NT2 (Dutch as a second language) exam

The state exam is for adults learning Dutch as a second language. There are two programmes:

• Programme I at CEFR level B1, aimed at study or work at secondary vocational (mbo) level.
• Programme II at level B2, aimed at study or work at higher professional (hbo) or university level.

Each programme has four exams: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, all taken on computer. Each is held on a separate day. You receive a certificate for each skill you pass, and the Diploma Staatsexamen NT2 once you pass all four. The diploma has no expiry date.

The exam is set by the College voor Toetsen en Examens (CvTE), which is responsible for its content, and DUO organises registration, payment and sittings. Candidates must be 17 or older. Free practice exams are available at oefenexamensnt2.nl, and the diploma can also be used for the language part of Dutch civic integration.

If you trained outside the EU and apply to the BIG register for a certificate of professional competence, you must prove Dutch at the level for your profession:

• B1 for secondary vocational professions, such as nursing.
• B2 for higher vocational professions, such as physiotherapists, midwives, dietitians and occupational therapists.
• B2+ for academic professions, such as doctors, dentists and pharmacists.

The BIG register says B1 and B2 certificates must come from the NT2 state exam. B2+ is not an NT2 level: it must come from one of the language institutes the register lists. Certificates must be passed, cover all four skills and be no more than two years old. If you live abroad, the register also accepts a CNaVT (Dutch as a foreign language) certificate.

1. Check the level for your profession on the BIG register's education-level list.
2. Check the exam timetable on staatsexamensnt2.nl.
3. Register with DUO, up to eight weeks before the exam. You can book all four exams together or one at a time.
4. Pay the fee: €50 per exam, or €200 for all four, for either programme. Payments from abroad can take weeks to arrive, and DUO will not let you sit the exam if payment is late.
5. Sit each exam in person at one of six locations: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rijswijk, Rotterdam, Utrecht or Zwolle. Bring valid ID and your DUO confirmation letter.

Each skill is a separate exam on a separate day, so you can resit only the skill you failed.

The exam is only held in the Netherlands, so you must travel for each part. Programme II alone does not meet the B2+ requirement for doctors, dentists and pharmacists. And while the diploma never expires, the BIG register only accepts certificates obtained in the last two years, so time your exam close to your application. For how Dutch fits into the rest of the process, see BIG registration and the BI-test.