How does the telc B1 exam actually work?
Two parts, two gates. You need 60 % of the written exam AND 60 % of the oral — 135 of 225 and 45 of 75. Neither rescues the other. Written 150 minutes, oral about 15. Verified 2026-08-07.
What is on the paper
| Subtest | What it is | Items | Points | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leseverstehen | Teil 1 matching (5 texts, 10 headings) · Teil 2 multiple choice · Teil 3 matching (10 situations, 12 ads + an x option) | 20 | 75 | 90 shared with Sprachbausteine |
| Sprachbausteine | Teil 1 grammar, 3-option multiple choice · Teil 2 vocabulary, 10 gaps from 15 words | 20 | 30 | — same 90 |
| Hörverstehen | Three parts, all richtig/falsch. Teil 1 is heard ONCE; Teile 2 and 3 twice | 20 | 75 | ca. 30 |
| Schriftlicher Ausdruck | An informal or semi-formal e-mail with four Leitpunkte | 1 | 45 | 30 |
| Mündlicher Ausdruck | Paired. Einander kennenlernen · Über ein Thema sprechen · Gemeinsam etwas planen | 3 parts | 75 | ca. 15, after 20 min preparation |
Written total 150 minutes with no break. Leseverstehen and Sprachbausteine share one 90-minute clock — you decide how to split it across all 40 items.
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.
60 % of the total is not the pass mark
180 of 300 is exactly 60 %, which is why so many sites say "you need 180 points". It happens to be the bottom of the "ausreichend" band, and it is not the rule. 200 written with 40 oral is 240 of 300 — 80 % — and it is a fail, because the oral is under 45.
Hörverstehen Teil 1 is played once
Teile 2 and 3 are played twice, Teil 1 is not. Almost everyone assumes two plays throughout and loses 25 points finding out. You get 30 seconds to read items 41–45 first — use all of it.
There is no transfer time
You mark the Antwortbogen while the audio plays, with PLUS for richtig and MINUS for falsch, and the sheet is collected straight afterwards. If you are used to Goethe-style copying time at the end, you will run out of exam.
It is an e-mail, not a Brief
This changed with the 2019 revision, and many prep sites still teach letter conventions. telc's own rubric says sender address, recipient address and date are not required — writing them costs you time you need for the four Leitpunkte.
Missing Leitpunkte and going off-topic are different failures
If the text barely relates to the prompt, all three criteria go to D and the e-mail scores zero. If you are on topic but cover only one Leitpunkt, only criterion I collapses — your German is still marked. So a half-answered e-mail is worth writing; an off-topic one is not.
Leseverstehen Teil 3 has an escape hatch
Some situations match no advertisement, and telc tells you what to do: "Wenn Sie zu einer Situation keine Anzeige finden, markieren Sie ein x." Candidates who do not know this pick the least-wrong ad and lose the point. Check every condition in the situation against the ad — if one fails, it is not the answer.
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
You may re-sit one half — but only one half
If you fail, you can repeat the whole written exam or the whole oral exam and carry the other result over. Not a single subtest: failing only Hörverstehen means re-sitting all 150 minutes. telc's Prüfungsregularien (valid from 15.04.2025) give you twelve months from the date on your Ergebnisbogen — note that telc's own 2020 practice book still prints an older, more generous calendar-year rule, and many sites copy it. You must ask for the carry-over when you register, not afterwards.
The repeat result replaces the old one, even if it is worse
Only the most recent attempt counts, irrevocably. Do not re-sit a part you already passed hoping to improve it.
What it costs
telc sets no national price — each centre does, and telc says so plainly in its own FAQ. Prices read off centres' own pages in August 2026 ranged from about €100 to €255: roughly €150–195 at a Volkshochschule and €180–255 at a private school, with a real discount if you took a course there. A part-only retake is usually only 10–20 % cheaper, and at some centres costs the same.
Where, and what to bring
Any telc-registered centre — telc lists over 3,000 worldwide and has a finder on its site. You do not need to have taken a course, though a few centres restrict entry to their own students. Bring valid photo ID; arriving after the briefing has started means you cannot sit. Results typically take four to six weeks.
Watch which exam your centre actually runs
Some centres now offer only telc Deutsch A2·B1 and describe it as "the B1 exam". It is a different paper, and because it is scaled over two levels it is excluded from part-crediting — booking it quietly costs you the right to re-sit only the half you failed.
Last updated: 2026-08-07