practice is usually enough; from A2, a few months. Start with our free level test.
2. Use official materials. certyfikatpolski.pl publishes a sample test and past exam papers, such as April 2024. Do them against the clock.
3. Fix your weakest module. The pass mark applies to each part separately, so one weak module is riskier than several average ones.
4. Write every week. A short and a long text on typical topics — and always get them checked: your own mistakes are hard to spot.
5. Speak aloud against the clock. Picture description, monologue and dialogue — with a timer, ideally with a teacher or at least recorded on your phone.

Registration opens about two months before the exam — where to take it, how to register and the fees.

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