How does the DTZ exam actually work?
Not a pass or a fail — a level, and it can differ per skill. Hören and Lesen are pooled over 45 items; Schreiben and Sprechen are levelled separately. Overall you need that level in SPRECHEN and in at least one of the other two. Written 100 minutes, oral about 16. Verified 2026-08-07.
Check you can book it first
You cannot book it without a link to the Integrationskurs. Since 2023 BAMF turns away anyone who has never had one.
What is on the paper
| Subtest | What it is | Items | Points | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hören | Teil 1 announcements · Teil 2 media items · Teil 3 everyday conversations · Teil 4 opinions | 20 | pooled | 25 |
| Lesen | Teil 1 directories · Teil 2 ads · Teil 3 press and formal notices · Teil 4 leaflets · Teil 5 gap-fill in a letter | 25 | pooled | 45 |
| Schreiben | A semi-formal or formal message — in practice a formal letter — with four Leitpunkte | 1 | 20 | 30 |
| Sprechen | Paired, five sub-parts: Über sich sprechen · Nachfragen · Über Erfahrungen sprechen (photo prompt) · Nachfragen · Gemeinsam etwas planen | 5 parts | 100 | ca. 16 per pair |
Written total 100 minutes. The 45 Hören and Lesen items are scored as ONE pool: 33 correct → B1, 20 → A2. Schreiben is out of 20 (B1 at 15), Sprechen out of 100 (B1 at 75).
What catches people out
Every one of these comes from the exam board’s own documents, and every one of them is something candidates usually discover on the day.
You may not be allowed to sit it at all
Since 2023, BAMF states that anyone with no link to the Integrationskurs must take a different exam. Third-party sites still advertise self-payer DTZ places for €130–170; if you have never had a course entitlement, that is not an option, and telc Deutsch B1 or telc Deutsch A2·B1 is what you want instead.
Sprechen caps everything else
B1 in reading, B1 in listening, B1 in writing and A2 in speaking gives you an A2 certificate. There is no combination that reaches B1 overall without B1 in Sprechen. If your speaking is the weak skill, it is not one problem among four — it is the only one that can change your result.
Hören and Lesen carry each other
They are pooled, so a weak listening score can be rescued by a strong reading score and the other way round. You need 33 of 45 between them, not 33 in each. That changes how to spend revision time.
The photo task is not "describe the picture"
Teil 2a is Über Erfahrungen sprechen — the photo is a prompt to talk about your own experience of the situation. Candidates who carefully describe what is in the image are answering a question nobody asked, and it costs marks on task achievement.
An off-topic letter scores zero
If your text has no real connection to the prompt, all four writing criteria go to 0 regardless of how good the German is. Read the situation twice before you start.
Start practising
Practice by section
Work one part at a time, with an explanation on every item.
Full mock exam
A complete paper, timed, scored by the exam's real rules.
Writing trainer
The task, the four Leitpunkte, ready phrases and a model answer.
Speaking trainer
Every part, with your partner's sheet and the phrases that fit.
Booking, money and re-sits
Who runs it now
g.a.s.t. e.V. has administered the DTZ on BAMF's behalf since 1 January 2023. telc co-developed it with the Goethe-Institut and still publishes practice material, which is why telc's name is all over the preparation books — but telc no longer administers it.
It is free if you are entitled
The Integrationskursverordnung has BAMF cover the cost of one sitting, plus a further attempt in defined circumstances. The course contribution is separate — currently €2.29 per teaching hour, about €1,603 for a 700-hour course, with exemptions — and you can claim half of it back if you pass within two years of your first Teilnahmeberechtigung.
The one funded repeat
If you exhausted your hours and still did not reach B1, you can be admitted once to repeat up to 300 teaching units, and that admission includes one free repeat of the language exam. Attempts themselves are unlimited; it is the funding that is capped. Note you always re-sit the whole exam — nothing carries over.
Why B1 rather than A2 matters
The Zertifikat Integrationskurs needs B1 in the DTZ plus a pass in Leben in Deutschland. §9 AufenthG asks for "ausreichende" German for the Niederlassungserlaubnis, which §2 defines as B1, and §10 StAG names B1 in the statute for naturalisation. A certificate whose overall result is B1 counts, even if one skill came out at A2.
Practicalities
Sittings run roughly every two weeks at BAMF-authorised course providers, registration closes about three weeks ahead and is done in person, and results reach the centre around two and a half weeks after the exam.
Last updated: 2026-08-07